Samantabhadra (Bodhisattva)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other uses, see Samantabhadra.
Samantabhadra
Statue of Pǔxián (Samantabhadra) on Mount Emei in Sichuan, China
Sanskritसमन्तभद्र
Samantabhadra
Chinese普賢菩薩 普贤菩萨
(Pinyin: Pǔxián Púsà)
(Jyutping: pou2 jin4 pou4 saat3)
(Southern Min: Phó͘-hiân Phô͘-sat)
Japanese普賢菩薩（ふげんぼさつ）
(
romaji: Fugen Bosatsu)
Khmerសមន្តភទ្រ
(sa-mun-ta-phoat)
Korean보현보살
(RR: Bohyeon Bosal)
Mongolianүндэсамбуу
Самандабадраа
Хамгаар Сайн
TagalogSamantabhadla
(Baybayin: ᜐᜋᜈ᜔ᜆᜊ᜔ᜑᜇ᜔ᜎ)
Thaiพระสมันตภัทรโพธิสัตว์
Phra Samantaphat Phothisat
Tibetanཀུན་ཏུ་བཟང་པོ་
Wylie: kun tu bzang po
THL: küntuzangpo
VietnamesePhổ Hiền Bồ Tát
(Chữ Hán: 普賢菩薩)
Information
Venerated byBuddhists
icon Religion portal

Samantabhadra (lit. "Universal Worthy", "All Good") is a great

Avatamsaka Sutra, made the ten great vows which are the basis of a bodhisattva. In Chinese Buddhism, Samantabhadra is known as Pǔxián and is associated with action, whereas Mañjuśrī is associated with prajñā (transcendent wisdom). In Japan, this bodhisattva is known as Fugen, and is often venerated in Tendai and Shingon Buddhism
.

In the

Samantabhadrī. In wrathful form he is one of the Eight Herukas of the Nyingma Mahayoga
and he is known as Vajramrtra, But this Samantabhadra buddha and Samantabhadra bodhisattva are not the same.

In Mahayana sutras

In the Lotus Sūtra, Samantabhadra is described at length in the epilogue, called the Samantabhadra Meditation Sutra (Chinese: 觀普賢菩薩行法經; pinyin: Guān Pǔxián Púsà Xíngfǎ Jīng), with special detail given to visualization of the bodhisattva, and the virtues of devotion to him.[1]

Samantabhadra is also a key figure in the

Gaṇḍavyūha-sūtra. In the climax of the Gaṇḍavyūha-sūtra, the student Sudhana meets Samantabhadra Bodhisattva who confirms his awakening. Sudhana then merges into Samantabhadra, and Samantabhadra recites a set of popular verses. These verses are known as the Bhadracaripraṇidhāna (Vows of Good Conduct) or Ārya-samantabhadra-caryā-praṇidhāna-rāja (The Royal Vow to follow the Noble Course of Conduct of Samantabhadra).[2] This text which concludes the entire Avatamsaka was very popular in India, East Asia and in Himalayan Buddhism, and it is cited in numerous sources. It was considered to be a dhāraṇī and recited individually as a meritorious text.[2]

Ten great vows

The core of Samantabhadra's aspirations in the Bhadracaripraṇidhāna are the ten great vows of Samantabhadra. The ten great vows of Samantabhadra are the following:[3]

  1. to pay homage to all the buddhas;
  2. to glorify the qualities of all the tathāgatas;
  3. to make ample offerings to all the buddhas;
  4. to confess and repent of all one's misdeeds;
  5. to rejoice in the merits of others;
  6. always to request the preaching of the dharma;
  7. to entreat enlightened beings to remain in the world;
  8. to always to study the teachings of the buddha;
  9. to always to respond to sentient beings according to their various needs;
  10. to dedicate all merits to sentient beings that they may achieve buddhahood.

The ten vows have become a common practice in East Asian Buddhism, particularly the tenth vow, with many Buddhists traditionally dedicating their merit and good works to all beings during Buddhist liturgies.

Mantras and dharani

Like all important bodhisattvas, several mantras are associated with Samantabhadra. One of these is drawn from a work titled Arya-Buddhoshnisha-Cintamani-Mahadharani:[4][5][6]

om̐ samantabhadra sam svāhā

Sam is Samantabhadra's seed syllable. The Dharanisamgraha meanwhile contains the following dharani for Samantabhadra:[7]

om̐ namaḥ samantabhadrāya bodhisattvāya mahāsattvāya || tadyathā || om̐ samantabhadre sarvottama-mahāprāgbhārakalyāṇaṁ samprāpaya hūm̐ phaṭ svāhā ||

Meanwhile the Mahavairocana Sutra contains the following mantra:

namaḥ samantabuddhānāṁ saṁ

In East Asian Buddhism

Statue of Pǔxián (Samantabhadra) at Bangka Lungshan Temple, Taipei.
Fugen Enmei (普賢延命菩薩), the life Preserver. Japan.

Unlike his more popular counterpart

Shakyamuni, mounted on a white elephant. In those traditions that accept the Avatamsaka Sutra as their main text (mainly, the Huayan school), Samantabhadra and Manjusri flank Vairocana
Buddha, the central Buddha of this particular sutra.

Known as Pǔxián in Chinese, Samantabhadra is sometimes shown in

Queen Maya
, the mother of the Buddha, to herald his birth.

Mahayana esoteric traditions sometimes treat Samantabhadra as one of the 'Primordial' (Sanskrit:

Dharmakaya) Buddhas, but the main primordial Buddha is considered to be Vairocana
.

Tibetan Buddhism

Samantabhadra, pictured in Bodhisattva of Universal Virtue who Prolongs Life, 12th-century painting on silk, Heian period, Japan.

In Tibetan Buddhism, Samantabhadra (Tibetan: Kuntuzangpo) is a name that refers to two different beings:[8]

  • The
    Shakyamuni
    Buddha, i.e. one of the "eight close sons."
  • The Primordial Buddha (
    Seventeen Tantras of Dzogchen.[10]

Notes

  1. ^ Katō Bunno, Tamura Yoshirō, Miyasaka Kōjirō, tr. (1975), The Threefold Lotus Sutra : The Sutra of Innumerable Meanings; The Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law; The Sutra of Meditation on the Bodhisattva Universal Virtue. New York & Tōkyō: Weatherhill & Kōsei Publishing.
  2. ^ a b Osto, Douglas. A New Translation of the Sanskrit "Bhadracarī" with Introduction and Notes. New Zealand Journal of Asian Studies 12, 2 (December 2010).
  3. ^ Gimello, Robert M. Ch'eng-kuan on the Hua-yen Trinity 中華佛學學報第 9 期 (pp.341-411)：(民國 85年)， 臺北：中華佛學研究所，http://www.chibs.edu.tw Chung-Hwa Buddhist Journal, No. 9, (1996) Taipei: Chung-Hwa Institute of Buddhist Studies ISSN: 1017─7132.
  4. ^ Wylie, A. "On an Ancient Buddhist Inscription at Keu-Yung Kwan, North China." Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 5 (1871), p. 21. Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, Cambridge University Press for the Royal Asiatic Society.
  5. ^ von Schuler, Einar (1989). XXIII. Deutscher Orientalistentag: vom 16. bis 20. September 1985 in Würzburg : ausgewählte Vorträge, Volume 23, F, p. 430. Steiner Verlag Wiesbaden.
  6. ^ 東洋学報 ("Eastern Studies Journal."), Volumes 66-67, p. 331. 東洋協会調查部 ("Research Department of the Oriental Society"), 1985.
  7. ^ Hidas, Gergely (2021). Powers of Protection: The Buddhist Tradition of Spells in the Dhāraṇīsaṃgraha Collections, p. 89. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG.
  8. ^ Khenchen Thrangu (2019). Tilopa's Wisdom: His Life and Teachings on the Ganges Mahamudra. p. 174. Shambhala Publications.
  9. ISBN 1-59030-069-6
    (pbk.: alk. paper). p.xxi
  10. ^ Rigpa Shedra (October, 2009). Seventeen Tantras. Source: [1] (accessed: Monday April 5, 2010)

References and further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Samantabhadra.

External links
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Samantabhadra_(Bodhisattva)&oldid=1203146673"