According to the sutra itself,
Samantabhadra Bodhisattva ("Universal Virtue") was born in the east Pure Wonder Land and whose form was already mentioned clearly by the
Buddha in the
Avatamsaka Sutra. In the
Threefold Lotus Sutra, the chapter preceding the
Samantabhadra Meditation Sūtra, chapter 28 of the
Lotus Sutra, describes Samantabhadra as a perfect example of an adherent to the four practices: • He practices the teachings of the
Lotus Sutra. • He protects the Dharma teachings from every kind of persecution. • He witnesses the merits obtained by those who practice the teachings and the punishments of those who slander the Dharma or persecute the practitioners. • He proves that those who violate the Dharma can be delivered from their transgressions if they are sincerely penitent. In the
Meditation Sutra, the Buddha describes Universal Virtue's body as unlimited in size, and the range of his voice and the forms of his image are also described as unlimited. He possesses
divine powers that enable him to come into the world when he wishes and shrink down to a smaller size. Through his wisdom-power, he appears transformed as if mounted on a white elephant to the
people of
Jambudvīpa defiled by the three heavy
hindrances: Arrogance, envy, and covetousness. The Buddha Shakyamuni describes in detail the form of the elephant on which Universal Virtue is mounted. Universal Virtue rides the white elephant for the sole purpose of guiding the people of Jambudvīpa, or the
sahā-world, through practices that are associated with their environment. The bodhisattva riding on his white elephant is a symbolic image of Buddhist practice, as well as a representation of purity. The purity of the
six sense organs is represented by the six tusks of Universal Virtue's white elephant. ==Meaning of Repentance==