Bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha’s Birthday

Yesterday was the birthday of Bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha (地藏菩萨 Earth Treasury, Earth Store).

Bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha is one of the four major Bodhisattvas in Chinese Mahayana Buddhism (together with Avalokiteśvara, Mañjuśrī and Samantabhadra). His bodhimanda is in Mount Jiuhua (九华山), Anhui province in China, one of the four sacred Buddhist mountains in China (佛教四大名山).

There is a legend about how Kṣitigarbha manifested himself in China and chose his bodhimanda to be Mount Jiuhua. During the Tang dynasty, Buddhism reached its peak in popularity and eventually spread eastward to Korea and Japan. At the time, monks and scholars traveled from those countries seeking the Dharma in China. One of these pilgrims was a former prince from Silla named Kim Gyo-gak (金乔觉), who became a monk under the Chinese name Dizang, the Chinese name of “Kṣitigarbha!” He later departed for Mount Jiuhua in present day Anhui province. When arrived, he first built a hut in a deep mountain area so he could continue his practice.

Bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha statue in Mount Jiuhua, China (九华山，地藏菩萨的道场)

Legend has it that Dizang was biten by a poisonous snake, but continued his meditation without moving even slightly. After the snake left, a woman appeared and gave the monk some medicine to cure him of the venom, and also transformed the nearby spring. It has been said the woman was the spirit of the mountain and she came to offer an apology to Dizang after her son bit him out of ignorance.

For several years, Dizang continued to meditate in his hut, until one day, a person named Zhu Gejie and his entourage visited the mountain. They happened upon the monk Dizang and saw that he was meditating in the hut. They noticed that his bowl did not contain any food but just some soil, and that his hair had grown back.

The group of travelers were saddened by what they saw and they decided to raise money and build a temple for the monk Dizang. Mount Jiuhua was the property of a wealthy local elder named Mingong, who was happy to offer some land to Dizang. He asked Dizang how much land he needed.

Dizang replied that he didn’t need much; just a piece of land that could be fully covered by his kāṣāya, the robes worn by a fully ordained monk. Dizang threw his kāṣāya into the air and the robe expanded in size, landing covering the entire mountain. Having witnessed this demonstration of super-normal power, the elder Mingong happily offered the entire mountain to Dizang and became his Dharma protector. His son also became a monk and studied under Dizang.

Dizang lived in Mount Jiuhua for 75 years and passed away at the age of 99. Three years after his Parinirvāṇa, Dizang’s tomb was opened, revealing a body that had not decayed. His body was perfectly preserved, without the use of chemicals or embalming substances. Pilgrims may still be able to see the indestructible, golden body of Dizang when visiting Mount Jiuhua. It is said that his tomb will be opened every 60 years.

Bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha statue in Zhenning Pure Land Temple, China

There are quite a few Mahayana sutras that mentioned the Bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha. The most notable ones are Bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha’s Fundamental Vows Sutra (地藏菩萨本愿经), The Sutra on Divination of the Effect of Good and Evil Karma (占察善恶业报经), and the Sutra of the Ten Rings (十轮经). These are known as the three main sutras of Bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha.

One sutra in particular, Kṣitigarbha’s Fundamental Vows Sutra, is the most popular among all of these texts and is commonly chanted in temples throughout China. In the sutra, it is revealed that among the past lives of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, one of them was as a brahmin maiden, whose mother fell into the hell realm due to her evil karma. The brahmin maiden then sold all of her belongings and made offerings to the Buddha to cultivate merit for her mother. She recited the Buddha’s name in order to rescue her mother from the hell realm and allow her to be reborn in the heavenly realm. She also made great vows to help liberate all suffering beings before she would realise Buddhahood.

Bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha, like all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, manifests in countless incarnations to help save sentient beings. He is always in the hell realm, saving those who suffer the most and delivering them to the Pure Land.

You can read the Bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha’s Fundamental Vows Sutra here.

🙏🙏🙏Namo Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva🙏🙏🙏

🙏🙏🙏Namo Amituofo🙏🙏🙏