Who is Ksitigarbha?

Kṣitigarbha is a bodhisattva primarily revered in East Asian Buddhism, usually depicted as a Buddhist monk in the Orient. The name may be translated as "Earth Treasury", "Earth Store", "Earth Matrix", or "Earth Womb." Kṣitigarbha is known for his vow not to achieve Buddhahood until all hells are emptied; therefore, he is regarded as the bodhisattva of hell beings. Usually depicted as a monk with a nimbus around his shaved head, he carries a staff to force open the gates of hell and a wish-fulfilling jewel to light up the darkness.

Kṣitigarbha is one of the four principal bodhisattvas in East Asian Mahayana Buddhism. The others are Samantabhadra, Manjusri, and Avalokitesvara.

At the pre-Tang Dynasty grottos in Dunhuang and Longmen, he is depicted in classical bodhisattva shape. After the Tang Dynasty, he became increasingly depicted as a monk, carrying rosaries and a staff.

His full name in Chinese script is (traditional Chinese: 大願地藏菩薩; simplified Chinese: 大願地藏菩萨; pinyin: Dàyuàn Dìzàng Púsà), or the Bodhisattva King Dizang of the Great Vow, pronounced as Dayuan Dizang Pusa in Mandarin Chinese, Daigan Jizō Bosatsu in Japanese.

This is a reference to his pledge, as recorded in the sutras, to take responsibility for the instruction of all beings in six worlds, in the era between the death of Gautama Buddha and the rise of Maitreya Buddha. Because of this important role, shrines to Kṣitigarbha often occupy a central role in any Oriental Mahayana temples.



地藏菩萨（梵文：क्षितिगर्भ，Kṣitigarbha），或称地藏王菩萨，曾音译为“乞叉底蘗沙”。因其“安忍不动如大地，静虑深密如秘藏”，故名地藏。为佛教四大菩萨之一，与观音、文殊、普贤一起，深受世人敬仰。以其“久远劫来屡发弘愿”，故被尊称为大愿地藏王菩萨。

据《地藏菩萨本愿经》记载，地藏菩萨在忉利天宫受释迦牟尼佛的咐嘱，在释迦牟尼佛涅槃后至弥勒佛降生人间前这段时间内，六道一切众生皆由地藏菩萨来教化。祂无数次发出无以复加的大悲弘愿，自誓度尽六道一切众生自己最后成佛：“地狱未空，誓不成佛；众生度尽，方证菩提”