The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (2094 page)

BOOK: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions
12.02Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
(P
li; Skt.,
r
ma
era). One who is making a first approach to full membership of the Buddhist sa
gha (community)—i.e. the equivalent, in Western terms, of a novice monk.
Samantabhadra
(Skt., ‘he who is all-pervadingly good’; Chin., P'u-hsien; Jap., Fugen; Tib.,
di Buddha). A
bodhisattva
of great importance in Mah
y
na Buddhism. He is the protector of all who teach
dharma
, and he is the embodiment of the realization that sameness and difference are a unity. He rides a six-tusked elephant, the tusks representing the conquest of attachment to the six senses. He rode on the elephant to China, settling on Mount O-mei, where he is venerated as one of the four great bodhisattvas. He is also closely associated with
Vairoc
na
. For the Tibetan development, see
DI BUDDHA
.

Other books

The Paradise War by Stephen R. Lawhead
Miss Ryder's Memoirs by Laura Matthews
Come, Barbarians by Todd Babiak
Second Nature by Ae Watson
The Magic of Murder by Susan Lynn Solomon
Eat the Document by Dana Spiotta
Taming GI Jane by Webb, Debra