When it comes to Bodhisattva, the first thing that comes to mind is the Guanyin Bodhisattva in "Journey to the West", but there are many Bodhisattvas. In "Journey to the West", there are Manjushri Bodhisattva , Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva , Samantabhadra Bodhisattva , etc. In addition to Guanyin Bodhisattva , the other Bodhisattvas are all male, and they all look like carved from the same mold. It is impossible to tell which Bodhisattva this Bodhisattva is.
In fact, in the statues and murals before the Tang Dynasty, Guanyin was a man with two beards. After the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Guanyin's image became the common gentle and dignified woman, especially the image of Guanyin in the old version of "Journey to the West", which has been frozen in our minds.
Tang Bodhisattva’s guide map [Partial]
Therefore, if you want to distinguish the identity of a Bodhisattva, you can’t just rely on “looking at the face”, but you need to identify it through some details, such as handprints, dress, holding objects, mounts, etc.
First of all, let’s take a look at how to distinguish the four great Bodhisattvas of in Chinese Chinese culture and Buddhism.
The Four Great Bodhisattvas of Buddhism
Manjushri Bodhisattva
Manjushri Bodhisattva
Manjushri Bodhisattva raising the sword of wisdom in his right hand, which means swinging the sword to cut off worries; holding a lotus in his left hand, generally there are scriptures on the lotus; the mount is a green lion, indicating power.
If we feel depressed and worship Manjushri Bodhisattva and ask him to cut off his troubles, we should be happy, but it would be better to just cut off the troubles. As for the three thousand worries, let's keep them for me.
Guanyin Bodhisattva
Guanyin Bodhisattva
Of course, the best way to identify Guanyin Bodhisattva, usually holding willow branches and a pure bottle, indicating purity; and it is a beautiful and kind female image, with lotus under the seat, and occasionally there will be mounts Golden Hair Beard .
But we have also said that the gender of Guanyin Bodhisattva is both male and female. It is said that Guanyin is to save all living beings. The male body turns into a female appearance and can change thirty-three images. We do not have the igneous eyes of Sun Wukong , and can only recognize the most common Guanyin image. We cannot recognize the changed Guanyin.
Samantabhadra Bodhisattva
Samantabhadra Bodhisattva
Samantabhadra Bodhisattva usually holds a lotus or lotus in his right hand, and the mount is Six-toothed white elephant , and the four elephants step on the four lotus flowers respectively.
Six-tooth white elephant is the most important image symbol of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, used to reflect his merits as "careful and quiet" and the great compassion of Buddhism.
Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva
Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva
Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva holds a Zen stick in his right hand, holds a bead in his left hand, and wears Five Buddha Crowns or bald head on his head.
Have you found that the images of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva and Tang Monk are very similar? But here I remind everyone that they are not the same person.
Legend Manjushri , Guanyin, Samantabhadra , and Ksitigarbha , representing wisdom, compassion, practice, and vows respectively. They are the four great envoys sent by Buddha Tathagata to the East, so they are deeply respected by us Chinese.
After introducing the four great bodhisattvas, let’s take a look at some “full personality” bodhisattvas under the Buddha . They are either decorated with strange eyes, many hands, many sentiments, and many halos. In short, there are all kinds of people in the world, and there are also all kinds of Bodhisattvas in the Buddha world.
Personalized Bodhisattva
Shakyamuni Buddha
Shakyamuni Buddha
The image ofShakyamuni Buddha is generally begging with the left hand and holding the touching seal with the palm of the right hand facing inward; or the right hand is raised, the four fingers bent slightly, and the fearless seal with the palm facing outward, giving great fearlessness to all living beings.
tell you quietly. According to the monk, if you walk alone at night and are very scared, you can make the fearless seal with your hands, and all monsters will be far away from you.
We generally believe that Sakyamuni Buddha is Tathagata Buddha . After all, almost everyone has a Tathagata Buddha who presses Sun Wukong at the foot of the Five Fingers Mountain in their childhood memories. But in fact, according to Buddhists, everyone is called Tathagata Buddha after becoming a Buddha, so it is right for Sakyamuni Buddha to be called "Tathagata Buddha". It is wrong to not add "ancestor", but only "Tathagata Buddha".
Vajrasattack
Vajrasattva
behind the back is the moon wheel, carrying the five Buddha crown, holding the pestle in the right hand and the bell in the left hand is Vajrasattva, and its body is white, indicating that Vajra is white and untainted.
According to the Buddha's words, the pestle in Vajrasattva's hand can destroy ten kinds of troubles in the world. He is also a sentient being among the Bodhisattvas, a righteous person. In Buddhism, the four elements should be empty, but he is a sentient being with many righteousness. This Vajrasattva is also a "weird buddha in the Buddha world".
Maitreya Buddha
Maitreya Buddha
Speaking of Bodhisattvas, how can you forget Maitreya Buddha who "can be able to withstand a big belly and always smile"? As soon as I saw Maitreya Buddha with a big belly, his ears were lodged, and his shoulders were over, and his smile was so hard that he couldn't stop, his worries disappeared.
Therefore, in many temples in our country, the one who greets you is Maitreya Buddha as soon as you enter the door.
Amitabha
When we encounter difficulties or turn misfortune into good fortune, we will always chant involuntarily: "Amitabha!" Let's take a look at what Amitabha looks like.
Amitabha
holding a lotus in the left hand and a right hand with Amitabha Buddha, leading sentient beings out of the sea of suffering, being reborn in Pure Land , and from then on, escape from the suffering of reincarnation. Yes, Buddha is destined to be a person!
Amitabha
Sit upright on the lotus platform, with both hands making meditation seals, and Amitabha snails on his head are also the ones with a snail hair on his head. Don’t underestimate the “ Meditation Seal ” that seems to be putting your hands casually. This is the handprint created by the Buddha when he was "enlightened" under the Bodhi tree. It is the ancestor of the “handprint”.
Four-arm Guanyin
Four-arm Guanyin
Four-arm Guanyin, as the name suggests, has four arms and four hands, two of which are clasped together, and the other two hands hold lotus and rosary. Four-armed Guanyin represents wisdom, purity and no worries.
Cundi Bodhisattva
Cundi Bodhisattva
One eye on the forehead. There are not only Erlang Shen , but also one Cundi Bodhisattva. This Bodhisattva has eighteen arms, which are much more powerful than Erlang Shen.
Rannin Buddha
Rannin Buddha
Handed with both hands, and the one with the head snail is thermal Buddha. Legend has it that when he was born, he was as bright as a lamp, so it is called "Rannin Buddha".
Any big man has strange phenomena when he is born, either auspicious or a colorful cloud. Unexpectedly, this "routine" is still popular in the Buddhist world.
Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva
Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva
Hasthamaprapta Bodhisattva actually had a heavy bottle in his hair (the bottle probably won't contain water), holding the golden lotus platform in both hands.
Do you think that the Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta looks familiar? Yes, except for the treasure vase, the decoration and Dharma appearance of Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva are the same as those of Amitabha Bodhisattva. They are the right attendant of Amitabha Buddha, and Guanyin Bodhisattva is the left attendant of the left attendant. The three of them are collectively called the "Three Saints of the West".
Weituo Bodhisattva
Weituo Bodhisattva
Wearing armor, hands folded, holding Demon-subduing Pestle , the majestic is Weituo Bodhisattva, and Weituo is the Buddha's guardian.
Legend has it that Wei Tu and Guanyin Bodhisattva had a husband-and-wife relationship in their previous life, so Guanyin extradited Wei Tu to become a Buddha. The two became a couple opposite and practiced together, so many temples worship Wei Tu and Guanyin together.
There are also some "colorful" Bodhisattvas, which are easy to identify according to their different colors.
White Tara Bodhisattva & Green Tara Bodhisattva
Green Tara Bodhisattva
all body is emerald green, and the one holding the blue lotus in his hand is Green Tara . Green Tara wore various jewels and orbs, and had a beautiful and kind face.
Green is the color of spring, indicating that green Tara will bring vitality to all things.
It is worth mentioning that Green Tara is a young girl with a beautiful face and beautiful and elegant face. By the way, there is another thing that is most important. Legend has it that Green Tara is the incarnation of Princess Wencheng of , while White Tara is the incarnation of another concubine of Nepalese Princess, Songtsen Gampo .
White Tara Bodhisattva
White Tara is white all over, holding a lotus in his hand, wearing a garland ornament on his body, wearing luxurious heavenly clothes, and also a young girl.
The most prominent feature is that the white Tara has one eye on both hands, feet and forehead, and there are seven eyes on the whole body.
Legend says that Guanyin Bodhisattva shed tears sadly when he saw sentient beings suffering. Green Tara and White Tara are the incarnations of Guanyin's tears, and help Guanyin Bodhisattva save all sentient beings.
Pharmacist Buddha
Pharmacist Buddha
all over the body is blue, with the left hand begging, the bowl is filled with spiritual medicine, it is Pharmacist Buddha. As the name suggests, Medicine Buddha is a man who distributes medicine and treats diseases and saves people in the world, but why is he blue?
It turns out that this blue is not ordinary blue, but the blue of the sky. In the Buddha's realm, the sky symbolizes light. The Medicine Buddha cures diseases and saves people, and of course it is a Bodhisattva who brings light to the world.
Medicine Buddha also has two rib servants: Sunlight Bodhisattva and Moonlight Bodhisattva . In the blue sky, the sun and the moon shine, and the earth is full of light.
Sunlight Bodhisattva
Sunlight Bodhisattva
Hold a sun in your hand, or a sun is installed on the lotus mount. It is Sunlight Bodhisattva, the left servant of Medicine Buddha, symbolizing the sunlight shining.
Moonlight Bodhisattva
Moonlight Bodhisattva
Holding a crescent moon in your hand, or the moon is on the lotus seat, it is Moonlight Bodhisattva, the right attendant of Medicine Buddha, symbolizing the moonlight shining.
Buddhism says "Amitabha Buddha". There are countless Bodhisattvas. Therefore, we can only list some common ones to explain and introduce them. I hope that next time I go to the temple, I will not be confused by those Bodhisattvas. Take out my mobile phone and compare this article. By identifying some details, we will always recognize who they are.
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