Popular Deities of Chinese Buddhism (Illustrated)

(Grace) #1


good looking man clad in full armour and headgear of a gen-
eral, standing and leaning upon an impressive looking sword or
gnarled staff with both hands, or he could be holding a sceptre-
shaped defensive weapon.

Just as Maitreya, who as a Bodhisattva, has earned the mark of
respect of a Buddha, Wei-To, though only a Deva or God, is
very often addressed as a Bodhisattva or ‘Wei-To P’usa’. is is
attributed to the prediction
that he will in the future
become the Buddha Rucika
or ‘Lou-Chi Fwo’, the last
of the thousand Buddhas
in our world period.
Since Vajrapani, a very
popular Tibetan Buddhist
Bodhisattva who is the
God of Rain, and also
known as the underbolt-
Bearer, also shares this
prediction, one thus finds
Wei-To being referred to as
him. However he has not
gained sufficient followers
to become a major Deity
in Buddhism. His birthday
falls on the 3rd day of the
6th month which is hardly
celebrated in a grand scale. A I  W-T

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