Seishi　勢至

KEY WORD :　 art history / iconography

Lit. obtained strength. Also Daiseishi 大勢至 (Sk: Mahasthamaprapta) or he who has obtained great strength. Also Tokudaiseishi 得大勢至 or Tokudaisei 得大勢. A bodhisattva *bosatsu 菩薩 who, together with *Kannon 観音, is one of the two main attendants of *Amida 阿弥陀. Although mentioned in early Mahayana sutras, he never attained any great popularity in India. He grew in importance, however, with the spread of the Pure Land faith joudokyou 浄土教 in China and Japan. He is often encountered in representations of the Amida triad *Amida sanzon 阿弥陀三尊, in which case he is usually positioned to the right of Amida with hands clasped, and a water jar in his crown. Whereas Kannon symbolizes compassion, Seishi symbolizes wisdom, but he never gained the popularity of Kannon and is rarely represented outside of the Amida triad. He is counted among the 25 bodhisattvas *nijuugo bosatsu 二十五菩薩 accompanying Amida when he comes to welcome a dying person to the Pure Land, and he appears in various depictions of this scene (see *raigou-zu 来迎図). In Esoteric Buddhism mikkyou 密教, he appears in the Rengebu-in 蓮華部院 section of the Matrix mandala *Taizoukai mandara 胎蔵界曼荼羅. In Japan he also figures among the so-called Thirteen Buddhas *juusanbutsu 十三仏, presiding over the memorial service held on the first anniversary of a person's death.

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