THE CHINESE BUDDHIST PANTHEON | |||
Much abuse or unkind remarks have been heaped upon Chinese Buddhists accusing them as being idolators because of their use of images in their temples. Accusations of such nature only re- veal the ignorance of those who made them as the principle of the use of images in places of worship should be viewed as sym- bolical and not idol worship. It should be stressed that all the images that are found in the temples or home shrines only serve as reminders of their respective qualities. For example, when a Buddhist kneels down before the image of the Buddha, he does not worship the holy image but brings to mind the great com- passion of the Enlightened One who has taught him the way to liberation. Idolatory is not what Buddhists practise and only the unkind person will choose to deride the use of holy images in the tem- ples. He should have the wisdom to realise that no religion in the world can do away with symbolism, whether they be human or otherwise, for without symbolism, identification would be quite impossible. e world, in fact, cannot exist without sym- bolism and it can safely be said that only civilisations as old and advanced in culture as China are able to bring forth symbolic images such as those produced by the Chinese people. e im- ages used in the Chinese temples are therefore useful aids to generating faith and devotion in the minds of the believers and are objects worthy of reverence. Upon entering the front hall of the temple, one is met with the idea of `protection' from the celestial beings and as one stands before the Buddha's image, one is reminded of Sakyamuni's com- passion, benevolence and wisdom. Looking at the Bodhisat vas' images he sees their particular at ributes so that Kuan Yin's im- age instantly reminds him of her infinite mercy, compassion and other gentle qualities. Many a troubled mind have found solace and comfort upon looking at the sweet image of Kuan Yin. Even the animals which are portrayed with the deities have their own symbolic meanings. us Fu Hsien's great white elephant indi- cates purity, caution, strength, gentleness and a weighty dignity while the lion of Wen-shu represents honour, boldness, bravery and a fresh, eager and advancing spirit as well as the wild and almost untameable spirit of the unruly mind which one must eventual y subdue in order to gain wisdom and enlightenment. In the Arhat's images one sees those who have perfected them- selves by ridding their worldly passions and earned the freedom from samsaric sufferings. Such is the symbolism of the Chinese Buddhist images which one should know of instead of jumping into wrong conclusions, which are the causes of il -wil . ere- fore when a Buddhist bows before a holy image and makes his offerings, one should know that this is but an act of respect and veneration to the Buddhas and Bodhisat vas. ¡ûBACK¡û |INDEX| ¡úNEXT¡ú |