Sangharama Bodhisattva

Legend says that at the end of the Eastern Han dynasty, Guan Yu was defeated at Maicheng and beheaded by the state of Wu, but his spirit would not disperse and often appeared around Jingzhou. One night it drifted to Mount Yuquan in Hubei, where Master Zhiyi of the Tiantai school was practicing in the mountains, and demanded fiercely, 'Give me back my head!' The master calmly replied, 'General, in your life you killed countless people. From whom should they demand back their heads?' The words struck like thunder. Guan Yu suddenly realized how heavy his karma of killing was, repented on the spot, took refuge, and received the precepts to become a protector of Buddhism, Sangharama Bodhisattva, appearing at Mount Yuquan to protect the Dharma.

The earliest record of this story is Dong Ting's 'Record of the Restoration of the Guan Shrine at Yuquan,' written in the 18th year of the Zhenyuan era of the Tang dynasty (802 AD); the full account of the conversion appears in Northern Song sources. The dates don't match history (Master Zhiyi was born more than three hundred years after Guan Yu), yet it is one of the most graceful strokes in the Sinicization of Buddhism: inviting the warrior saint the Chinese revered most into the Buddhist fold as its guardian. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, this faith crossed the sea with immigrants to Taiwan, giving rise to Taiwan's distinctive scene of 'one deity with two names, worshipped by both Buddhists and Taoists.'

Worshipping Sangharama follows the rules of the Buddhist temple: vegetarian offerings, chanting the Heart Sutra and the Great Compassion Mantra, or reciting his name, 'Namo Qielan Shengzhong Pusa' (Homage to the Holy Sangharama Bodhisattvas). He is a protector of the monastery, so devotees mostly pray for smooth progress in practice and a flourishing monastery, and seldom bring personal worldly matters. Interestingly, change the setting and the way of worship changes too. The same Lord Guan is, in a Guandi temple, the god of war, a god of wealth, and a god of loyalty, someone you can ask for help with your career or your finances; in a Buddhist temple's Sangharama hall he is a Dharma protector, and what you ask for is the protection of the Dharma. Before you decide what to pray for, look at which kind of temple you have walked into. That is where Taiwanese faith is at its most flexible. On his birthday, the 13th day of the fifth lunar month, Buddhist temples and Guandi temples often celebrate on the same day, with both Buddhists and Taoists joining in.

Sangharama Bodhisattva's Birthday: the 13th day of the fifth lunar month (the 24th day of the sixth lunar month in some traditions). This is also the day popularly known as the birthday of the Holy Emperor Guan, and both Buddhist temples and Guandi temples hold celebrations.

Sangharama Services at Buddhist Temples: on the birthday, Buddhist temples chant the Praise of Sangharama Bodhisattva, hold Dharma services, and dedicate merit to the Dharma protectors.

Integration with Lord Guan Worship: because Sangharama Bodhisattva and the Holy Emperor Guan are the same deity, many temples in Taiwan celebrate Sangharama's birthday and Lord Guan's birthday together, with processions, sutra chanting, and other activities, a distinctively Taiwanese expression of combined Buddhist and Taoist festivals.