Samantabhadra (Bodhisattva)

In Mahayana sutras

In the Lotus Sūtra, Samantabhadra is described at length in the epilogue, called the Samantabhadra Meditation Sutra (), with special detail given to visualization of the bodhisattva, and the virtues of devotion to him.

Samantabhadra is also a key figure in the Āvataṃsaka-sūtra, particularly the last chapter, the Gaṇḍavyūha-sūtra. In the climax of the Gaṇḍavyūha-sūtra, the student Sudhana meets Samantabhadra Bodhisattva who confirms his awakening. Sudhana then merges into Samantabhadra, and Samantabhadra recites a set of popular verses. These verses are known as the Bhadracaripraṇidhāna (Vows of Good Conduct) or Ārya-samantabhadra-caryā-praṇidhāna-rāja (The Royal Vow to follow the Noble Course of Conduct of Samantabhadra). This text which concludes the entire Avatamsaka was very popular in India, East Asia and in Himalayan Buddhism, and it is cited in numerous sources. It was considered to be a dhāraṇī and recited individually as a meritorious text.

Ten great vows

The core of Samantabhadra's aspirations in the Bhadracaripraṇidhāna are the ten great vows of Samantabhadra. The ten great vows of Samantabhadra are the following:

1. to pay homage to all the buddhas;
2. to glorify the qualities of all the tathāgatas;
3. to make ample offerings to all the buddhas;
4. to confess and repent of all one's misdeeds;
5. to rejoice in the merits of others;
6. to always request the preaching of the dharma;
7. to entreat enlightened beings to remain in the world;
8. to always study the teachings of the buddha;
9. [[File:善化寺三圣殿佛坛左侧金代普贤菩萨.jpg|thumb|[[Jin dynasty (1115–1234)|Jin dynasty]] (1115-1234) statue of Puxian as part of a set depicting the Three Noble Ones of [[Huayan]]: [[Vairocana|Piluzhena]], Puxian and [[Wenshu]], at [[Shanhua Temple]] in [[Shanxi]], [[China]].]][[File:Shaka Triad Fugen (Nara National Museum).jpg|thumb|[[Kamakura period]] (1185-1333) painting of Fugen. Held at the [[Nara National Museum]] in [[Nara Prefecture|Nara]], [[Japan]].]]to always respond to sentient beings according to their various needs;
10. to dedicate all merits to sentient beings that they may achieve buddhahood.

The ten vows have become a common practice in East Asian Buddhism, particularly the tenth vow, with many Buddhists traditionally dedicating their merit and good works to all beings during Buddhist liturgies.

Mantras and dharani

Like all important bodhisattvas, several mantras are associated with Samantabhadra. One of these is drawn from a work titled Arya-Buddhoshnisha-Cintamani-Mahadharani:om̐ samantabhadra sam svāhāThe Sarvadurgatiparishodana tantra contains the following mantra

om̐ samantabhadre hūm̐ Sam is Samantabhadra's seed syllable.

The Dharanisamgraha meanwhile contains the following dharani for Samantabhadra: om̐ namaḥ samantabhadrāya bodhisattvāya mahāsattvāya || tadyathā || om̐ samantabhadre sarvottama-mahāprāgbhārakalyāṇaṁ samprāpaya hūm̐ phaṭ svāhā ||Meanwhile the Mahavairocana Sutra contains the following mantra:namaḥ samantabuddhānāṁ saṁ

In East Asian Buddhism

Unlike his more popular counterpart Mañjuśrī, Samantabhadra is only rarely depicted alone and is usually found in a trinity on the right side of Shakyamuni, mounted on Six-tusked White Elephant. In those traditions that accept the Avatamsaka Sutra as their main text (mainly, the Huayan school), Samantabhadra and Manjusri flank Vairocana Buddha, the central Buddha of this particular sutra.

Known as Puxian in Chinese, Samantabhadra is sometimes shown in Chinese art with feminine characteristics, riding an elephant with six tusks while carrying either a lotus leaf 'parasol' (Sanskrit: chatra), ruyi scepter, or sutra scroll, bearing similar dress and features to some feminine depictions of Guanyin. It is in this guise that Samantabhadra is revered as the patron bodhisattva of the monasteries associated with Mount Emei in western China. Some believe that the white elephant mount of Samantabhadra was the same elephant that appeared to Queen Maya, the mother of the Buddha, to herald his birth.

Mahayana esoteric traditions sometimes treat Samantabhadra as one of the 'Primordial' (Sanskrit: Dharmakaya) Buddhas, but the main primordial Buddha is considered to be Mahāvairocana.

Tibetan Buddhism

In Tibetan Buddhism, Samantabhadra (Tibetan: Kuntuzangpo) is a name that refers to two different beings:

• The Bodhisattva Samantabhadra, one of the eight main bodhisattva attendants of Shakyamuni Buddha, i.e. one of the "eight close sons."
• The Primordial Buddha (Adi-Buddha) Samantabhadra (known as Vajradhara in the Sarma traditions). Samantabhadra Buddha appears in the Kunjed Gyalpo Tantra, as the "All-Creating King", the "embodiment" (Sanskrit: kaya) or "field" (kṣetra) of "timeless awareness, gnosis" (Sanskrit: jñāna). This Buddha is ultimate reality, which according to Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche is "the unity of awareness and emptiness, the unity of appearances and emptiness, the nature of mind, natural clarity with unceasing compassion." This Buddha appears in various Nyingma sources, like The Mirror of the Mind of Samantabhadra, one of the Seventeen Tantras of Dzogchen.

Gallery

File:Samantabhadra (Bodhisattva of Universal Kindness), Fengxian Temple, Longmen Grottoes (10241060066).jpg|Tang dynasty (618-907) statue of Puxian at Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, Henan, China. File:佛光寺普贤菩萨组群.jpg|Tang dynasty (618-907) statues of Puxian surrounded by attendant bodhisattvas and a heavenly king at Foguang Temple in Wutai, Shanxi, China. File:Taiyuan 2009 660.jpg|link=|Statue of Puxian at Tianlongshan Grottoes in Shanxi, China. Flanking a central statue of Shiyimian Guanyin together with the bodhisattvas Wenshu. File:China, Southern Song dynasty - Samantabhadra - 1962.161 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif|link=|Song dynasty (960-1279) painting of Puxian. Held at the Cleveland Museum of Art in Ohio, USA. File:Yulin Cave 3 w wall Samantabhadra (Western Xia).jpg|link=|Western Xia (1038-1227) mural of Puxian at the Yulin Cave in Gansu, China. File:Samantabhadra of Shizhongshan Caves.JPG|Late Nanzhao (738-902) to early Dali period (937-1253) stone carving of Puxian as part of a triad together with the Buddha Piluzhena and the Bodhisattva Wenshu at the Shizhongshan Grottes in Dali Bai, Yunnan, China. File:Bodhisattva Samantabhadra, China, Ming dynasty, c. 1500 AD, wood - Linden-Museum - Stuttgart, Germany - DSC03621.jpg|Ming dynasty (1368-1644) statue of Puxian. Held at the Linden Museum in Stuttgart, Germany. Carved around 1500. File:Ming Bronze Samantabhadra Bodhisattva (9843342595).jpg|Ming dynasty (1368-1644) statue of Puxian. Held at the National Museum of China in Beijing, China. File:崇善寺-2.jpg|Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644) statue of Puxian in Chongshan Temple, Shanxi, China. File:罗聘 普贤菩萨像轴.jpg|Qing dynasty (1644-1912) painting of Puxian with his six-tusked white elephant mount by Luo Ping. Held at the Shanghai Museum in Shanghai, China. File:Mount Emei - Sunrise above the clouds.jpg|Statue of Puxian on the summit of Mount Emei in Sichuan, China. File:Statue of Samantabhadra in Baoning Temple 20220225.jpg|Statue of Puxian in Baoning Temple in Changsha, Hunan, China. File:九天禅院 普贤菩萨2.jpg|link=|Statue of Puxian at Jiutian Chan Temple in Tiantan Garden in Shantou, Guangdong, China. File:海南国际旅游岛——海南永庆寺神位（西向） - panoramio (1).jpg|Statue of Puxian at Yongqing Temple in Chengmai, Hainan, China. File:Mahavira Hall, Zhaoshan Temple, 14 March 2021E.jpg|Statue of Puxian at the Daxiong Baodian of Zhaoshan Temple in Xiangtan, Hunan, China. File:Statue of Samantabhadra, Mahavira Hall, Zifu Temple (Zhuzhou) 20250323.jpg|Statue of Puxian at Zifu Temple in Zhuzhou, Hunan, China. File:Samantabhadra statue in Jingshan Temple 2023.jpg|Statue of Puxian at Jingshan Temple in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. File:圓光禪寺大雄寶殿普賢菩薩 01 20250622.jpg|Statue of Puxian at the Daxiong Baodian of Yuanguang Chan Temple in Taoyuan, Taiwan. File:清水紫雲巖 (11)普賢菩薩像.jpg|Statue of Puxian at Zi Yun Yan in Taichung, Taiwan. File:Taipeh Longshan-Tempel Mitteltempel Halle 8.jpg|Statue of Puxian at Bangka Lungshan Temple in Taipei, Taiwan. File:Phổ Hiền Bồ Tát - Chùa Vạn Phật - TpHCM Quận 5 - VN.jpg|Statue of Pho Hien at Chua Van Phat in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. File:Sa Lin Pun - Samantabhadra on an Elephant with Two Attendants - 219.1915 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tiff|Joseon period (1392-1910) Korean painting of Bohyeon with two attendants. Held at the Cleveland Museum of Art. File:Brooklyn Museum - Bodhisattva Samantabhadra.jpg|Korean painting of Bohyeon. Dated to between 1768 and 1833. Held at the Brooklyn Museum. File:Fugen Bosatsu.jpg|Heian period (794-1331) silk painting of Fugen, pictured in Bodhisattva of Universal Virtue who Prolongs Life, 12th-century. File:《普賢菩薩像》12世紀、平安時代、豊乗寺、鳥取.jpg|Heian period (794-1331) silk painting of Fugen from Bujō-ji in Tottori, Japan. 12th-century. File:Fugen Ten Rasetsunyo (Nara National Museum).jpg|Kamakura period (1185-1333) painting of Fugen with the Ten Rākṣasīs. Held at the Nara National Museum in Nara, Japan. File:Fugen Enmei Matsunoodera.jpg|12th century silk painting of Enmei Fugen. Located at Matsunoo-dera in Maizuru, Kyoto, Japan. File:Fugen Bosatsu by Kano Tanyu (Daisen Akita).jpg|link=|Edo period (1600-1868) painting of Fugen by Kano Tan'yū. File:Fugen, the Bodhisattva of Universal Virtue by Itō Jakuchū.jpg|Edo period (1600-1868) painting of Fugen by Itō Jakuchū. Latter half of 18th century. File:伊藤若冲《普賢菩薩像》18世紀、相国寺.jpg|Edo period (1600-1868) painting of Fugen by Itō Jakuchū. From Shōkoku-ji in Kyoto, Japan. File:Shimamura Shunmei - Seated Bodhisattva Fugen with Book - Walters 71693 - View A.jpg|Meiji period (1868-1912) ivory carving of seated Bodhisattva Fugen with book by Shimamura Shunmei. Made between 1853 and 1896. File:Fugen the life preserver full view.jpg|Fugen Enmei, the Life Preserver. Japan. File:普賢菩薩（飯縄山十三仏）.jpg|Statue of Fugen, one out of a set depicting Thirteen Buddhas, at Mount Iizuna in Nagano, Japan. File:Shitennoji fugenbosatsu.jpg|link=|Statue of Fugen at Shitennō-ji in Osaka, Japan. File:Tibet-5640 (2645007563).jpg|Samanbhadra at the Depung Monastery in Lhasa, Tibet.

Notes

References

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