Overview
Ksitigarbha 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 a classical bodhisattva form. After the Tang Dynasty, he became increasingly depicted as a monk, carrying rosaries and a staff.
His full name in the Chinese script is Dayuan Dizang Pusa (simplified Chinese: 大願地藏菩萨; traditional Chinese: 大願地藏菩薩; pinyin: Dàyuàn Dìzàng Púsà), or the Bodhisattva King Dizang of the Great Vow, pronounced as Dayuan Dizang Pusa in Mandarin, Daigan Jizō Bosatsu in Japanese, and Jijang Bosal in Korean.
This is a reference to his pledge, as recorded in the sutras, to take responsibility for the instruction of all beings in the six worlds, in the era between the death of Gautama Buddha and the rise of Maitreya Buddha. Because of this important role, shrines to Ksitigarbha often occupy a central role in any Oriental Mahayana temple, especially within the memorial halls or mausoleums.
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