Four bodhisattvas
four bodhisattvas
[四菩薩] (Jpn shi-bosatsu )
Different groups of four bodhisattvas who are referred to in various Buddhist scriptures. In the Lotus Sutra, they are the four leaders of the Bodhisattvas of the Earth described in the "Emerging from the Earth" (fifteenth) chapter: Superior Practices, Boundless Practices, Pure Practices, and Firmly Established Practices. According to Tao-hsien's Supplement to "The Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra," they signify respectively the four virtues of the Buddha's life: true self, eternity, purity, and happiness. The four bodhisattvas described in the Flower Garland Sutra are Dharma Wisdom, Forest of Merits, Diamond Banner, and Diamond Storehouse. Other sets of four bodhisattvas to which this term applies are Manjushri, Universal Worthy, Perceiver of the World's Sounds, and Maitreya; and Manjushri, Universal Worthy, Medicine King, and Perceiver of the World's Sounds.
