| Mahāsthāmaprāpta | |
|---|---|
 Silk painting of Dashizhi fromKhara-Khoto.Western Xia dynasty, 13th century. | |
| Sanskrit | महास्थामप्राप्त Mahāsthāmaprāpta |
| Chinese | (Traditional) 大勢至菩薩 or 得大勢菩薩 (Simplified) 大势至菩萨 or 得大势菩萨 (Pinyin:Dàshìzhì Púsa orDédàshì Púsà) |
| Japanese | 大勢至菩薩 (romaji:Daiseishi Bosatsu) |
| Khmer | មហាស្ថាមប្រាប្ត (mo-haa-sthaam-praap) |
| Korean | 대세지 보살 (RR:Daeseji Bosal) |
| Tagalog | Mahasthamaplapta |
| Thai | พระมหาสถามปราปต์โพธิสัตว์ |
| Tibetan | མཐུ་ཆེན་ཐོབ Wylie: mthu chen thob THL: Tuchen tob |
| Vietnamese | Đại Thế Chí Bồ tát |
| Information | |
| Venerated by | Mahāyāna,Vajrayāna |
| Attributes | Wisdom, Power |
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Mahāsthāmaprāpta is aBodhisattvaMahāsattva who represents the power of wisdom. His name literally means "arrival of the great strength".
Mahāsthāmaprāpta is one of theEight Great Bodhisattvas inMahayana Buddhism, along withMañjuśrī,Samantabhadra,Avalokiteśvara,Ākāśagarbha,Kṣitigarbha,Maitreya andSarvanivarana-Vishkambhin.
InChinese Buddhism, Mahasthamaprapta is sometimes portrayed as a woman, Dashizhi,[1] with a likeness similar to Avalokiteśvara (known asGuanyin in China). He is also one of theThirteen Buddhas in the Japanese school ofShingon Buddhism. InTibetan Buddhism, Mahāsthāmaprāpta is equated withVajrapani, who is one of his incarnations and was known as the Protector ofGautama Buddha.
Mahāsthāmaprāpta is one of the oldest bodhisattvas and is regarded as powerful, especially in the Pure Land school, where he takes an important role in theLonger Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra. He is often depicted in a trinity withAmitābha andAvalokiteśvara (Guanyin), especially inPure Land Buddhism.
InChinese Buddhism, Mahāsthāmaprāpta is known as Dashizhi (Chinese: 大勢至, "Arrival of Great Strength"), and is especially associated with thePure Land tradition as one ofAmitabha's assistant Bodhisattvas.Shi Yinguang (Chinese:印光), the Thirteenth Patriarch ofChinese Pure Land Buddhism, was widely considered to be a manifestation of Dashizhi based on the accounts of two people:
1. Yang Xinfeng (Chinese:楊信芳), a student who had never heard of either Dashizhi or Yinguang
2. Benkong (Chinese:本空), a former Christian who later converted to Buddhism and became abhikkhunī
Both of these figures had independent dreams regarding the situation.[2][3][4][5]
InJapanese Buddhism, Mahāsthāmaprāpta is known as Daiseishi (Japanese: 大勢至, "Arrival of Great Strength") and is associated with the temple guardiansKongō Rikishi.[6] Daiseishi is one of 25 bodhisattvas who descend from heaven (raigō) withAmitabha to welcome dying souls intoSukhavati.
Daiseishi is also the guardian of those born in theYear of the Horse.[7]
Daiseishi is one of theThirteen Buddhas and oversees the ceremony held on the first year anniversary of a person's death.[7]
It is theorised thatHonen was an incarnation of Daiseishi. Honen was known as Seishimaru during his childhood, and was also known as "Hōnen-bō, foremost in wisdom".After his death, one of his pupils,Shinran, composed the "Hymn of Great Seishi Bodhisattva" and at the end stated, "Great Seishi Bodhisattva is the original form of Genkū Shōnin (Hōnen)."[8]
Mahāsthāmaprāpta is mentioned in several majorMahayana andEast Asian Buddhistsutras.
In theŚūraṅgama Sūtra, Mahāsthāmaprāpta tells of how he gained enlightenment through the practice ofnianfo, or continuous pure mindfulness ofAmitābha, to obtainsamādhi.
In theAmitayurdhyana Sutra, Mahāsthāmaprāpta is symbolized by the moon while Avalokiteśvara is represented by the sun.[1]
In the Introductory chapter of theLotus Sutra, Mahāsthāmaprāpta is present among the 80,000 bodhisattvamahāsattvas who assemble onMount Gṛdhrakūṭa to hear theShakyamuni Buddha's preaching of the Wonderful Dharma of the Lotus Flower Sutra. The Buddha also addresses Mahāsthāmaprāpta in chapter 20 of theLotus Sutra to tell of the Buddha's past life as the Bodhisattva Sadāparibhūta ("Never Despising"), a monk who was abused and reviled by arrogant monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen when he paid them respect by saying they would all become Buddhas. The Buddha explains to Mahāsthāmaprāpta how these arrogant people were punished, but are now bodhisattvas present in the assembly on the path to Enlightenment.
The Buddha then praises the great strength of the Lotus Sutra:[9]
"O Mahāsthāmaprāpta, know that this Lotus Sutra will greatly benefit the bodhisattva mahāsattvas and lead them to highest, complete enlightenment. For this reason, after theTathāgata’sparinirvāṇa the bodhisattva mahāsattvas should always preserve, recite, explain, and copy this sutra."
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