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Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva is the right-hand attendant of Amitabha Buddha, the exalted Buddha of the Western Pure Land. Revered as the Bodhisattva of Great Striving, he forms the sacred triad of the "Western Three Saints" alongside Amitabha Buddha and the compassionate Guan Yin Bodhisattva.
As revealed in the Sutra on Contemplating the Buddha of Infinite Life, Mahasthamaprapta radiates a unique light of wisdom, illuminating all beings and liberating them from the horrors of war and bloodshed. He bestows upon them supreme power.
Mahasthamaprapta empowers his devotees with the radiance of wisdom, guiding them on a path of prosperity and fulfillment. Under his benevolent light, evil is transformed into good fortune, and blessings abound. Devotees are inspired to follow the path of enlightenment, fully realizing their potential.
Mahasthamaprapta is renowned for his immense wisdom and radiant light. His presence shakes the heavens and the earth, protecting beings from the clutches of evil forces.
According to the second volume of the Nirvana Sutra, the King of Uncontested Thought in the world of Sāntīrāja had a thousand sons. The eldest was named Abhimukha, and the second was named Nirmala. Later, the King of Uncontested Thought became a Buddha, known as Amitabha. Abhimukha, the eldest prince, became the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara (commonly known as Guan Yin), and Nirmala, the second prince, became the Bodhisattva Mahāsthāmaprāpta (commonly known as Da Shizhi).
Bodhisattvas follow the Buddha to learn the Dharma and cultivate the practices of a Bodhisattva. After going through many stages, they can eventually become Buddhas. Among Bodhisattvas, those who have reached the highest stage are called 'one-life replacement Bodhisattvas'. Once they complete their Bodhisattva career, they are guaranteed to become Buddhas in their next life.
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When a Buddha is depicted in a triad, there is always a one-life replacement Bodhisattva attending to the Buddha on either side, and the composition is fixed. In the case of Amitabha Buddha, his two attendant Bodhisattvas are Avalokiteshvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta. Together, the three are known as the 'Three Saints of the West' or the 'Amitabha Triad'.
On the ushnisha, the cranial protuberance, of Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva, there is a resplendent jeweled vase. Within this vase resides a great radiance, and from this radiance arise manifold Buddhist activities: such as reciting the Buddha's name, paying homage to the Buddha, or delivering sutras and discourses, or offering alms to the congregation. In short, it is wondrous beyond compare. Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva has another title, the Bodhisattva of Boundless Light, whose radiant light illuminates the ten directions. Moreover, the light emanating from each pore of his body illuminates the ten directions. Since Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva is entirely suffused with light, why then does he need to bear a vase on his head, containing light that manifests Buddhist activities?
Originally, the vase was not filled with light; instead, it contained the cremated remains of his parents. He heard Amitabha Buddha say, 'Parental kindness is profound. If a child wishes to repay their parents' kindness, they must first cultivate their own practice and understanding of the Dharma to free their parents from the suffering of rebirth. This is the ultimate way to repay their parents' kindness.' When Great Strength Bodhisattva first resolved to cultivate the Dharma, his parents had already passed away. If they were still alive, he could persuade them to believe in and practice Buddhism. However, his parents had already died, which was his greatest regret. How could he repay his parents' kindness? So, he placed his parents' cremated remains in a vase and carried it on his head as he cultivated the Dharma. He continually dedicated the merits of his practice to his parents, praying to the Triple Gem that his parents might soon attain great liberation.
At that time, when the Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta first arose with the aspiration to renounce the world and become a monk, he was still an ordinary being. The bones of his parents, which he carried in an urn, were also the bones of ordinary beings. However, due to the Bodhisattva's courageous and diligent practice of the Dharma, he himself transformed from an ordinary being into a great Bodhisattva. And the bones of his parents within the urn also underwent a miraculous change. The ordinary urn transformed into a precious urn, and the bones of his parents turned into a radiant light.
Having attained the bodhisattvahood, Mahasthamaprapta was able to manifest various divine powers and skillful means to widely benefit all sentient beings. And the radiant light, which were the transformed bones of his parents, was also able to manifest divine powers, universally appear in the forms of Buddhas, and benefit all sentient beings. Therefore, the radiant light in the urn upon his head originated in this way.
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