The Chinese Buddhist Pantheon
The 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 illustration. Most of these Deities fall into the category of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Arahants and other Heavenly Beings. e illustration of the Chinese Pantheon only depicts the most popular Deities whom the Chinese adore and there is another popular illustration which includes the Eighteen Lohans that can be found in many temples and homes of the Buddhists.
Description of the Chinese Pantheon
The Trinity of the Buddhas on the top row of the illustration consists of the historical Sakyamuni Buddha who is seated in the centre and is attended by his two foremost disciples. e older monk standing on his left is Mahakasyapa who later became the First Patriarch of Buddhism after the Buddha’s death. e young monk on his right is Ananda, his personal attendant, 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.
The two most adored Buddhas of the distant past, whose existence were revealed to us by Sakyamuni Buddha himself, are shown seated by his sides. Amitabha Buddha, the Buddha of Boundless Light and Limitless Life, the Creator of the Western 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 Bodhisattvas. A Bodhisattva 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 samsaric realms or worlds are those belonging to the gods, asuras, humans, animals, ghosts and hell-beings. K S Y P’ or Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva can be seen seated just below Sakyamuni Buddha and is flanked by her two famous disciples ‘G Y’ and ‘J G’. Being the personification of Compassion, Kuan Yin is easily the most popular of all the Deities of the entire pantheon. W-S P’ or Manjusri Bodhisattva, the embodiment of Wisdom, is the figure seated upon the lion which represents the ‘wild mind’ which meditation transforms. P H P’ or Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, the personification of Perfect Activity and Happiness, is depicted as seated upon the white elephant. She also represents active love, virtue, diligent training and patience. T-T W P’ or Ksitigarbha, the embodiment of Benevolence, the only Bodhisattva depicted in a monk’s attire, is seated just below Kuan Yin P’usa. His two disciples, a father and son combination, are M K and monk T M. M-L F or Maitreya Buddha, or the Buddha-to-come and often referred to as the Laughing Buddha, sits below Ti-tsang P’usa. He is flanked by K T, the Protector of the Buddhist religion, on his right, and W-T, the Protector of Buddhist Dharma, on his left. e rest of the magnificent figures, all clad in complete armour, are the famous S-T-T-W, or the Four Great Kings of Devas. ese Four Guardian Kings of the four directions represent the protection of the Buddhas and the Patriarchs and are actively involved with the affairs of the world. M-L C, the Guardian of the East, holds a magical mandolin or p’i-pa, while M-L H, the Guardian of the West, has with him the magic dragon. On the other side, M-L S, the Guardian of the North, is seen holding an umbrella, at the elevation of which darkness envelopes the world or a violent and thunderous storm commences. M-L H, the Guardian of the South, who possesses a black countenance and ferocious expression, has in his hand a precious sword.
The eghteen Arhats (Lo-Hans), often appearing in other versions of the Chinese Buddhist Pantheon, are usually represented as possessing various 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.
