Chinese Buddhist Pantheon | |||
EIGHTEEN ARHATS (Lo-Hans), not depicted in this il us- tration but often appearing in other versions of the Chinese Buddhist Pantheon, are usual y represented as possessing vari- ous kinds of supernatural power, symbolised either by objects held in their hands or by wild animals crouching submissively beside them. ese are perfected beings who have listened and practised the teachings of the Buddha. In Chinese Buddhism there are a number of famous groups of Arhants of which this group of eighteen is the most popular. IN THE GREAT HALL THE EIGHTEEN LOHANS ARE FOUND NINE ON EACH SIDE OF THE WALLS. THE ABOVE PICTURE ONLY SHOWS PART OF THE NINE LOHANS ON ONE SIDE. INCENSE ARE OFTEN OFFERED TO THEM AS A MARK OF RESPECT FOR THEIR SPIRITUAL ATTAINMENTS. e Buddhist Pantheon has a vast number of Deities in the seemingly endless variation of forms so that it is quite impossible to portray them in any one il ustration. Most of these Deities fall into the category of Buddhas, Bodhisat vas, Arahants and other Heavenly Beings. e il ustration of the Chinese Pantheon only depicts the most popular Deities whom the Chinese adore and there is another popular il ustration which includes the Eighteen Lohans that can be found in many temples and homes of the Buddhists. escription of the hinese antheon e Trinity of the Buddhas on the top row of the il ustration consists of the historical SAKYAMUNI BUDDHA who is seated in the centre and is at ended by his two foremost disciples. e older monk standing on his left is MAHAKASYAPA, who later be- came the First Patriarch of Buddhism after the Buddha's death. e young monk on his right is ANANDA, his personal at endant, who was well known for his great memory power and ability to repeat accurately all the teachings that had been spoken by the Buddha. He later became the Second Patriarch of Buddhism. two most adored Buddhas of the distant past, whose exist- ence were revealed to us by Sakyamuni Buddha himself, are shown seated by his sides. AMITABHA BUDDHA, e Buddha of Boundless Light and Limitless Life, the Creator of the West- ern Paradise (Sukhavati) where all Pure Land Buddhists hope to take rebirth into, sits on the right hand side of Sakyamuni Buddha. BHAISAJYA-GURU, the Healing Buddha, the Creator of the Eastern Paradise, also known as the Medicine Buddha because of his healing powers, is seated on the left. Just below the Buddhas are the ree Great Bodhisat vas. A Bodhisat va or P'usa, in Chinese, is an Enlightened Being who forsakes Nirvana and accepts rebirth into the suffering worlds of Samsara for the sake of relieving the pains of sentient beings and leading them to the path of enlightenment. e six sam- saric realms or worlds are those belonging to the gods, asuras, humans, animals, ghosts and hel -beings. KUAN SHIN YIN P'USA or Avalokitesvara Bodhisat va can be seen seated just below Sakyamuni Buddha and is flanked by her two famous disciples `GOLDEN YOUTH' and `JADE GIRL'. Being the personification of Compassion, Kuan Yin is easily the most popular of all the Deities of the entire pantheon. WEN-SHU P'USA or Manjusri Bodhisat va, the embodiment of Wisdom, is the figure seated upon the lion which represents the `wild mind' which meditation transforms. PU HSIEN P'USA or Samantabhadra Bodhisat va, the personification of Perfect Activity and Happiness, is depicted as seated upon the white elephant. She also represents active love, virtue, diligent training
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