Mahasthamaprapta
| Mahāsthāmaprāpta | |
|---|---|
Silk painting of Dashizhi from Khara-Khoto. Western Xia dynasty, 13th century. | |
| Sanskrit | महास्थामप्राप्त
Mahāsthāmaprāpta |
| Chinese | (Traditional) 大勢至菩薩 or 得大勢菩薩 (Simplified) 大势至菩萨 or 得大势菩萨 (Pinyin: Dàshìzhì Púsa or Dédàshì Púsà) |
| Japanese | 大勢至菩薩 (romaji: Daiseishi Bosatsu) |
| Khmer | មហាស្ថាមប្រាប្ត (mo-haa-sthaam-praap) |
| Korean | 대세지 보살
(RR: Daeseji Bosal) |
| Tagalog | Mahasthamaplapta |
| Thai | พระมหาสถามปราปต์โพธิสัตว์ |
| Tibetan | མཐུ་ཆེན་ཐོབ Wylie: mthu chen thob THL: Tuchen tob |
| Vietnamese | Đại Thế Chí Bồ tát |
| Information | |
| Venerated by | Mahāyāna, Vajrayāna |
| Attributes | Wisdom, Power |
| Buddhism portal | |
Mahāsthāmaprāpta is a Bodhisattva Mahāsattva who represents the power of wisdom. His name literally means "arrival of the great strength".
Mahāsthāmaprāpta is one of the Eight Great Bodhisattvas in Mahayana Buddhism, along with Mañjuśrī, Samantabhadra, Avalokiteśvara, Ākāśagarbha, Kṣitigarbha, Maitreya and Sarvanivarana-Vishkambhin.
In Chinese Buddhism, Mahasthamaprapta is sometimes portrayed as a woman, Dashizhi, with a likeness similar to Avalokiteśvara (known as Guanyin in China). He is also one of the Thirteen Buddhas in the Japanese school of Shingon Buddhism. In Tibetan Buddhism, Mahāsthāmaprāpta is equated with Vajrapani, who is one of his incarnations and was known as the Protector of Gautama Buddha.
Mahāsthāmaprāpta is one of the oldest bodhisattvas and is regarded as powerful, especially in the Pure Land school, where he takes an important role in the Longer Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra. He is often depicted in a trinity with Amitābha and Avalokiteśvara (Guanyin), especially in Pure Land Buddhism.