Page 19 - Popular Deities of Chinese Buddhism (Illustrated) and Symbols

What gave the early Buddhists their popularity can be attributed

mainly to the doctrines of the common brotherhood of men and

the Law of Cause and Effect. is taught that every good act

such as worship, charity, reading and printing scriptures, wish-

ing for the good of others and other good deeds would infallibly

cause good results. e rewards of their faith in the compassion

and saving powers of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and other

Mahayana teachings easily attracted a great following. More-

over, one could be a good Buddhist without actually entering the

Order, as was impossible according to the Hinayana. Another

very important factor which helped to spread and popularised

Mahayana Buddhism was its non-rejection of the peoples’ ethnic

faiths so that their gods and spirits were absorbed into its vast

pantheon. ere was no real harm in worshipping such deities so

long as it was recognised that englightenment could be won only

by following the way of the Buddha and not gained through

godly worship. e Chinese could thus continue to turn to their

gods for worldly boons such as success in love affairs, business,

gaining wealth, recovering of illness and even requesting for

extension of life. is may seem a superstitious practice but do

not people of other faiths also pray to their gods for such help?

Chinese Buddhism has therefore, its own unique flavour and

beauty since it has, to a certain extent, been influenced by Tao-

ist thoughts. us the Chinese Pantheon came into being. e

sole intention of producing this book is to provide useful infor-

mation to the uninformed Buddhists who worship such figures

in the temples. It also serves to explain to non-Buddhists that

Buddhists often respect and honour gods and deities but do not

take refuge in them.

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