Mañjuśrī मञ्जुश्री 文殊菩薩
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 padma (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.
Scholars have identified Mañjuśrī as the oldest and most significant bodhisattva in Mahāyāna literature. Mañjuśrī is first referred to in early Mahāyāna sūtras such as the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras and through this association, very early in the tradition he came to symbolize the embodiment of prajñā (transcendent wisdom). The Lotus Sutra (法華經) assigns him a pure land called Vimala, which according to the Avatamsaka Sutra (華嚴經) is located in the East.
He is one of the Four Great Bodhisattvas of Chinese Buddhism, the other three being Kṣitigarbha, Avalokiteśvara, and Samantabhadra. In China, he is often paired with Samantabhadra.
Samantabhadra (समन्तभद्र "Universal Worthy" 普賢菩薩 Pǔxián Púsà) is a bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism associated with practice and meditation. Together with Gautama Buddha and his fellow bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, he forms the Shakyamuni trinity in Buddhism. He is the patron of the Lotus Sutra and, according to the Avatamsaka Sutra, made the ten great vows which are the basis of a bodhisattva. In Chinese Buddhism, Samantabhadra is known as Pǔxián and is associated with action, whereas Mañjuśrī is associated with prajñā (transcendent wisdom).
Mañjuśrī is known in China as 文殊菩薩 Wénshū Púsà. Mount Wutai in Shanxi, one of the four Sacred Mountains of China, is considered by Chinese Buddhists to be his bodhimaṇḍa. He was said to bestow spectacular visionary experiences to those on selected mountain peaks and caves there. In Mount Wutai's Foguang Temple, the Manjusri Hall to the right of its main hall was recognized to have been built in 1137 during the Jin dynasty.
文殊菩薩的名字意譯為「妙吉祥」、「妙樂」（英文：Gentle Glory）；Mañju，音譯爲「文殊」或「曼殊」，意為美妙、雅致，śrī，音譯爲「師利」或「室利」，意為吉祥、美觀、莊嚴。
A mantra (曼特羅真言、神咒、秘密語、梵頌) commonly associated with Mañjuśrī is the following:
Oṃ arapacana dhīḥ (listen 1, 2, 3)
《文殊真實名經》(梵文：Mañjuśrījñāmasaṃgīti Sutra)中，佛陀讚嘆文殊師利菩薩廣大功德，並說其文殊師利心咒：「嗡啊惹巴紮那」或「阿囉跛者曩」，梵文天城體：「अ र प च न」，梵文轉寫：「A Ra Pa Ca Na」，藏音：「Om A ra Pa Tsa/Za Na Dhih」 。藏傳咒比漢譯多最後一個音節「地」，被認為是「一切覺者對智慧的體驗」。
The Arapacana is a syllabary consisting of forty-two letters, and is named after the first five letters: a, ra, pa, ca, na.
The Sutra on Perfect Wisdom (Conze 1975) defines the significance of each syllable thus:
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A is a door to the insight that all dharmas are unproduced from the very beginning (ādya-anutpannatvād).
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RA is a door to the insight that all dharmas are without dirt (rajas).
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PA is a door to the insight that all dharmas have been expounded in the ultimate sense (paramārtha).
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CA is a door to the insight that the decrease (cyavana) or rebirth of any dharma cannot be apprehended, because all dharmas do not decrease, nor are they reborn.
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NA is a door to the insight that the names (i.e. nāma) of all dharmas have vanished; the essential nature behind names cannot be gained or lost.
The mantra improves one's skills in debating, memory, writing, and other literary abilities. "Dhīḥ" is the seed syllable of the mantra and is chanted with greater emphasis.
The Yungang Grottoes 雲崗石窟, formerly the Wuzhoushan Grottoes, are ancient Chinese Buddhist temple grottoes near the city of Datong in the province of Shanxi.
An example of a wisdom teaching of Mañjuśrī can be found in the Saptaśatikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra (Taishō Tripiṭaka 232). This sūtra contains a dialogue between Mañjuśrī and the Buddha on the One Samādhi (Skt. Ekavyūha Samādhi). Sheng-yen (聖嚴) renders the following teaching of Mañjuśrī, for entering samādhi naturally through transcendent wisdom:
"Contemplate the five skandhas as originally empty and quiescent, non-arising, non-perishing, equal, without differentiation. Constantly thus practicing, day or night, whether sitting, walking, standing or lying down, finally one reaches an inconceivable state without any obstruction or form. This is the Samadhi of One Act (yixing sanmei, 一行三昧)."
