The chinese pantheon (popular deities of chinese buddhism)

Amitabha: the Buddha of Boundless Light.

According to Mahayana Buddhist sutras he was a king in the remote period of time. Renouncing his kingdom, he became a monk and was named Dharmakara, which means 'Treasury of Dharma'. Inspired by the teachings of the then Buddha of that time, Lokesvaraja Buddha, who taught him the way to supreme enlightenment many aeons ago, he made forty eight great vows for the saving of the sentient beings. The Eighteenth Vow, which is the basis of the Pure Land, ran like this: 'If upon the attainment of Buddhahood all sentient beings in the ten quarters who aspire in sincerity and faith to be reborn in my land, recite my name up to ten times and fail to be born there, then may I not attain the Perfect Enlightenment…'

Since then, the Bodhisattva Dharmakara, after five aeons of self-cultivation, finally attained the Supreme Enlightenment and became the Buddha Amitabha. This means that his grand and infinitely compassionate vow is now a reality, the paradise known as Pure Land or Sukhavati has been established, suffering beings must and will be delivered if only they will have the full faith to call upon his name.

Calling the Buddha's name with full faith is known to the Chinese as 'NIEN-FWO' meaning 'Prayer-recitation'. The Japanese term for this practice is known as 'Nembutsu'. In this practice three important qualities must be present in the mind: Sincerity, Faith and Aspiration to be reborn in the Pure Land. The simple prayer or formula that one needs to repeat is:

"NAMO O-MI-TO FWO"

One may repeat it in Sanskrit 'Namo Amitabha Buddha' which literally mans 'Homage to the Amitabha Buddha ' or 'I seek refuge in the Amitabha Buddha'.


Yao Shih Fwo, Bhaisajyaguru: the Medicine Buddha.

Yao Shih Fwo, one of the three foremost Buddhas of the Chinese Pantheon, is a Buddha of the past era. Better known to the people as the Buddha of Medicine or the Master of Healing, he is dear to the hearts of many, for they have indeed received his blessings in the forms of miraculous cures of all kinds of illness. The Buddha's efficacy in preventing calamities and granting prosperity besides curing illness has attracted a steady number of believers and devotees since the time of the Eastern Chin Dynasty (AD 317-420) to the present day. The Sutra of the Buddha of Medicine (Bhaisajyaraja Sutra) was also translated into Chinese at that period of time which provided a full account on the peerless Buddha, his Paradise and his Twelve Great Vows. However the later translation made by Tripitaka Master Hsuan Tsang, the famous monk of the Tang Dynasty, known as The Sutra of the Master of Healing (Bhaisajyaguru - Vaidurya - Prabhasa Tathagata), is the more popular Sutra which is widely read by most people today.

The title 'Master of Healing', is a literal translation of his Sanskrit name 'Bhaisajyaguru', the Buddha who favours worshippers with relief from the troubles of the world. Apart from curing illness, warding such calamities as famine, drought and plague, granting longevity and assisting the dead, Yao Shih Fwo is known to have dispensed all kinds of mundane benefits to those who pray to him. Despite his great popularity, temples dedicated to him are very scarce so that those who wish to worship him may do so at temples where his images can be found. He is often found in a triad with Sakyamuni Buddha and Amitabha Buddha, and his symbols are either the medicine bowl or the pagoda. When depicted alone, he holds his symbol with his left hand and he is normally attended to by his prominent disciples, the Great Bodhisattvas 'Radiance of the Sun' and the 'Radiance of the Moon'.


to be continued

Source:www.buddhanet.net