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.