Buddhist Deities in Taiwan
Buddhism in Taiwan blends with local culture. Meet the compassionate figures like Guanyin and Ksitigarbha who offer solace and guidance.
Guanyin Bodhisattva
Whatever you believe, chances are that at the hardest moment of your life you have whispered 'Guanyin Ma, protect me.' Guanyin Bodhisattva (Guanshiyin), affectionately called Guanyin Ma or Guanyin Fozu in Taiwan, is the white-robed figure holding a vase of pure water and a willow branch, the most approachable bodhisattva of all, honored across Buddhism, Taoism, and folk belief alike. Her work comes down to one phrase: rescuing those who suffer. The sutras say she has thirty-two forms and goes wherever there is pain, no matter your faith and no matter what you have done. Curiously, Guanyin was originally depicted as male in Indian Buddhism. After reaching China, the image gradually became feminine from around the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and by the Tang and Song it had settled into the white-robed, motherly figure we know today. Some scholars say that is because, to the Chinese heart, the highest form of compassion is a mother's love. Walk into almost any temple in Taiwan, whoever the main deity is, and you will most likely find Guanyin somewhere inside.
Shakyamuni Buddha
On a moonlit night some 2,500 years ago, a prince mounted a white horse, slipped away from his sleeping wife and child, and never looked back. He was Shakyamuni Buddha, known in Taiwan as Fozu, the World-Honored One, or Rulai Buddha: the founder of Buddhism, born Siddhartha Gautama into the royal family of Kapilavastu in ancient India. At 29, on what are called the 'four excursions' beyond the palace gates, he came face to face with old age, sickness, and death, and resolved to leave home in search of liberation. He finally attained enlightenment beneath the Bodhi tree. In Taiwan, the four great Buddhist communities, Fo Guang Shan, Dharma Drum Mountain, Tzu Chi, and Chung Tai Chan Monastery, each have their own style, yet all honor Shakyamuni as their root teacher. A quick way to tell three figures apart: Shakyamuni is the teacher who really lived in this world, Amitabha is the Buddha of the Western Pure Land, and Guanyin is a bodhisattva who has not yet become a Buddha. Get these three straight before you step into a Buddhist temple, and you will pay your respects with more confidence.
Amitabha Buddha
In Taiwan, people say 'Amituofo' to greet each other, to say thank you, even to sigh; when a Buddha's name becomes everyday speech, you know how deeply it has spread. Amitabha Buddha, also called the Buddha of Infinite Life, the Buddha of Infinite Light, and the Welcoming Buddha, presides over the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. The Pure Land practice of reciting the Buddha's name teaches that anyone who sincerely believes, vows, and recites 'Namo Amituofo' will be met by the Buddha at the moment of death and guided to rebirth in the Western Pure Land. No deep learning is required, and anyone can say a single Buddha's name, which is exactly why it has become the most widespread Buddhist practice in Taiwan. From seven-day recitation retreats in temples and daily practice to the chanting machine at an elder's bedside, this name is recited day and night across the island. Together with Guanyin and Mahasthamaprapta (Dashizhi) Bodhisattvas, he forms the 'Three Sages of the West,' and he is what many Taiwanese lean on most when facing life and death.
Kshitigarbha Bodhisattva
'Until the hells are empty, I will not become a Buddha; only when all beings are saved will I attain enlightenment.' The one who dared to make that vow is Kshitigarbha Bodhisattva, Dizang Wang, honored in folk belief as the Lord of the Netherworld. He is one of the four great bodhisattvas of Chinese Buddhism and stands for the great vow. He is easy to recognize: a monk in a five-leaf Vairocana crown, a ringed staff in one hand to shake open the gates of hell and a luminous pearl in the other to light up the dark realm. In Taiwan his role crosses boundaries: he is a Buddhist bodhisattva, yet he is also woven deep into the Ghost Festival, ancestor worship, and funeral rites. Every seventh lunar month, deliverance services follow one after another at Buddhist temples and Dizang shrines across the island, and when someone in the family dies, inviting monks to chant the Kshitigarbha Sutra and dedicate the merit to the deceased is something many Taiwanese families have experienced. When people want to do something for a loved one who has passed, he is the first one most of them think of.
Medicine Buddha
Every Lunar New Year, Taiwan's Buddhist temples fill with people lining up to light lamps, most of them Medicine Buddha lamps, asking for a year free of illness and misfortune for their families. The one entrusted with all that health is the Medicine Buddha, in full the Medicine Master of Lapis Lazuli Light Tathagata, also called the Great Physician King Buddha. He presides over the Eastern Pure Land of Lapis Lazuli, and together with Amitabha and Shakyamuni he makes up the 'Buddhas of the Three Directions.' Before becoming a Buddha he made twelve great vows, from 'freedom from illness and peace' to 'fine food and drink' and 'fine clothing,' all aimed squarely at everyday life here and now: a healthy body, a livable life, a settled mind. That is why the Medicine Buddha is the Buddha Taiwanese turn to most when praying for recovery from illness, protection from misfortune, and long life. When someone at home is sick or an elder is getting on in years, lighting a lamp in the Medicine Buddha hall is something many Taiwanese families do every year.
Maitreya Buddha
Everyone knows the chubby monk at the temple gate, belly bare, laughing so hard his eyes have narrowed to slits. This is Maitreya Buddha, also called Big-Belly Maitreya or the Laughing Buddha, and in folk speech simply Budai, the Cloth-Sack Monk. What many people don't realize is that his official role is the 'Future Buddha.' The sutras foretell that after the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha have completely died out, Maitreya will be born into the human world, become a Buddha, and save countless beings. Until then he remains Maitreya Bodhisattva, dwelling in the Tushita Heaven and waiting for his time. What Taiwanese love about him is captured in a famous couplet: 'A big belly can hold what the world cannot bear; a ready smile laughs at all the world's absurdities.' However hard life gets, one look at that grin seems to make it bearable. That is why his beaming figure turns up everywhere, from temple gates to shop counters.
Manjushri Bodhisattva
When exam season arrives, photocopies of admission tickets pile up like small mountains on the altars of temples that honor Manjushri Bodhisattva. Manjushri, also known as Wenshu Shili or Manjushri of Great Wisdom, is the great bodhisattva who is 'foremost in wisdom' in Buddhism. With Samantabhadra Bodhisattva he attends Shakyamuni Buddha, the three together called the 'Shakyamuni Triad'; when the central figure is Vairocana Buddha instead, they are called the 'Three Sages of the Avatamsaka.' His image is unforgettable: his right hand raises the sword of wisdom, which cuts through afflictions rather than enemies; his left holds a Prajna sutra; and he rides a blue-green lion, symbol of wisdom's fierce power. In Taiwan he is the guardian of students and test-takers, and visiting Manjushri before a big exam to ask for wisdom and a place on the list of successful candidates is a fixed routine for many families. But Manjushri is about more than exams. What he gives is the ability to think things through, so you can bring life's hard questions to him too.
Samantabhadra Bodhisattva
Each of Buddhism's four great bodhisattvas has a specialty: Guanyin stands for compassion, Manjushri for wisdom, Kshitigarbha for vows, and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, also called the Bodhisattva of Universal Auspiciousness or Samantabhadra of Great Practice, stands for practice: actually putting the Dharma into action. In the Avatamsaka Sutra he is honored as the 'eldest son of all Buddhas,' and with Manjushri on the other side he attends Shakyamuni Buddha, the three forming the 'Shakyamuni Triad.' Manjushri stands for seeing clearly, Samantabhadra for getting it done. He is easy to recognize, riding a white elephant with six tusks. The six tusks stand for the six perfections: generosity, moral discipline, patience, diligence, meditation, and wisdom. In Taiwan, faith in Samantabhadra is not as widespread as faith in Guanyin or Kshitigarbha, but his 'Ten Great Vows' serve as a guide to action in the morning and evening services of countless Buddhists. Those who know understand: to honor Samantabhadra is to honor the idea of not just talking but doing.
Skanda Bodhisattva
Step into a Buddhist temple in Taiwan and the first figure you meet is the smiling Maitreya. Turn around, though, and there stands a warrior in golden armor holding a vajra club, facing the main hall. This is Skanda (Weituo) Bodhisattva, also called Weituo Tian or General Wei, the best-known Dharma protector in Chinese Buddhism. Maitreya faces outward to greet guests, Skanda faces inward to guard; 'Maitreya when you enter, Skanda when you look back' is the traditional layout of the Hall of Heavenly Kings. His duties are to protect the Dharma, guard the monastery, and subdue demonic forces. Those in the know look at one more detail: how Skanda holds his vajra club tells you the monastery's rules for visiting monks. Laid across both arms, it welcomes a wandering monk to stay for three days; held upright at the waist, it offers a one-day stay; planted on the ground, it means no lodging is available. Next time you pass through a temple gate, remember to look back at this silent guardian general.
Sangharama Bodhisattva
You may not know it, but Lord Guan goes by another name inside Buddhist temples. Sangharama Bodhisattva, also called the Venerable Sangharama, is the guardian deity of monasteries in Chinese Buddhism, and his most famous manifestation is none other than Guan Yu, the Holy Emperor Guan. 'Sangharama' originally means the pure grounds where a community of monks lives, and Sangharama Bodhisattva is the guardian of those grounds. Legend says that after Guan Yu died in battle, he was converted by Master Zhiyi of the Tiantai school, took refuge in Buddhism, and from then on guarded Buddhist monasteries as a Dharma protector. In Chinese Buddhist temples he is placed symmetrically with Skanda, one inside and one outside: 'outside, Skanda subdues demons; inside, Sangharama guards the monastery.' And so in Taiwan the same Lord Guan has a double identity: in a Guandi temple he is the god of war and a god of wealth, while in a Buddhist temple's Sangharama hall he is a protector of the Dharma.
Acala (Fudo Myoo)
Deep blue skin, glaring eyes, flames roaring behind him: people seeing Acala (Fudo Myoo) for the first time are often startled. How can a Buddhist protector look like this? Acala, also called Fudo-son, the Immovable Lord, is the foremost of the Five Great Wisdom Kings of Esoteric Buddhism. A 'Wisdom King' is neither a Buddha nor a bodhisattva but the wrathful form the Buddhas take on to subdue stubborn beings who are hard to reach, and Acala is a manifestation of Mahavairocana. In his right hand is a demon-subduing sword that cuts through afflictions, in his left a lasso that draws beings out of suffering, and his feet rest on a solid rock, a sign of resolve that never retreats. The fire burns not people but karmic obstacles. Faith in Acala took a particular route into Taiwan: it came mainly through Japanese Buddhism (such as the Shingon school) during the Japanese colonial era, not through Chinese Buddhism, and the Acala grotto in the Beitou hot spring district is a relic left from the Taisho era of Japanese rule. A niche faith, but one with a deep story.