Mewa 9 Birth Buddha: Manjushri
Introduction
Manjushri (Tib: ‘jam dpal dbyangs; འཇམ་དཔལ་དབྱངས།) is the Buddha of Wisdom and revered as the patron of the sciences and arts. Centuries after people first heard of his holy name, Manjushri remains a deity beloved by Buddhists of all traditions.
Today, his practice has spread throughout Asia and to most parts of the world. Reverence for this wisdom-granting deity is so prevalent that his image is a mainstay in most Mahayana and Vajrayana temples.
Benefits
- Increases intelligence and memory
- Gains insight, intuition and wisdom
- Improves debate and communication skills
- Achieves perfect Enlightenment
History
It is said that Manjushri attained Enlightenment many aeons ago, even before Shakyamuni Buddha. Prior to Enlightenment, Manjushri was a king in a distant place called Vimala. There, he developed deep compassion for all sentient beings in samsara.
Having perfected the path of Wisdom and Compassion, before attaining the final step to full Enlightenment, out of his great compassion, Manjushri vowed to remain on the path of a Bodhisattva until all sentient beings are released from suffering. This was clearly recorded in the sutra called ‘The Prediction of Manjushri’s Attainment of Buddhahood‘.
Iconography
Manjushri is depicted as a 16-year-old Indian prince. His gentle expression and radiant beauty represent his enlightened mind. He is seated on a lotus flower which represents the purity of his wisdom.
In his right hand, he holds aloft a double-edged flaming sword of wisdom which symbolizes his ability to cut through and destroy our ignorance and obscurations. Through the destruction of our ignorance, wisdom can then arise in our minds. The flaming sword also represents Manjushri’s acute awareness which cuts through all delusions to reveal the universal truth.
In Manjushri’s other hand, he holds the stem of a lotus which blooms on his left. Atop the lotus is the Perfection of Wisdom Sutra (or the Prajnaparamita Sutra), the source of his realizations.
Prayer
Note: This short prayer can be recited daily on its own or as part of a longer set of prayers.
Obeisance to my Guru and Protector, Manjushri,
Who holds to his heart a scriptural text
Symbolic of his seeing all things as they are,
Whose intelligence shines forth like the sun,
Unclouded by delusions or traces of ignorance,
Who teaches in sixty ways,
With the loving compassion of a father for his only child,
All creatures caught in the prison of samsara,
Confused in the darkness of their ignorance,
overwhelmed by their suffering.
You, whose dragon-thunder-like proclamation of Dharma
Arouses us from the stupor of our delusions
And frees us from the iron chains of our karma;
Who wields the sword of wisdom hewing down
Suffering wherever its sprouts appear,
Clearing away the darkness of ignorance;
You, whose princely body is adorned with
The one hundred and twelve marks of a Buddha,
Who has completed the stages achieving
The highest perfection of a Bodhisattva,
Who has been pure from the beginning,
I bow down to you, O Manjushri;
With the brilliance of your wisdom, O compassionate one,
Illuminate the darkness enclosing my mind,
Enlighten my intelligence and wisdom,
So that I may gain insight into the Buddha’s words
And the texts that explain them.
LA MA DANG GON PO JE TSUN JAM PEL YANG LA CHAG TSEL LO
GANG GI LO DROE DRIP NYI TRIN DREL
NYI TAR NAM DAG RAP SEL WEY
JI NYE DON KUN JI ZHIN ZIK CHIR
NYI KYI TUG KAR LEG BAM DZIN
GANG DAG SI PEI TSON RAR MA RIG
MUN TOM DUG NGEL GYI ZIR WEY
DRO TSOG KUN LA BU CHIG TAR TSE
YEN LAG DRUG CHU YANG DEN SUNG
DRUG TAR CHER DROG NYON MONG NYI LONG
LE KYI CHAG DROG DROL DZE CHING
MA RIG MUN SEL DUG NGEL NYU GO
JI NYE CHOE DZE REL DRI NAM
DO NE DAG CHING SA CHU TAR SON
YON TEN LHUN DZOG GYEL SE TU BO KO
CHU TRAG CHU DANG CHU NYI GYEN TRE
DAG LO MUN SEL JAM PEL YANG LA DU
TSE DEN KYO KYI KHYEN RAP OE ZER GYI
DAG LO TI MUG MUN PA RAP SEL NE
KA DANG TEN CHO ZHUNG LUG TOG PA YI
LO DROE POP PEY NANG WA TSEL DU SOL
Mantra: OM AH RA PA TSA NA DHI
(Recite 108 times or more)
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I didn’t know Manjushri is my birth Buddha! I’m excited to see what transformations I go through, connecting to him!
Greetings Rinpoche
This is Nitin form India and I got Mewa 9 and birth Buddha Manjushri.
It is advised to recite Manjushri mantra but being a lay person i am not able to understand it properly.
I eagerly want to learn tantrayana and practice the sadhana but i am not able to meet a guru for this who can teach me what and how to practice properly and from where to start and how to get initiated.
I want you to please help me in this regard.
That will be great favour on me.
Thank you for taking my mind and my willingness to practice dharma.
Tashi Delek Rinpochela,
I wanted to check the marriage compatibility according to Tibetan horoscopes but it doesn’t seem to be present on this portal. So could you kindly assist me with this aspect. Looking forward to your response.
Thochichey 🙏
Regards
Hi Pema,
Unfortunately, the Mewa calculator available on our website does not cover marriage compatibility. All astrology however, is based on a specific karmic potential at the time of our birth. But as Buddha Shakyamuni taught, we all have the ability to change our karma for the better. This applies to marriage compatibility too. So, it is not necessary to have astrological compatibility for a successful marriage.
Even if there are unfavourable astrological conditions, the following are ways you can change the karma to make your relationship favourable:
a) Commission an image of the Buddha associated with your Mewa number,
b) Recite the short prayer and mantra of your Birth Buddha every day,
c) engage in virtuous activities with your partner and transform your minds to be more compassionate,
d) follow H.E Tsem Rinpoche’s advice for a successful relationship (https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/?p=4488).
All of these will actually generate good karma and more importantly, merit which will overshadow any unfavourable astrological conditions.
Thank you.
This is interesting ?
Dear All
I would like to share with you the sacred prayer of Manjushri – A Concert Names of Manjushri (’Jam-dpal mtshan-brjod, Skt. Mañjuśrī-namasamgiti), which consists of 160 verses and mantra sentences. One version is translated by Alexander Berzin, a scholar, translator, and teacher of Tibetan Buddhism, and the other one is from FPMT.
Valentina