User:Immanuelle/Ksitigarbha

Kṣitigarbha
Sanskrit	क्षितिगर्भ IAST: Kṣitigarbha
Chinese	地藏菩萨, 地藏菩薩 Pinyin: Dìzàng pú sà
Japanese	じぞうぼさつ Romaji: Jizō Bosatsu
Korean	지장보살 RR: Jijang Bosal
Thai	พระกษิติครรภโพธิสัตว์
Tibetan	ས་ཡི་སྙིང་པོ་ THL Simplified Phonetic Transcription: Sa Yi Nyingpo
Vietnamese	Địa Tạng Bồ Tát
Information
Venerated by	Mahāyāna, Vajrayāna

Kṣitigarbha (Sanskrit: क्षितिगर्भ, Japanese: 地蔵, Standard Tibetan: ས་ཡི་སྙིང་པོ་ Wylie: sa yi snying po) is a bodhisattva primarily revered in East Asian Buddhism and usually depicted as a Buddhist monk. His name can be translated as "Earth Treasury", "Earth Store", "Earth Matrix", or "Earth Womb". Kṣitigarbha is known for his vow to teach all beings in the six worlds between the death of Gautama Buddha and the rise of Maitreya, and his vow not to achieve Buddhahood until all hells are emptied. He is often regarded as the bodhisattva of hell-beings, the guardian of children, and the patron deity of deceased children and aborted fetuses in Japanese culture. Usually depicted as a monk with a halo around his shaved head, he carries a staff to open the gates of hell and a wish-fulfilling jewel to light up the darkness.

Sources

As a Brahmin maiden

The story of Kṣitigarbha is first told in the Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva Pūrvapraṇidhāna Sūtra, a popular Mahayana sutras text. The Buddha is said to have spoken this sutra towards the end of his life to the beings of the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven to honor his mother, Maya.

The sutra was translated from Sanskrit into Chinese between 695 and 700 CE during the Tang dynasty by the monk Śikṣānanda. Some scholars think the text may have originated in China, as no Sanskrit manuscripts have been found. The text promotes filial piety, often linked to Chinese culture. Some scholars, like Gregory Schopen, say Indian Buddhism also had traditions of filial piety. There is no clear evidence for either Indian or Chinese origin.

In the sutra, the Buddha says that long ago, Kṣitigarbha was a Brahmin girl named Sacred Girl. She was troubled by her mother's death, as her mother had often slandered the Three Jewels. To save her mother from hell, the girl sold her belongings to make daily offerings to the Buddha of her time, the Buddha of the Flower of Meditation and Enlightenment. She prayed for her mother's release from hell.

While praying at the temple, she heard the Buddha telling her to go home, sit down, and recite his name to know where her mother was. She did as told, and her consciousness was taken to a Hell realm. A guardian told her that her mother's merit from the girl's prayers and offerings had allowed her to ascend to heaven. "Sacred Girl" was relieved, but seeing the suffering in Hell, she vowed to help beings in future lives for kalpas.

As a Buddhist monk

Kṣitigarbha painting, Goryeo, late 14th century

There is a legend about how Kṣitigarbha appeared in China and chose Mount Jiuhua as his place of practice.

During the reign of Emperor Ming of Han, Buddhism flourished and spread to Korea. One pilgrim was a former prince from Silla named Kim Gyo-gak, who became a monk named Dizang "Kṣitigarbha," or Jijang in Korean. He went to Mount Jiuhua in present-day Anhui and built a hut in the mountains to practice.

According to records, Jijang was bitten by a venomous snake but did not move, letting the snake go. A woman passing by gave him medicine and a spring on her son's behalf. Jijang meditated in his hut for a few years until a scholar named Chu-Ke visited the mountain with friends and family. They saw the monk meditating, noticed his empty bowl, and his grown-back hair.

Feeling pity, Chu-Ke decided to build a temple for him. They descended the mountain to plan. Mount Jiuhua was owned by Elder Wen-Ke, who agreed to build the temple. Wen-Ke and the group asked Jijang how much land he needed.

Jijang said he needed land covered by his kasaya. They were surprised when Jijang threw the kasaya in the air, and it expanded to cover the entire mountain. Elder Wen-Ke renounced the mountain to Jijang and became his protector. Later, Wen-Ke's son also became a monk.

Jijang lived on Mount Jiuhua for 75 years and passed away at 99. Three years after his nirvana, his tomb was opened, and his body had not decayed. People believed he was an incarnation of Kṣitigarbha.

Jijang's well-preserved body can still be seen at the monastery he built on Mount Jiuhua.

Chinese traditions

Mount Jiuhua in Anhui is regarded as Kṣitigarbha's bodhimaṇḍa. It is one of the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains in China, and at one time had over 300 temples. Today, 95 of these are open to the public. The mountain is a popular pilgrimage site for dedications to Kṣitigarbha. In some Chinese Buddhist legends, the arhat Maudgalyayana, known in Chinese as Mùlián (目連), assists Ksitigarbha in his vow to save the denizens of hell. As a result, Mùlián is also venerated in temples that enshrine Ksitigarbha. In folk beliefs, Ksitigarbha's mount, Diting, is a divine beast that can distinguish good from evil, virtuous, and foolish. It is often enshrined beside Ksitigarbha or portrayed with Ksitigarbha riding on its back.

In some areas, the mix of traditional religions has led to Kṣitigarbha being seen as a deity in Taoism and Chinese folk religion. Kṣitigarbha Temples (Chinese: 地藏庵; pinyin: Dìzàng'ān) are Taoist temples that usually enshrine Kṣitigarbha as the main deity, along with other gods typically related to the Chinese underworld Diyu, such as Yanluo Wang and Heibai Wuchang. Believers usually visit these temples to pray for the blessings of their ancestors and the souls of the dead. The 30th day of the seventh month of the Chinese calendar is celebrated as his birthday.

Japanese traditions

Kṣitigarbha (or in Japanese, Jizō) statue at Osorezan (Mount Osore), Aomori

In Japan, Kṣitigarbha, known as Jizō or Ojizō-sama, is one of the most loved Japanese divinities. His statues are common, especially by roadsides and in graveyards.

Children's limbo legend

In the tradition of Sai no Kawara (賽の河原) or the banks of the Sanzu River, Kṣitigarbha is the protector of the souls of children who are condemned to stack piles of stones. In a later version, recorded by Lafcadio Hearn, oni demons wreck the stone piles and torment the children, who seek haven with Kṣitigarbha, who hides them in his garment and comforts them. In an earlier version, found in the Fuji no hitoana no sōshi (富士人穴草子, "The Tale of the Fuji Cave", c. 1600 or earlier), dead children pile stones at the Sai no Kawara ("Children’s Riverbed Hell"). Winds and flames knock down the stone towers, and the flames reduce the children to cremated bones, which Jizō Bodhisattva revives back to life.

Sentai-Jizō or 1000 Jizō Statues at Nasu, Tochigi. This landscape is compared to Sai no Kawara.

The concept of Sai no Kawara, or children's limbo, first appeared in the Otogizōshi of the Muromachi Period, and "The Tale of the Fuji Cave" related above is one such work. So, the notion developed in the post-medieval era, although it has been associated with the priest Kūya (10th century). The Kṣitigarbha and the Sai no Kawara legend was connected with Kūya and his wasan, or chantings, probably in the 17th century, creating the Jizō wasan. Also, the identification of certain geographic features as Sai no Kawara on Osorezan mountain in northern Japan is of late-Edo period vintage, early to mid 18th century, despite temple pamphlets claiming origins back to the 9th century, with the priest Ennin alleged to have established the place of worship for Kṣitigarbha at Mt. Osore (once called "Mount Usori").

Lost pregnancies

Kṣitigarbha has been worshipped as the guardian of the souls of mizuko, the souls of stillborn, miscarriage, or abortion in the ritual of mizuko kuyō (水子供養, "offering to water children").

Offerings

A small shrine of Kosodate-Jizō or Childcare-Kṣitigarbha at Nishi-Shinjuku, Tokyo

Kṣitigarbha statues are sometimes accompanied by small piles of stones and pebbles, placed by people in the hope of shortening the time children have to suffer in the underworld. (This act comes from building stupas as an act of merit-making.) Traditionally, he is seen as the guardian of children, especially those who died before their parents. The statues can sometimes be seen wearing tiny children's clothing or bibs, or with toys, placed there by grieving parents to help their lost ones and hoping that Kṣitigarbha would protect them. Sometimes the offerings are put there by parents to thank Kṣitigarbha for saving their children from illness. His features are often made to look more baby-like to resemble the children he protects.

Roadside god

As Kṣitigarbha is seen as the savior of souls who suffer in the underworld, his statues are common in cemeteries. He is also believed to be one of the protective deities of travelers, the dōsojin, and roadside statues of Kṣitigarbha are common in Japan. Firefighters are also believed to be under his protection.

Korean painting of Kṣitigarbha as supreme ruler of the Underworld, late 18th century

Joseon dynasty painting of Bodhisattva Jijang (Kṣitigarbha) and the Ten Kings of Hell

Southeast Asian traditions

Statue of Phra Malai from the Phra Malai Manuscript of Thailand, c. 1860-1880

In Theravada, the story of a bhikkhu named Phra Malai with similar qualities to Kṣitigarbha is well known in Southeast Asia, especially in Thailand and Laos. Legend says he was an arhat from Sri Lanka who gained great supernatural powers through merit and meditation. He is also honored as a successor to Mahāmoggallāna, the Buddha's disciple known for his supernatural attainments. In the story, this compassionate monk descends to Hell to teach and comfort the suffering hell-beings. He also learns how the hell-beings are punished according to their sins in different hells.

In popular culture

• The Saviour Monk is a 1975 Hong Kong film starring David Tang wei as Dizang-wang (Ksitigarbha king), and Doris lung Chun-Erh. The film was directed by Liang Che-Fu. By 2020, the movie has been digitally restored by the Hong Kong Embassy In The Philippines and the University of the Philippines Film Institute.
• The vandalism of a Kṣitigarbha statue is the central theme of The Locker, a 2004 Japanese horror and thriller film directed by Kei Horie.
• In the 1988 video game Super Mario Bros. 3, Mario and Luigi gain the ability to turn into Kṣitigarbha statues using the Tanuki suit. This ability returns in the 2011 video game Super Mario 3D Land. Additionally, multiple Kṣitigarbha statues appear in Super Mario Odyssey.
• In the 2004 video game Ninja Gaiden, a defaced Kṣitigarbha statue can be found in the hero's village, with its head knocked off. If you replace the head, the statue's cintamani becomes a "Life of the Gods" item that can extend your maximum health.
• In 2004 Hong Kong drama, My Date with a Vampire III, Ksitigarbha was portrayed by Ricky Chan, also known as Ma Siu-Fu, Ma Siu-Ling's twin brother. He starts a romance with Chang'e and is unaware that she has actually been going around killing people when she cannot control her vampire bloodlust. Later in the series, he is revealed to be the reincarnation of the bodhisattva Ksitigarbha (地藏王; Dìzàng Wáng), who presides over the Underworld and tries to help the souls of the damned get out of Hell. He helps the protagonists in their quest to stop Yaochi Shengmu and Fuxi from fighting and ending the world.
• In the 2022 video game Ghostwire: Tokyo, praying to Kṣitigarbha statues (called Jizo statues in-game) allows the player to carry more ether, which is used to attack enemies.
• In The House of the Lost on the Cape, the ojizōsama play a crucial role in restoring hope to a region devastated by a tsunami.

See also

• Karuṇā (Brahmavihara)
• Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva Pūrvapraṇidhāna Sūtra
• Maliyadeva
• Phra Malai Kham Luang
• Avalokitesvara, Samantabhadra & Manjusri
• King Yama & Yanluo Wang
• Mount Jiuhua & Kim Gyo-gak
• Diting
• Mizuko kuyō
• Butsu Zone, a manga in which Kṣitigarbha is a main character

Bibliography

• Bargen, Doris G. (1992), "Ancestral to None: Mizuko in Kawabata", Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, 19 (4): 337–377, doi:10.18874/jjrs.19.4.1992.337-377, JSTOR 30233481
• Bays, Jan Chozen (2002). Jizo Bodhisattva: Modern Healing and Traditional Buddhist Practice. Tuttle Pub. ISBN 978-0-8048-3189-5.
• Bays, Jan Chozen (2003). Jizo Bodhisattva: Guardian of Children, Travelers, and Other Voyagers. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 978-1-59030-080-0.
• Brooks, Anne Page (1981), "'Mizuko Kuyō' and Japanese Buddhism", Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, 8 (3/4): 119–147, doi:10.18874/jjrs.8.3-4.1981.119-147, JSTOR 30233267, archived from the original on 2016-03-20
• French, Frank G. (ed); Shi, Daoji (trans.)(2003). The Sutra of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha's Fundamental Vows (地藏經), Sutra Translation Committee of the U.S. and Canada/The Corporate Body of the Buddha Educational Foundation Taipei, Taiwan, 2nd ed.
• Glassman, Hank (2012). The Face of Jizo: Image and Cult in Medieval Japanese Buddhism. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-1-59030-080-0.
• Miyazaki, Fumiko; Williams, Duncan (2001), "Ancestral to None: Mizuko in Kawabata", Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, 28 (3/4): 399–440, JSTOR 30233481
• Moto-Sanchez, Milla Micka (2016). Jizō, Healing Rituals, and Women in Japan, Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 43 (2), 307-331
• Ng, Zhiru (2007). The Making of a Savior Bodhisattva: Dizang in Medieval China. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-3045-8.
• Visser, Marinus Willem de (1914). The Bodhisattva Ti-Tsang (Jizo) in China and Japan, Berlin: Oesterheld

External links

• Jizo Bodhisattva - Photo Dictionary of Japanese Buddhism
• Dizang text from Dunhuang
• The Sutra of the Past Vows of Earth Store Bodhisattva

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Categories:

• Kṣitigarbha
• Bodhisattvas
• Interlanguage link template existing link
• Buddhism and abortion
• Buddhism and children
• Buddhism in China
• Buddhism in Japan
• Childhood gods
• Chinese gods
• Psychopomps
• Stillbirth