【地藏王菩薩】
【Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva】
The 30th day of the seventh lunar month (September 14th this year)
is the birthday of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.
We have
compiled this short article to commemorate this Bodhisattva,
who vowed not to
attain Buddhahood until hell is empty.
He is known as "Ksitigarbha" because he
is "calm and unmovable like the earth,
and his meditation is profound and profound like a secret treasure" (the
Ten Wheels Sutra).
Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva possesses the great
compassionate vow of "not attaining Bodhi
until all sentient beings are liberated, and not becoming a Buddha until
hell is empty."
Guanyin, Manjushri, Samantabhadra, and
Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva represent compassion, wisdom, action, and vows, respectively.
Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva statues in Chinese Buddhist temples typically depict a monk with a
rounded head and robes.
Bodhisattva statues are often adorned with crowns and garlands.
Why is
Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva depicted as a monk?
It turns out that Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva vowed
to travel to the most difficult places to
save sentient beings,
manifesting the appearance of liberation and
displaying the power of light, so that sentient beings would know the existence
of the true Dharma and have faith and hope
in spiritual practice.
Therefore, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva manifested
himself as a monastic monk in the Saha world.
Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Saves His
Mother
The Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Original Vow Sutra
records that long ago, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva was a Brahmin
woman.
Her mother committed the sin of killing, and
after her death, she fell into the great suffering
of hell.
The filial Brahmin woman felt sorry for her
mother, so she sold her property, bought incense, candles, flowers, and fruits,
and made offerings to various Buddhist temples, chanting
the Buddha's name with all her heart.
Due to her sincere devotion, her mother,
benefiting from her daughter's merits and vows, was able to escape the sufferings of hell and attain
liberation.
In the past, during the time of the Pure
Lotus-Eyed Tathagata, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva was also a woman named Guangmu.
After her mother's death, Guangmu pleaded with an arhat to observe her mother's
suffering in hell.
Guangmu saw her mother's suffering. Guangmu then
made a profound vow, vowing to travel through the hells and lower realms of the
ten directions to rescue suffering beings.
She vowed to attain Buddhahood only after all
beings in the lower realms had attained
Buddhahood.
She wished her mother to be forever free from the lower realms, free from
suffering.
Guangmu's mother was finally able to escape the
lower realms and be reborn in the Land of No Worry.
She also attained Buddhahood, saving countless sentient beings.
Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's compassionate and
filial piety are a model for Buddhist practitioners.
During his lifetime, the Buddha left the Sangha
and traveled to the Trayastrimsa Heaven for three months, where he preached the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Sutra to his mother,
praising Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's merits.
Therefore, the Ksitigarbha Sutra is considered a Buddhist sutra of filial piety.
農曆七月三十日（今年合陽曆9月14日）是地藏菩薩聖誕，我們整理了這篇短文，以紀念這位發願「地獄不空，誓不成佛」的菩薩。
地藏菩薩梵名為Ksitigarbha，因「安忍不動猶如大地，靜慮深密猶如秘藏」（《十輪經》），故有「地藏」之名。
地藏菩薩有「眾生度盡，方證菩提；地獄未空，誓不成佛」的大悲願力，觀音、文殊、普賢和地藏菩薩，分別為「悲、智、行、願」的代表。
中國佛寺中的地藏菩薩像，一般為光頭圓頂、身披袈裟的出家相。
菩薩造像大多為頭戴寶冠、瓔珞裝飾，為甚麼地藏菩薩示現出家相呢？原來，由於地藏菩薩發願到最艱苦的地方去度化眾生，示現解脫相，展現光明的力量，讓眾生知道正法存在，對修行懷有信心與希望。因此，地藏菩薩便示現娑婆世界中的出家僧相。
地藏菩薩救母
《地藏菩薩本願經》記載，久遠以前，地藏菩薩曾為婆羅門女。她的母親造了殺生業，死後墮入地獄大苦難。
孝順的婆羅門女心中不忍，於是變賣財產，買來香燭花果到各佛寺去布施供養，並一心稱念佛號。
由於她至誠恭敬，母親承女兒的功德力和願力，得以出離地獄的苦難，獲得解脫。
過去清淨蓮華目如來的年代，地藏菩薩也是一名女子，名為光目。其母親離世後，光目女懇請阿羅漢入定觀察，看到母親在地獄受苦。
於是光目女發大誓願，願到十方世界的地獄、惡道裏，救拔受苦眾生，直到所有惡道眾生全部成佛後，她才願成佛；但願母親永離惡道，不再受苦。
光目女的母親終於得以脫離惡道，並轉生至無憂國土，最後也圓成佛果，度化無量無邊的眾生。
地藏菩薩的慈孝願力，可說是佛弟子修行學道的典範。佛陀住世時，曾經離開僧團到忉利天宮三個月，為母親宣說《地藏菩薩本願經》，讚揚地藏菩薩的功德。
因此，《地藏經》也被視為佛門的孝經。
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