Digital Dictionary of Buddhism

DDB Top Page 
 
 
  XML source

普賢

Pronunciations

Basic Meaning: full extension of compassion

Senses:

  • Perfect compassion, universal compassion of the Buddha. [Charles Muller; source(s): Nakamura]
  • A practitioner; someone in the causal stage. [Charles Muller; source(s): Nakamura]
  • Samantabhadra bodhisattva 普賢菩薩. Also Viśvabhadra. Universal sagacity, or favor; lord of the fundamental principle 理, the dhyāna, and the practice of all buddhas. He represents the practice and meditation of all the buddhas, as contrasted to Mañjuśrī 文殊 who represents wisdom and realization. He is the right hand attendant of Śākyamuni in Buddhist temple iconography, symbolizing the teaching, meditation, and practice of the Buddha, and is often portrayed mounted on a white elephant with six tusks. He serves as an interlocutor to the Buddha in many Mahāyāna sūtras, being most closely associated with the Huayan tradition. His region is in the east. The esoteric school has its own special representation of him, with emphasis on the sword indicative of principle as the basis of wisdom. According to the Avataṃsaka-sūtra 華嚴經, Samantabhadra made ten great vows which are regarded as the basic vows of a bodhisattva. (Tib. Kun tu bzang po; Mon. Гүндэсамбуу, Самандaбадраа, Хамгаар Сайн) Transliterated as 三曼多跛憺羅 and 三曼陀跋陀羅. [Charles Muller; source(s): Nakamura,Soothill, Hirakawa]
  • In esoteric Buddhism, The bodhisattva occupying the southeast direction in the center court of the eight-petaled lotus 中臺八葉院 in the Garbhadhātu maṇḍala 胎藏界曼荼羅. Seed syllable: aṃ. Secret name 密號: *Tathatā-vajra 眞如金剛. His mudrā is the lotus añjali 蓮華合掌. His mantra 眞言: namaḥ samantabuddhānāṃ aṃ aḥ svāhā. The color of white flesh 白肉色, he is seated on a lotus 蓮華. His left hand holds a lotus, atop which is placed an upright sword. His right hand is the excellence of three karmas mudrā 三業妙善印. He is crowned with the cap of five buddhas 五佛冠. He signals the development of virtues related to bodhicitta 菩提心. The Darijing shu 大日經疏 (T 1796; fasc. 1) defines samanta 普 as 'pervading everywhere'  遍一切處, and bhadra 賢 as most profound goodness 最妙善. He represents the vows and practices 願行 that arise with bodhicitta via body, speech and mind 身口意 which pervade all places equally.

    References:

    Somekawa, Eisuke, Michihiko Komine, Tenyū Koyama, Hisao Takahashi, and Takayuki Hirosawa. 1993. Mandara zuten 曼荼羅図典 . Tokyo:  Daihōrinkaku.

    [Jeffrey Kotyk; source(s): FGD]
  • The name of a lake in Uttarakuru. See T 24.1.315a8 [Charles Jones; source(s): T24]
  • CJKV-E
  • Search SAT
  • Search INBUDS Database

    • Feedback

    [Dictionary References]

    Zengaku daijiten (Komazawa U.) 1069a

    A Glossary of Zen Terms (Inagaki) 63, 326, 437

    Zenrin shōkisen (Mujaku Dōchū) 142/110

    Zen Dust (Sasaki) 260, 277, 339

    Bukkyōgo daijiten (Nakamura) 1179d

    Fo Guang Dictionary 5000

    Ding Fubao

    Buddhist Chinese-Sanskrit Dictionary (Hirakawa) 0604

    Bussho kaisetsu daijiten (Ono) ⑨221a

    Bukkyō daijiten (Mochizuki) (v.1-6)4494c

    Bukkyō daijiten (Oda) 1517-1

    Copyright provisions

    The rights to textual segments (nodes) of the DDB are owned by the author indicated in the brackets next to each segment. For rights regarding the compilation as a whole, please contact Charles Muller. Please do not reproduce without permission. And please do not copy into Wikipedia without proper citation!

    Entry created: 1993-09-01

    Updated: 2017-07-17