According to the Golden Light Sutra, "The heavens develop bodhicitta in front of the Buddha on the golden light, protect Buddhism, practice all Dharma, practice all good deeds, stay away from evil deeds, follow the Buddha's instructions, and travel around the world; use compassio

The so-called "Gods" are the guardian gods in Buddhism, such as the Four Heavenly Kings, the Great Brahma King, etc. In Indian culture, heaven is an alias for gods, so "Gods" are also called "Gods" or "Respecting Heaven". Most of the heavens in Buddhism come from the indigenous beliefs of ancient Indian . These gods were later absorbed by Buddhism and became the protectors of Buddhism.

According to the "Golden Light Sutra", "The heavens develop bodhicitta in front of the Buddha on the golden light, protect Buddhism, pursue the Dharma, practice all good deeds, stay away from evil deeds, follow the Buddha's instructions, and travel around the world; use compassion to assist virtuous people and promote the practitioners to achieve the Buddha's fruit." So what are the twenty-four days in the heavens? Today I will take you to learn about , the twenty-four heavens, and .

1, 33Brahma , which means free from desire or tranquility. He was the creator of the universe in ancient Indian mythology. He combined it with Vishnu and Shiva into the three main gods of Hindu , and was later absorbed by Buddhism as the guardian god. In Buddhist scriptures, Brahma is regarded as the "Master of the Three Realms" who "will be bound by the small world at the horizontal level, and the top is the top and bottom at the vertical level". As one of the important gods who protect Buddhism and protect the country and benefit the people, Brahma often appears together with Indra in the statue.

2, 3 The Great Buddha Heaven

Indra's Sanskrit name is Sakyamuni Indra, which is translated as Emperor Neng. He turned out to be the main god in the ancient Indian " Rigveda ", and later became the guardian god of Buddhism. Indra is regarded as the lord of the Trayastrimsa Heaven who commands the heavens, also known as the "Trayastrimsa Heavenly King of the Thirty-Three Heavens", also known as the Heavenly Indra and Indra Heaven.

3, East holds the country and supreme heaven

Holds the country's name, "holding the country" means protecting sentient beings and protecting the country. This heaven is responsible for protecting Dongsheng Shenzhou on the east side of Mount Sumeru. Its image was originally a sword-holding general, but he used music to convert sentient beings to Buddhism, so after the Tang Dynasty, he became the image of holding a pipa.

4, Western broad eyes Zuntian

Broad eyes Tianfan name Viliu Bocha, "Broad eyes" means to observe the world at any time with the pure heavenly eyes and protect the people. This is the duty of protecting the Xiniu Hezhou on the west side of Mount Sumeru.

5, South Growth Zuntian

Growth Tianfan name Viliula Cha, "Growth" means to enable sentient beings to grow good roots and protect Buddhism. This heaven's duty is to protect South Zhanbu Continent in the south of Mount Sumeru.

6, 3 North Duowen Zuntian

Duowen Tianfan is named Visarman, guarding the Northern Kuluzhou north of Mount Sumeru. In Indian mythology, he is also a good god who provides blessings and wealth. In the Tang Dynasty, he was regarded as a god of protection of the country and was widely worshipped.

7, Vajra Secret Trace Zuntian

Microsoft Trace is also called Vajra Lishi and Vajra Hand, so the name is given to the weapon holding the Vajra Pestle in the God's hand. The Great Ritual Sutra records that "the West regards yasha as a secret, and his body, mouth and mind are fast, and it is difficult to understand the secrets. Therefore, the old one may read the secrets. If you briefly understand the meaning, the secret master is the yasha king, who holds vajra and is always guarding the guards." Therefore, he is also known as the secret master of Vajra Hand, the secret master of Vajra, the yasha king, etc. The Miji Vajra was originally a servant of the Indian Vinaya Heaven, but later absorbed by Buddhism and became an important guardian god.

8, Maheshula Zuntian

Maheshula , translated as Great Free Heaven , also known as Yishe's Day.The Great Free Heaven is the different name of Lord Shiva. In Hinduism, Shiva is the god of destruction and the god of asceticism and dance, and is regarded as the first main god of Hinduism. In Buddhism, he was revered as the "Master of the Three Realms" and lived at the top of the form realm. He was the Lord of , the Three Thousand Great Thousand Worlds . Because he was able to be great freedom in the three Thousand Realms, he was also called "Masterless Heaven".

9, 33splitting general zuntian

splitting general Sanskrit name Sanzhi Xiumo and Pianzhi Jia. He is the Yaokha general under the northern king of Visakhs. In Buddhist legends, General Sanzhi has the highest status among the twenty-eight Yaokha generals led by the four heavenly kings. He is the "General of the Twenty-Eight Tribes" and "protects all sentient beings in the ten directions to eliminate troubles and troubles."

0, Great Eloquence and Honor Heaven

Great Eloquence and Honor Heaven, Eloquence and Heaven, Miaoyin Heaven, etc. He was originally a river god of the Salaswadi River in ancient India. He was respected as the god in charge of language arts and music. He later became a guardian of Buddhism. He has four unobstructed eloquence: Dharma, lyrics, meanings, and music, and is well versed in the world's language and skills, so he is called "the master of eloquence" or "the master of wisdom of great eloquence".

1, Great merits and honor heaven

auspicious merits and virtues heavenly brahma name room Limahatibiya, meaning merit and auspiciousness. In ancient Indian mythology, she was Vishnu's spouse, and in Buddhism she became the daughter of the Devil's Mother Heaven and the guardian god. "He could make all beings blessed and protect all things, and also supported all the four kings and others in the great debate, so that there would be no disaster."

2, Great Master Wei Tuo Heaven

Wei Tuo means wisdom theory. He was originally the God of War of the Indian Brahmanism, and later became the Buddhist Dharma protector. Weituotian does not belong to the ranks of the heavens of Tantric Buddhism, and is one of the heavens of the Golden Light Taoist Places of Tiantai Sect. There is another guardian god in Buddhism, General Wei Tian, ​​, . According to the records of the Tang Dynasty, "the god surnamed Wei Wei is Kun, and he is one of the eight generals of the south." Since the Tang Dynasty, he has become the main guardian god of the temple. Later generations gradually merged the Indian Weituotian with General Wei, who was dreaming in Taoism, to form the common Weituo Bodhisattva in Han temples.

3, 3 歌小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小� Earth and Heaven were originally the goddess of earth in ancient India Brahmanism, and its duties were to protect land and earthly creatures. In Buddhism, she once proved the enlightenment of Sakyamuni, and when the Buddha preached, she "always acted as a guardian, concealed her body, and put her feet under the Dharma seat", thus becoming an important Dharma protector in Buddhism.

4, Bodhi tree Divine Lord

Bodhi tree god is the female god who guards the Bodhi tree. "Thus, the god protects the Bodhi tree where the Tathagata achieves enlightenment, so he establishes his name." Bodhi is translated as Tao. Shakyamuni Buddha has been awakened and became a Buddha after seven days and seven nights under this tree, so this tree is called the Bodhi tree. She is also known as the Bodhi Tree God in the "Golden Light Sutra".

5, Divine Holy Mother Zuntian

Divine Mother Heaven is also called Heli Emperor Mother. Heli Emperor murmured the Japanese Mother or happy mother and loves her mother. In Buddhist legends, the Japanese Mother was originally the Rakshasa ghost mother who specialized in eating human children in Rosha City . Because he had five hundred Japanese, he was called the Japanese Mother. Later, she was influenced by the Buddha to convert to Buddhism and became a Buddhist guardian god.

6, 3Da Mani branch Zuntian

means "yang flame" or "magic light", because "this sky cannot be seen, cannot be caught, fire cannot burn, and water cannot float, just like Yang flame." He was originally the goddess of light in ancient India, and later became the great god of heaven in Buddhism to relieve disasters and gain benefits.

7, Day Palace Sun Zuntian

Day Heavenly Brahma is called Ardiye, also known as Suliye, which is translated as the Emperor of the Sun Palace, the Emperor of the Sun Palace, also known as the Emperor of Baoguang and the Emperor of Baoyi. He was originally the sun god Suliya in ancient Indian mythology, and later became the guardian god of Buddhism and was considered one of the incarnations of Guanyin Bodhisattva .

8, Moon Palace Taiyin Zuntian

Moon Heaven is called Sumo, which means light or moon. Moon Heaven is also known as Moon Palace Emperor, Great White Light God, Yue Yao, etc., and lives in the Moon Palace. He originated from the moon god of Brahmanism in ancient India and later became one of the Buddhist guardian gods. In the Tantric Buddhism of the Tang Dynasty, Yuetian was regarded as the crown prince and Ritian was regarded as the emperor. The moon and sky in Chinese temples are mostly the image of an emperor, but after the Ming Dynasty, it mostly appeared in the image of female concubines and the sun.

9, Sagala king Zuntian

Sagala dragon king Sanskrit name Pogala or Sazero, meaning the Aral Sea, that is, the Dragon King in the Aral Sea. He was the lord of snake and dragon, one of the eight dragon kings in ancient India, and later became the Buddhist guardian god. The responsibilities of the Dragon King Saoji are to protect the Heavenly Palace, to promote clouds and rain, to command snakes and dragons to break the river and open the river, and to protect the country and the people.

20, 3 King of Hell

King of Yama also known as Yanmo Dharma King and Yanmo Tian, ​​which is the master of hell King of Yama as described in folk. Yanmo (Yanmora, Night Demon Luka) means "to stop" (those who make no more evil), "rest" (sinners who are in love with their own sins and stop their disputes), etc. Yan Motian was originally the ghost king in the underworld in ancient Indian mythology, and later became the Buddhist guardian god, "governing one hundred and forty hells."

21, Kinnara King Zuntian

Kinnara is one of the "Eight Tribes of the Heavenly Dragons". It has horns on its head, so it is also known as human beings. He was a subordinate of Indra and was responsible for playing music, so he was a music god. This kind of god is both a man and a woman. Men are horse-headed and human, while women are dignified and beautiful; men are good at playing, while women are good at singing.

22, star palace moon palace Zuntian

star palace moon palace, which is what people often call Ziwei Emperor . The ancients believed that North Star is the imperial star, and it lives in the Ziwei palace in the sky. The palace in the Ming Dynasty specially built the Ziwei Hall to "set up statues and sacrifices." Emperor Ziwei often holds a palace with Jade Emperor . Most of the images are wearing crowns and court robes, which are the image of emperors on earth.

23, Holi Dilan is also called Dongyue Emperor , which was originally the Taishan God , which was believed in ancient my country. Emperors of all dynasties have praised the Emperor Dongyue, and the people's beliefs are very common. Heli Di Nan was also known as the Emperor of Dongyue. He was originally the god of Mount Tai believed in ancient my country. Emperors of all dynasties have praised the Emperor Dongyue, and the people's beliefs are very common.

24, Thor Tianjiang Zuntian

Thor is the god of Si Lei in ancient myths and legends in my country. "The Classic of Mountains and Seas·Hai Nei East Classic" records: "There is a thunder god in the thunder seed, with a dragon head and a human body, and a belly bulge."H Taiping Guangji " quotes "The Biography of the Immortals and Immortals" and says that Thunder God has five brothers, namely thunder, landmines, water mines, social thunder (also known as demon thunder), and divine thunder, which are the five thunder gods. How about

? After reading this group of twenty-four heavenly guardians, do you have a clearer understanding of Buddhist characters? Then next time you go to the temple, don't ignore these beautiful and talented heavenly guardians.

Picture source | Ten Wishes Encyclopedia

photography | Ten Wishes