What are the four Bodhisattvas Manjusri, Pu Xian, Dizang and Guanyin in charge of?

Manjusri Bodhisattva: namely Manjusri Bodhisattva, a bodhisattva symbolizing wisdom. According to the Nirvana Sutra of Manjusri Bodhisattva, Manjusri Bodhisattva was born in Duoluoju under the Tianmen of Pishamen and belonged to the Van der Waals family. He was born under his mother's right armpit. He was born with ten auspicious signs at the same time. He visited immortals all over the world, looking for family laws, and 95 kinds of heretics could not argue with him. Finally, he learned from Sakyamuni Buddha and became a bodhisattva. In Mahayana Buddhism, he is the head of many bodhisattvas and is considered as the son of the Tathagata "French King". It is also the embodiment of wisdom, and often cooperates with Sakyamuni Buddha to promote Buddhism. According to legend, the Dojo of his epiphany was in Wutai Mountain, Shanxi. He is the left assistant of Sakyamuni Buddha. He wears five temples and holds a sword, which shows that he is smart and sharp. The statue rides a lion more, indicating both wisdom and courage.

Samantabhadra: Brahma's name is Samantabhadra, which means universal goodness. Together with Manjusri Bodhisattva, he is the assistant bodhisattva of Sakyamuni Buddha, one symbolizing wisdom and the other symbolizing truth (Pu Xian). Pu Xian, the Bodhisattva of Hokkekyo, said: Puxian was originally a Bodhisattva in the Five Laws of Protecting Vader in the East. He heard that Sakyamuni Buddha said Hokkekyo in the world of women, which was very nice. When he arrived, the Buddha had finished reading this sutra, and Pu Xian was going to die that night, saying that he would protect this sutra. Buddha praise of Sakyamuni. The tantric religion called Pu Xian "Vajrayana" and "Bodhisattva". China Buddhism believes that Mount Emei in Sichuan is the Dojo of Samantabhadra. Bodhisattva Bodhisattva statues are mostly wearing crowns and costumes, sitting on a 16-tooth white elephant. It is said that Pu Xian has the virtue of prolonging life. So there appeared a life-prolonging bodhisattva statue of Pu Xian, praying for life extension.

Tibetan bodhisattva. One of the four Buddhists in China. He made a big wish: "All beings will prove Bodhi, and the hell will not be empty, and they will never become Buddhas." The first volume of Ten Wheels of Tibetan Scriptures was named after "peaceful and motionless, like the earth, quiet and thoughtful, like a secret treasure". According to the book The Wishing Sutra of Tibetan Bodhisattva, Tibetan Buddhism was instructed by Sakyamuni Buddha the next day. Before the extinction of Sakyamuni Buddha and the birth of Maitreya Buddha, he volunteered to try his best to save all sentient beings and become a Buddha. According to Biography of Song Monks (Volume 20, etc. ), Dizang was originally a Silla royal family, and its surname was Jin Qiao Ming Jue. After becoming a monk, he came to China to enter Jiuhua Mountain when Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty in China. He lived in silence for decades and was in good health (reading "Meat Meat"), so he entered the tower all over. It is said that the moon in Jiuhua Mountain is the place where Tibetan Bodhisattva gets the Tao. Ten rounds of scriptures in Tibetan areas are listed in the book "Zhancha Good and Evil Cause". Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva has countless and incredible extraordinary merits, which are unheard of by all people in the world and cannot be measured by his sleep. From the past great compassion wishes, we often show infinitely different incarnations such as the body of the Brahma King, the body of the emperor, the body of Yamaraja, the body of a lion, the body of a tiger, the body of a wolf, the body of an ox and a horse, and even the body of Luo Cha and the body of hell, so as to educate all living beings to eliminate disasters and increase happiness at the request of all living beings, and to mature the good roots of all living beings, so it is also called "a thousand-body hiding place". According to the book "The Wishing Sutra of the Earth-Tibet Bodhisattva", the Earth-Tibet Bodhisattva has won ten rewards, but in order to educate the public, it is still lonely and unwilling to become a Buddha. If you sincerely call the name of Bodhisattva Dizang and worship the image of Bodhisattva Dizang, you can get rid of all your worries, stay out of evil ways, and get ten kinds of benefits: a land of wealth, a house of eternal life, an early death, a new life, a desire, a fire without water, a waste of time, an end to nightmares, access to divine protection, and suffering from holy causes.

Guanyin Bodhisattva, also known as Guanyin Bodhisattva, Guanzi Bodhisattva and Guangshiyin Bodhisattva, etc. Literally, it means "observing the voice of the people in the world" and is one of the four great bodhisattvas. In Buddhism, he was the last bodhisattva under the seat of Amitabha, the former leader of the Western Heaven. Together with the Great Bodhisattva, it is a threatening Bodhisattva around Amitabha, also known as the "Three Sages of the West". Guanyin Bodhisattva was developed from the Sanskrit Bodhisattva Guanyin. The Chinese transliteration of "Napo Lou Ji is low in loss" and "Ajan Road is extremely low in humidity" means "ignoring the world's sound". In China, before the Tang Dynasty, it was called Guanyin Bodhisattva, but later it was changed to Guanyin Bodhisattva to avoid the taboo of Emperor Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty. It is said that Amitabha is his father and Bodhisattva is his brother.

The Infinite Life Sutra records that both Bodhisattva and Guanyin Bodhisattva are alternate buddhas of Amitabha's western pure land of bliss.

Guanyin Bodhisattva is a common folk sacrificial bodhisattva in East Asia. The image of Guanyin Bodhisattva is also the most common among various Buddhist images or statues, with a wide variety and great changes.

Avalokitesvara in white, also known as Avalokitesvara in white and Guanyin in white, has a more feminine image. Sometimes, a boy stands at the foot of Guanyin in white, or holds a baby in his hand, and then he becomes the "Guanyin" or "Guanyin" worshipped by eager children.

1. Classification of Bodhisattvas

According to the practice level of Buddhism, bodhisattvas are divided into intimidating bodhisattvas and offering bodhisattvas.

The coerced bodhisattva is the highest-level bodhisattva in practice, and its practice consciousness is second only to or equal to that of Buddha. Before becoming a Buddha, he was always by the Buddha's side, helping him to promote Buddhism and educate all beings. According to the theory of Buddhism, there are countless buddhas in ten countries in the world, one is a Buddhist country and the other is a Buddhist sentient being. And every Buddha has two or more threatened bodhisattvas. Therefore, no one can tell or calculate the number of threatened bodhisattvas in Buddhism. Eight Bodhisattvas are often painted in cave murals. That is, the left and right servants of Sakyamuni Buddha: Manjusri Bodhisattva and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva. Amitabha's left and right servants: Guanyin Bodhisattva and Shi Zhi Bodhisattva. The left and right attendants of the pharmacist Buddha: Sunlight Bodhisattva and Moonlight Bodhisattva. There are Maitreya Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. These are famous bodhisattvas in Buddhist scriptures, and some unknown bodhisattvas are painted next to the Buddha, also known as intimidating bodhisattvas.

The portrait of the threatening bodhisattva, like the portrait of the Buddha, has certain fingerprints. For example, Guanyin Bodhisattva holds a pure bottle and Yang Liuzhi, and there is a Buddha in the crown of heaven. Bodhisattva holds lotus flowers, and the crown of heaven has Aquarius. Manjusri Bodhisattva rides a green lion with a sword. Bodhisattva samantabhadra holds wishful thinking or scriptures and takes a white body with six teeth. Bodhisattva Dizang, wearing a cassock and a Pilu crown, is a statue of a monk, holding Ruyi Zhu Bao and Zhang Xi.

A bodhisattva who supports Buddha and promotes Buddhism at a lower level than intimidating Bodhisattva. In Buddhism, there are three kinds of offerings: one is for profit, that is, offerings of fragrant flowers, incense, lamps, food and wealth. Second, respect and support, namely politeness, worship, praise and praise. The third is to support, that is, to serve the three treasures, to observe the precepts, and to cultivate good laws. Also known as financial support, legal support and observation support. A bodhisattva who really serves the Buddha and preaches Buddhism. It is often painted under the Buddha seat or on both sides of the Buddha disciples. There are many images of standing, sitting, squatting and kneeling. Such as playing music, singing and dancing, offering flowers, worshipping incense, burning lamps, bowing down, holding scriptures, attending the meeting, listening to dharma, visualizing and meditating. Can be said to support the bodhisattva. Different from threatening bodhisattvas, offering bodhisattvas has certain rules and fingerprints, and artists can create at will, so offering bodhisattvas has more forms and quantities than threatening bodhisattvas.

According to the sects of Buddhism, bodhisattvas can be divided into immortal bodhisattvas and tantric bodhisattvas.

Zhang Xian Bodhisattva is a statue of Bodhisattva drawn according to Zhang Xian's teachings and rituals. This kind of Bodhisattva, also called Zhengbodhisattva, is just like ordinary people. It is a poem with two arms, solemn Buddhism, compassionate face and graceful posture. Such as the Eight Dangers Bodhisattva, all kinds of postures to support the Bodhisattva.

Tantric Bodhisattva is a bodhisattva statue drawn according to the teachings and rituals of famous sects. This kind of bodhisattva is different from ordinary people, with many arms and eyes. For example, Avalokitesvara with dragon head arm, Avalokitesvara with eleven faces, Avalokitesvara with a thousand hands, Manjusri with a thousand bowls, Avalokitesvara with endless rope, Avalokitesvara with wishful wheels and so on. Among the tantric bodhisattvas, there are Han tantric bodhisattvas and Tibetan tantric bodhisattvas. The Buddhism of Tantric Bodhisattva in Han Dynasty is the same as that of Zong Zheng Bodhisattva, except that there are more poems, more arms, more eyes, more compassion in face and more manners. However, the image of Tibetan tantric bodhisattva is quite different from that of Han-handed bodhisattva, which is not only multi-armed, multi-headed and multi-eyed, but some bodhisattvas are even more ferocious and terrible.

There are the largest number of portraits of Xianzong Bodhisattva in Dunhuang Grottoes, and there are only tantric Bodhisattva in the early Tang Dynasty, and the number is very small. There were Tibetan tantric bodhisattvas in the Yuan Dynasty, and only one of the 465 caves was painted with Tibetan tantric bodhisattvas.

Among all kinds of bodhisattva statues, Guanyin bodhisattva has the most types, which can be roughly divided into three categories:

The first category is Guanyin, a famous Buddhist family, with two arms on one side, sitting or standing, and the practice is solemn.

The second kind is Tantric Guanyin, which is painted according to the Buddhist Tantric etiquette. It has many songs, many arms, thousands of hands and thousands of eyes, and various ways of crying.

The third category is Guanyin, which does not abide by the Buddhist rules and regulations. The painter creates his own style according to people's wishes, portrays it at will and names it at will. Such as Shuiyue Guanyin, Baiyi Guanyin, Baoxiang Guanyin, Chua's Guan Jian, Zhu Feng Guanyin, Dishui Guanyin, Songzi Guanyin, Fish blue Guanyin and Yangzhi Guanyin. There are many images of Guanyin in this type, including 25 Guanyin and 33 Guanyin among the people.

The above three types of Guanyin have portraits in Dunhuang Grottoes. The first two are more, and the latter is less.

2. The name of the Bodhisattva

Bodhisattva is the abbreviation of Sanskrit transliteration "Bodhisattva". Bodhi's Chinese translation is consciousness, while Sa 'di's Chinese translation is sentient beings, or sentient beings (all sentient animals). The whole translation should refer to: sentient beings, Taoist sentient beings and sentient beings. According to the meaning of this word, in the Buddhist scriptures translated in ancient China, Bodhisattva was also translated into names such as "Shikai, Master, Sage, Chen Fa". For example, Guanyin Bodhisattva is called "Master Guanyin" and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva is called "Pu Xian Sage".

During the Hinayana period when Buddhism was just established, only Prince Siddhartha, the predecessor of Sakyamuni's eternal practice and not yet a Buddha, was called a bodhisattva. After the establishment of Mahayana Buddhism, according to the theory that "everyone has Buddha nature, and everyone can become a Buddha", all sentient beings who aim high, seek Buddha's way and descend to Buddha are called bodhisattvas. Later, the name was more extensive and secular, and people called those monks and nuns who were proficient in Buddhism and worshipped at home bodhisattvas.

3. Bodhisattva evolution

Guanyin Bodhisattva is one of the most admired Bodhisattvas in China, and people even admire Guanyin Bodhisattva more than Buddha. Among all kinds of Buddhist portraits and statues, Guanyin Bodhisattva has a wide variety and great changes. Understand the evolution of Guanyin bodhisattva, and understand the evolution of all bodhisattvas.

Now people regard Guanyin Bodhisattva as a beautiful and kind-hearted "Mother of the East", but people don't know if Guanyin Bodhisattva was originally an animal. Guanyin bodhisattva has a long evolution process from an animal to a person and from a gentleman to an oriental beauty. According to Mr. Xu Jingbo's research on Guanyin Bodhisattva and other scholars' research, as early as the 7th century BC, before Buddhism came into being, Guanyin was already found in the Rigveda, an ancient Indian brahmin sutra. However, Guanyin at that time was not a corpse or a daughter, but a pair of lovely twin ponies. As a good god in Brahmanism, it symbolizes compassion, kindness and great power. It can make the eyes of the blind see again, patients recover, limbs are sound, infertile women give birth, bulls give birth, and dead trees bloom. Guanyin was widely believed and revered by ancient Indian subjects at that time, which had a great and far-reaching impact on the whole society.

In the fifth century BC, Sakyamuni founded Buddhism. Buddhism advocates the liberation of slaves and the equality of all beings. More perfect and progressive than Brahmanism. Buddhism gradually influenced Brahmins and converted them to Buddhism. Brahmins who converted to Buddhism found it difficult to change all their beliefs for a while, so they brought Guanyin in Brahmanism into Buddhism and became a good god in Buddhism.

In the third century BC, Mahayana Buddhism came into being. In order to appease the hearts of all beings, Buddhists formally absorbed Guanyin, a good god in primitive Brahmanism, and became a charitable bodhisattva in Buddhism, known as Guanyin Bodhisattva. At that time, the image of Guanyin Bodhisattva Matou was still a lovely horse. Around A.D., Buddhists may consider that other bodhisattvas are all human bodies, and Guanyin is an animal body, which is too inappropriate, so they changed "Guanyin at the head of the horse" into a human body. When the earth is Guanyin Bodhisattva, the animal body becomes the human body.

In Dunhuang Mogao GrottoesNo. 16 1, there is a statue of Guanyin at the head of a horse, but this Guanyin at the head of a horse is a kind-hearted bodhisattva, only wearing a high helmet crown on the head. Buddhism Tantric Buddhism has a statue of Guanyin at Matou, which is one of the six Guanyin in Tantric fetus. This may be a relic of Guanyin's transformation from a horse to a person.

In order to remind people that Guanyin Bodhisattva is a human being, not an animal, Buddhists have also fabricated an incredible "resume" for Guanyin Bodhisattva, so that Guanyin Bodhisattva can be completely "Buddhist". There is a saying in many Buddhist scriptures: Guanyin Bodhisattva was originally a big prince without pure thoughts in the ancient Indian wheel king. The Chinese Classic of Sorrow and Music says: "There is a sage and a wheel, and the name is not pure. Wang, the first prince named Wang Xiang, namely Manjusri Bodhisattva; The eighth son was named Mudu, the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra. The first king made a big wish to relieve the suffering of all sentient beings in the world, and later it was the turn of the king to become a Buddha, that is, Amitabha. After decades of practice, the prince also became a Buddha, known as "Dharma and Buddha". In order to realize his great wish, get rid of the bitter traffic class in the world and make all beings happy, he is now a bodhisattva, assisting the Buddha and carrying forward his teachings. So Guanyin Bodhisattva became the left servant of her father Amitabha, and her brother became her father's right servant.

According to the research of Buddhist experts, Buddhism was introduced to China in the late Western Han Dynasty (1st century AD), and Guanyin Bodhisattva came to China with the spread of Buddhism during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties when Buddhism flourished in China. When Guanyin Bodhisattva was introduced to China, it was already the left-handed follower of Amitabha, the founder of the Western Pure Land, in the Sutra of Infinite Life, Infinite Life and Amitabha. According to Hua Yan Jing, a wealthy teenager visited Guanyin. In Luojiashan, Putuo, "I saw a brave husband enjoying himself and talking with the great bodhisattvas in the stone Gu Lin and diamonds." At this time, avalokitesvara Buddha was Amitabha's "follower" and "brave and comfortable", and Amitabha was born as a prince, not his daughter's avalokitesvara Buddha. Therefore, the statues and portraits of Guanyin Bodhisattva in the early days were all in the shape of a man and a man.

With the widespread spread of Buddhism in China, especially in China, the prestige of Guanyin Bodhisattva in China is increasing day by day, which mentions the beliefs of the lower classes. People created many avalokitesvara bodhisattvas according to their own wishes. Guanyin Bodhisattva also broke away from the threatened bodhisattvas among the "Three Saints of the West" and became the most popular Buddhist good god. After centuries of China and evolution of Buddhism, Guanyin Bodhisattva gradually alienated, and monks and nuns in China not only turned this foreign "good god" into a "good god" in China, but also turned this "brave husband" into a beautiful woman.

In order to convince believers that Guanyin Bodhisattva is really a beautiful and moving woman with a kind face and a kind heart, Buddhist believers in China have fabricated many touching stories for Guanyin. Among them, Xiangshan biography is the most extensive. The central idea of the story is that Guanyin Bodhisattva turned out to be the fifth daughter of the ancient king, and her name was Miao Shan. Yincui gorge Miao Shan is smart and beautiful, and she has been convinced of Buddhism since she was a child. My father married him when he was old. Miaoshan resolutely refused to obey and wanted to cut her hair for Nepal. King Miao Zhuang found that his daughter disobeyed orders and became a monk. Become angry from embarrassment, rate of military forces will capture the temple hill. Immediately beheaded in the capital and made her soul fall into hell. When the Jade Emperor heard the news, he ordered Miao Shan, the prince of Yan, to save his soul and resurrect Miao Shan in the purple bamboo forest in Xiangshan. Since then, Miao Shan has become a goddess of mercy. Later, King Miao Zhuang became seriously ill and could not be cured for a long time. The doctor told me that I need my own hands and eyes to cure it. In this case, Wang's eldest daughter Miao Yuan and his second daughter Miao Ying are unwilling to give their hands and eyes. When Miaoshan learned about this, he forgot his father's old grievances, cut off his eyes and hands, made pills and saved his father's life. When King Miao Zhuang learned everything, he felt very guilty. In order to commemorate his beloved daughter, a craftsman was asked to make a statue of Guanyin, "You can't bind a chicken with your hands, but you can see all the way". As a result, the craftsman mistook "all hands and all eyes" for "thousands of hands and thousands of eyes" So a statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva (Miaoshan) with thousands of hands and eyes was created. The legend of this story was formed before the Northern Song Dynasty. This story has been recorded in Song Caijing of Xiangshan Temple in Baofeng County, Henan Province, the book Great Compassion Guanyin Bodhisattva has a long way to go.

According to the existing historical data of Buddhist art and the research of experts, before the Eastern Jin Dynasty, almost all the portraits and statues of bodhisattvas in China were men, a "gentleman". After the Eastern Jin Dynasty, statues and portraits of female bodhisattvas appeared. "Hu Yinglin's Pen Collection" said: "Guanyin statue began in the Southern and Northern Dynasties". During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, a large number of female Guanyin Bodhisattvas appeared. The monk preached in the Tang Dynasty: "Portrait of Brahma in the Song and Qi Dynasties (equivalent to the Northern Wei Dynasty) is full of thick lips, long nose and rich eyes, and looks like a husband. Since the Tang Dynasty, pens and pens have become prostitutes. Therefore, people today boast that Bodhisattva is like an official baby. " (Shi Lan). In the Song Dynasty, Guanyin Bodhisattva was completely feminine. In Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, Guanyin Bodhisattva became more secular. The statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva we see now is an "Oriental Virgin". She imitates the appearance and figure of China women according to the aesthetic point of view of China people, wears China clothes and dresses, and is kind-hearted and beautiful.

Portraits and statues of other bodhisattvas also went through a process from male to female with Guanyin Bodhisattva. This evolution process has gone through four stages: non-male and non-female, male and female, female and male, and complete feminization. This evolution process left obvious traces in Dunhuang Grottoes.

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