Samantabhadra

Samantabhadra (also Viśvabhadra, 普賢 Ch. Pǔxián, Jp. Fugen) is the Lord of the Truth (理) in Buddhism, who represents the practice and meditation of all Buddhas. Together with Shakyamuni and fellow disciple Manjusri he forms the Shakyamuni trinity. He is the patron of the Lotus Sutra and, according to the Avatamsaka Sutra, made the ten great vows which are the basis of a bodhisattva. Samantabhadra is most commonly described as a bodhisattva himself, although some esoteric traditions regard him as a primordial Buddha.

Iconography

Unlike his more popular counterpart Manjusri, Samantabhadra is only rarely depicted alone and is usually found in a trinity on the right side of Shakyamuni, mounted on a white elephant. In those traditions that do accept the Avatamsaka sutra as its root instruction Samantabhadra and Manjushri flank Vairocana Buddha, the central Buddha if this particular sutra. Puxian is sometimes shown in Chinese art with feminine characteristics, riding an elephant with six pairs of tusks while carrying a lotus leaf parasol, with similar dress and features to some feminine depictions of Kuan Yin.