Puxian- Chinese GodDeity"Bodhisattva of Universal Virtue"
Also known as: Puxian Pusa, 普贤菩萨, 普賢菩薩, and Pǔxián
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Description
Puxian rides a six-tusked white elephant, the same beast Queen Maya dreamed of before conceiving the Buddha. He is the bodhisattva of sustained practice, patron of Mount Emei in Sichuan, where pilgrims have climbed to his Golden Summit for nearly two thousand years.
Mythology & Lore
The White Elephant
Puxian is the Chinese form of the bodhisattva Samantabhadra, whose name means "Universal Virtue." He is paired with Wenshu (Manjushri): Wenshu carries wisdom, Puxian carries it into action. His mount is a white elephant with six tusks, connecting him to the dream Queen Maya had before the Buddha's conception.
His Ten Great Vows from the closing chapter of the Avatamsaka Sutra became foundational to Chinese Buddhist ceremony. The tenth vow, the transfer of all merit to all sentient beings, established the practice of merit dedication that closes virtually every Buddhist ritual in China.
Mount Emei
Puxian is patron of Mount Emei in Sichuan, one of the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains of China. Tradition holds that Buddhism arrived at the mountain as early as the first century CE. By the Ming and Qing dynasties, seventy monasteries stood along its slopes, and pilgrims climbed through cloud forests and mist to reach the summit.
At the Golden Summit, a colossal multi-faced statue of Puxian sits on his six-tusked elephant, looking out over the peaks. The mountain's monks, monasteries, and steep forest trails have drawn pilgrims for nearly two millennia.
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