China: Detail of a hanging scroll painting of the Bodhisattva Manjusri from the Mogao Caves, Dunhuang, 9th century CE. Mañjuśrī is depicted as a male bodhisattva wielding a flaming sword in his right hand, representing the realisation of transcendent wisdom which cuts down ignorance and duality. The scripture supported by the lotus held in his left hand is a Prajñāpāramitā sūtra, representing his attainment of ultimate realization from the blossoming of wisdom. Mañjuśrī is often depicted as riding on a blue lion, or sitting on the skin of a lion.
Mañjuśrī is depicted as a male bodhisattva wielding a flaming sword in his right hand, representing the realization of transcendent wisdom which cuts down ignorance and duality. The scripture supported by the lotus held in his left hand is a Prajñāpāramitā sūtra, representing his attainment of ultimate realization from the blossoming of wisdom. Mañjuśrī is often depicted as riding on a blue lion, or sitting on the skin of a lion. This represents the use of wisdom to tame the mind, which is compared to riding or subduing a ferocious lion. He is one of the Four Great Bodhisattvas of Chinese Buddhism, the other three being: Bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha, Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, and Bodhisattva Samantabhadra. In China, he is often paired with Bodhisattva Samantabhadra. In Tibetan Buddhism Manjushri is sometimes depicted in a trinity with Avalokiteśvara (Tib. Chenrazig) and Vajrapāṇi (Tibetan: Channa Dorje).
Size: 4031px × 4552px
Photo credit: © Pictures From History / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 9th, art, arts, asia, asian, blade, bodhisattva, buddhism, buddhist, caves, century, china, chinese, dunhuang, east, faith, gansu, grottoes, hanging, heritage, historical, history, image, images, jewel, jiao, lion, lotus, manjusri, mogao, myth, mythical, mythological, mythology, painting, paintings, pictures, religion, religious, san, scroll, site, sword, unesco, white, world
