Ksitigarbha’s Connections

About Ksitigarbha →

Guards

• Naraka

  Ksitigarbha vowed not to attain full buddhahood until the hell realms are emptied. He descends into Naraka to comfort and liberate suffering beings, his staff opening the gates of hell and his luminous pearl illuminating the darkest depths.

Member of

• Eight Great Bodhisattvas

  The Eight Great Bodhisattvas — Avalokiteshvara, Manjushri, Vajrapani, Kshitigarbha, Akashagarbha, Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin, Maitreya, and Samantabhadra — appear together as the chief attendants in the Buddha's assemblies, each embodying a distinct perfection of the bodhisattva path.

Equivalent to

• Dizang(Chinese),Jizō(Japanese)

  Ksitigarbha, Dìzàng, and Jizō are the Indian, Chinese, and Japanese forms of the Earth Treasury Bodhisattva, transmitted through the spread of Mahayana Buddhism across East Asia.

Associated with

• Gautama Buddha

  In the Ksitigarbha Sutra, Gautama Buddha teaches the assembly in Trayastrimsha heaven about Ksitigarbha's great vow to save all beings in the hell realms. Gautama Buddha entrusted Ksitigarbha with protecting beings during the era between his parinirvana and Maitreya's coming.

• Maitreya

  Gautama Buddha entrusted Ksitigarbha with protecting all sentient beings during the long interregnum between his own parinirvana and Maitreya's future awakening, a charge Ksitigarbha fulfills by descending into the hell realms to rescue the lost.

• Yama

  Ksitigarbha descends into Yama's hell realms to liberate suffering beings, vowing to empty them entirely.