Manjushri, the guardian of wisdom, is often placed on the left of Shakyamuni, while Visvabhadra, the guardian of law, is on the right. Manjushri always rides on a lion. He is also described as the ninth predecessor or Buddha-ancestor of Shakyamuni. He is the Chief of the Bodhisattva, and the chief disciple of the Buddha. He is the object for the pilgrimages visiting the Wu Tai Shan of Shansi Province in China.

Of all the bodhisattvas in Buddhism Manjushri is the one with which Zen tries to most closely associate itself. This is because he is thought to distinctly represent Sudden Enlightenment. It is usually an image of Manjushri that is found in the zendo (meditation hall) rather than the Buddha, who will be enshrined in a separate Buddha hall. Manjushri’s main symbols are a sword in his right hand with which he instantly cut through ignorance to revel intuitive wisdom, and a set of sutras in his left hand symbolizing his guardianship of the Dharma Buddhist teachings. In China the mountain (shan) Wu-t’ai in Shan-hsi or Shanxi is sacred to him. He is often depicted as riding his vehicle, the lion, which symbolizes the roar of the Dharma.

This bodhisattva represents the wisdom of the Buddha and is especially associated with the Perfection of Wisdom Sutras which he is often shown carrying along with a sword which cuts through delusions. A Dictionary of Buddhist Terms and Concepts relates the following information about him:

"He is revered as the chief of the bodhisattvas. With Fugen, he is depicted as one of the two bodhisattvas who attend Shakyamuni Buddha. Monjushiri is generally shown at the Buddha's left, riding a lion, and represents the virtues of wisdom and enlightenment. In contrast, Shakyamuni's right-hand attendant, Bodhisattva Fugen, represents the virtues of truth and practice. According to the Monjushiri Hatsunehan Sutra (Sutra of the Nirvana of Monjushiri), Monjushiri was born to a Brahman family in Shravasti and joined the Buddhist Order, converting a great number of people." (p.267)

Taigen Daniel Leighton says of him:

"Manjushri is the bodhisattva of wisdom and insight, penetrating into the fundamental emptiness, universal sameness, and true nature of all things. Manjushri, whose name means "noble, gentle one," sees into the essence of each phenomenal event. This essential nature is that not a thing has any fixed existence separate in itself, independent from the whole world around it. The work of wisdom is to see through the illusory self-other dichotomy, our imagined estrangement from our world. Studying the self in this light, Manjushri's flashing awareness realizes the deeper, vast quality of self, liberated from all our commonly unquestioned, fabricated characteristics.
"With his relentless commitment to uncovering ultimate reality, Manjushri embodies the paramita of prajna, the perfection of wisdom, both as a practice and as the body of sutras so named. Although Manjushri is especially associated with emptiness teaching and the Madhyamika branch of Mahayana teaching, he is not present in the earliest of the Prajnaparamita sutras. However, Manjushri is one of the most prominent bodhisattvas in all of the Mahayana sutras, and is sometimes considered to be based on a historical person associated with Shakyamuni Buddha. One of the earliest bodhisattvas, Manjushri was popular in India by the fourth century, if not earlier, and was included in the first depictions of a bodhisattva pantheon in the fifth and sixth centuries. Images of Manjushri appeared in Japan by the early eighth century."

(Bodhisattva Archetypes, p. 93)

Manjushri Bodhisattva appears in many Mahayana sutras such as the Vimalakirti Sutra and the Flower Ornament Sutra, and many others. He is considered to be a near-equal to the Buddha. At times, he is even said to have already realized buddhahood, but he is still voluntarily acting in the capacity of a bodhisattva. Some sutras even call him the teacher of all the Buddhas, which is the role he takes in the Lotus Sutra where he answers the questions of the future buddha Maitreya. In Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations, Paul Williams summarizes the teachings about Manjushri Bodhisattva that appear in these sutras.

"Manjushri has now attained the tenth stage of a Bodhisattva. He is asked why he does not proceed staightway to full Buddhahood. The reply is that in fully understanding emptiness and acting accordingly there is nothing more to do. He has let go of the notion of full Buddhahood. He no longer seeks enlightenment; indeed, in the light of emptiness he cannot attain enlightenment. In saying this, of course, Manjusri indicates that he is already fully enlightened."(p.239)

In the first chapter of the Lotus Sutra, "Introductory," Manjushri Bodhisattva answers Maitreya Bodhisattva's questions about the ray of light emitted by Shakyamuni Buddha. Manjushri Bodhisattva revealed that in a past life, when he was known as Wonderful Light Bodhisattva, he had witnessed Sun-Moon-Light Buddha also produce a ray of light just before teaching the Lotus Sutra, so he surmised that Shakyamuni Buddha was also about to teach the Lotus Sutra. Manjushri Bodhisattva reappears in the middle of chapter 12, "Devadatta," from the palace of the Dragon-King Sagara in the ocean where he had been teaching the Lotus Sutra. He then introduces all the innumerable bodhisattvas that he had taught, including the eight year old daughter of the dragon king. The dragon king's daughter then proceeds to demonstrate the instant attainment of buddhahood. In chapter 14, "Peaceful Practices," it is Manjushri Bodhisattva who asks the Buddha how ordinary bodhisattvas should expound the Lotus Sutra in the evil world after his passing. Finally, in chapter 24, "Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva," it is Manjushri Bodhisattva who asks about the jeweled lotus flowers which float down from the sky to herald the appearance of Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva, and it is he who asks the Buddha about that bodhisattva and asks to see him. Based on a passage in the Chinese translation of the Flower Garland Sutra, Manjushri Bodhisattva is believed to have his earthly home on Mt. Wu-t'ai in China.