Kṣitigarbha (Sanskrit: क्षितिगर्भ, Japanese: 地蔵, Standard Tibetan: ས་ཡི་སྙིང་པོ་ Wylie: sa yi snying po) is a bodhisattva primarily revered in East Asian Buddhism [en] and usually depicted as a Buddhist monk [en]. His name can be translated as "Earth Treasury", "Earth Store", "Earth Matrix", or "Earth Womb". Kṣitigarbha is known for his vow to teach all beings in the six worlds [en] between the death of Gautama Buddha and the rise of Maitreya, and his vow not to achieve Buddhahood until all hells are emptied. He is often regarded as the bodhisattva of hell-beings, the guardian of children, and the patron deity of deceased children and aborted fetuses in Japanese culture.
Usually depicted as a monk with a halo [en] around his shaved head, he carries a staff [en] to open the gates of hell and a wish-fulfilling jewel [en] to light up the darkness.
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