Thangka Manjushri

Manjushri is regarded as the god of agriculture or celestial architect. He is also the god of science. He has many manifestations such as Vagishvara, Manjughosa, Manjuvara, Vajranga, ect.

He is the bodhisattva of wisdom and is represent as beautiful youth of golden yellow color. In his right hand he has a sword which cuts through ignorance. In his left hand he has a stem of lotus blossom which bears a scripture, perfection of wisdom.

He is regarded as the creator of the Kathmandu valley. He is the patron bodhisattva of the Kadampa (ie. Gelugpa) denomination, famous for its students of the written word -- scholars or geshes. The Sanskrit name Manju-shri is variously interpreted to mean "wonderfully auspicious," or "sweetly glorious." However, in Tibetan his name Jampel-yang (contracted to Jamyang) means "gentle friend." In Chinese, he is called Wen Shu Shi Li; in Japanese, Monju. Another epithet is Vakishvara (Lord of Speech) and it is this aspect of Manjusri that associates him with a great historical teacher known as Manjughosha (the sweet-voiced.) Manjushri is viewed both as a historical bodhisattva, and as an emanation of Vairochana, ("Berotsana," Tibetan: nangpar nangdze, Jap.: Dainichi Nyorai) the primordial white Buddha that is compared to the sun -- his nature is "everywhere-pervading." He manifests as a bodhisattva to provoke investigation into such topics as Emptiness (or, void-ness,) free will, and the nature of the self. When the primordial Buddha Vairochana vowed to emanate throughout the universe as the princely and ever-youthful, bodhisattva of Wisdom, his purpose was to lead beings in an inquiry whereby they could discover the true nature of reality. For that reason, he is usually depicted displaying the two tools essential to that investigation: in his right hand he wields the double-edged sword of logic or analytic discrimination and in his left, the Prajnaparamita Sutra, the text of the teaching on Emptiness. This teaching is fundamental to all forms of Buddhism and for that reason it is often called "Mother of All Buddhas." It is cushioned on the lotus of Compassion. Manjushri's sword of discriminating wisdom is tipped with flames to show that it severs all notions of duality. It can cut away delusion, aversion and longing, to reveal understanding, equanimity and compassion. Sometimes he is depicted with his hands making the gesture of teaching at the level of his heart. Often we see him with a double set of arms, which combines internal and external qualities. In the sutras, Mañjushrî is described as inhabiting a Pure Land (or, "heaven") in another universe, where he dwells as the Buddha he actually is. Since the 7th century, he has been inextricably linked to the 5 Sacred Peaks (Wu-tai Shan -- "Five-mountain Paradise," Tib: Riwo Tsenga) of China. There, as Wen-Shu Shi-Li, Manjushri is depicted as a boy with his hair in 5 bunches ("5 peaks") The northeastern Chinese location is still an important place of pilgrimage for Tibetans, Mongolians, Chinese and other Buddhists.