Page 110 - Popular Deities of Chinese Buddhism (Illustrated) and Symbols
P. 110
he had no choice but to ‘open, with his sword, several val-
leys on the southern side of the lake, thus draining the waters
and drying up the land at the bottom’. is dried land is now
where Nepal stands which accounts for the great popularity of
Manjusri there. e Nepalese also considered him to be their
father of civilization as well as the founder of Buddhism in
their country.
In Tibet Manjusri veneration matches that of Avalokitesvara
so that “Om-arapachana-Dhih” is recited as frequently by the
populace as “Om Mani Padme Hum”. Many great lamas are in
fact manifestations of Manjusri and the most revered and well
known amongst them is none other than His Holiness Sakya
Trizin, the Head of the Sakya Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism or
Vajrayana.
anjusri in hina
e Chinese regard Manjusri as their Celestial Architect who
is believed to have inspired, with his divine intelligence, those
who are active in the propagation of the Dharma. He is known
as Wen-shu-shi-li P’usa or ‘Wen-shu P’usa’ in short. With his
Sword of Wisdom, he dissipates the darkness among men. His
other symbol, the Book of Transcendental Wisdom is often de-
picted as a long and narrow volume, held together by their covers
and bound by a piece of cloth string. At times, it is just repre-
sented by a scroll which contains the teachings.
