Mount Wutai, and the Wrathful Form

Manjushri's cult is strongly tied to place. In Chinese Buddhism he (as Wenshu) is the presiding bodhisattva of Mount Wutai in Shanxi, one of the four sacred Buddhist mountains and a major pilgrimage centre where he was believed to manifest to the devout. In Tibetan Buddhism he is central both as an object of devotion and, in wrathful form, as Yamantaka (Vajrabhairava), the fierce meditational deity understood as Manjushri's power turned against death and ignorance; great scholars and teachers are frequently regarded as his emanations. Through this range, from the serene youth with the sword to the terrifying conqueror of death, Manjushri stands, across the Mahayana and Vajrayana worlds, as the very figure of enlightened intelligence.

In addition to his sword and book, Manjushri is very frequently shown riding a blue or golden lion, an animal chosen to express the fearless, roaring quality of proclaimed wisdom, in deliberate visual contrast to the bodhisattva Samantabhadra, his frequent companion in Chinese and Japanese temple triads flanking a central Buddha image, who instead rides a white elephant symbolising practice and compassionate action. The paired imagery of the lion-riding Manjushri and elephant-riding Samantabhadra, wisdom and practice shown side by side, is one of the most common bodhisattva groupings in East Asian Buddhist temple art.