Manjusri is the Bodhisattva of Wisdom, usually portrayed holding the Sword of Wisdom to cut through delusion, and riding "the Beast of Self which never sleeps". Are we Manjusri or are we the beast? It may seem like we are divided between a good side and a bad side, between clarity and confusion, but we gradually come to see that Manjusri and the beast are not two different things.

When we come to understand the true nature of "self", we see that the "beast" is what carries and supports Manjusri - and us. The wisdom which Manjusri embodies is not intellectual or conceptual wisdom, but is the ability to see ourselves and the whole of existence with clarity. When we see clearly, we understand that we must act in the world in a way that is rooted in compassion for all beings.