A question~ :D

Eridanus SG

Erm.. I might be asking a very dumb question but.. I'm 16 this year. I was borned a Buddhist and I didn't really care about that when I was young.. Last few years, I've even decided to switch my religion because of this so called "trend" during my primary school times and lower sec-sch times.

Just recently, I've finally understand what Buddhism is. A slight understanding. I might be only a tender young age of 16, but I admire Buddha's teachings. I love helping people, I'm a guy who helps out a lot, and I'm a guy who won't bear to kill a beetle, but still did, cause it irritates me. I know it's wrong, but I don't kill insects now.

I have this question in my mind.. It might be a foolish one..

But why do we pray to different Gods or Goddesses instead of Buddha?

Different gods or goddesses as in (Guan Yin Ma, Guan Yu) etc. Are they some kind of divisions or something?

Can anyone enlighten me with an answer?

Bodhi hut SG

Hi,

Singapore is mixed culture religion country, many have cross Toasim deities and Buddhism Buddha and bodhisavatta. The two Bodhisavatta that usually overlap both religion are 观世音菩萨 and 地藏王菩萨,actually both bodhisavatta are buddhism bodhisavatta, this is due their appearance in china and folk culture by the people they also pray respect to them in the toasit temples.

We pray respect to Buddha or bodhisavatta statue, is not term as "pray", I would like to use the word respect, we respect the Dharma(佛法) teaching.

I personally I do not treat buddhism as a religion, I treat it more like a higher state philiosophy(哲学) or pyscology, as 净空法师 you mention in a DVD which I watch, he mentioned, in order to treat a religion as a religion, there is a center of the ultimate god, ie christianity, you will have Lord(上帝).

In Buddhism you would normally see buddha statue/bodhisavatta statue, arhart statue and protectors of the dharma statue(护法).As you mentioned Guan Yin Ma, maybe you are referring to the statue at Guan Yin Tang, Middle Raod. I heard a friend said that statue is 准提佛母 instead of Guan Yin, and actually 观世音菩萨 has alot manifestition so you would see different names. As for Guan Yu, you can find his statue at Shuang Lim Temple (toa payoh) he is the dharma protector.

An Eternal Now SG

I have this question in my mind.. It might be a foolish one..

But why do we pray to different Gods or Goddesses instead of Buddha?

Different gods or goddesses as in (Guan Yin Ma, Guan Yu) etc. Are they some kind of divisions or something?

Can anyone enlighten me with an answer?

Great you're taking up interest again!

BTW you said decided to switch religion.. are you a Christian?

To answer your questions, Buddhists do not pray to different gods. There is a Chinese folk tradition (like, Ming Jian Xin Yang) out there that worships many Chinese gods, and they included Guan Yin (a Buddhist Bodhisattva) into their 'pantheon'. However the Chinese folk tradition practitioners are not necessarily Buddhists. A Buddhist is someone who has taken refuge in the triple gems (Buddha, Dharma, Sangha).

Guan Yin is a Bodhisattva who symbolizes great compassion, and not only do Buddhist pay reverence to her, we see her as a model... we want to become like Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva ourselves. A Bodhisattva is someone on the path to Buddhahood, who not only sought his own liberation but has great compassion for all sentient beings and vows to deliver them from the samsaric ocean of suffering.

As for Guan Yu, as Bodhi hut explained he's a Buddhism dharma protector. There's a story behind it.

We don't really worship anyone, not even Buddha, Guan Yin, Guan Yu and so on. We pay our deepest respect and reverence to them. We pay respect to Buddha as being the greatest teacher to mankand, and we want to practice his teachings, and attain enlightenment ourselves.

An Eternal Now SG

p.s. Guan Yin is not a god, a god (though might be powerful) is still within the cycle of the 6 realms of samsara... experiencing birth, death, rebirth. In Buddhism we don't 'worship' gods.

Guan Yin Bodhisattva is enlightened, is out of the cycle. But he appears in Samsara out of great compassion for all of us.

coolbluewater SG

p.s. Guan Yin is not a god, a god (though might be powerful) is still within the cycle of the 6 realms of samsara... experiencing birth, death, rebirth. In Buddhism we don't 'worship' gods.

Guan Yin Bodhisattva is enlightened, is out of the cycle. But he appears in Samsara out of great compassion for all of us.

I think it's a common perception that Buddhism = Taoism = Confusius, in fact, they see no difference between the 3. In fact, to many so call followers of buddhist organisations, the buddhism they know is to pray for Buddha/Boddhisattvas, get the blessed water, do whatever they can, only to ask for Buddha/Boddhisattvas to improve their lives. When difficult time decends, they start to ask the same question :" Why Buddha dun want to protect them?"

I've helped out at one dharma event. On the stage, is the Holiness of Bhutan. At the first row of audiences were the VIPs. They were dressed elaborately, with branded ornaments, handbags, even wore a buddha pendent decorated with loads of diamonds. Before the start of the event, the Tai Tais were admiring the wonderful expensive pendents they have, the dress they wore, the latest 1st class holiday they've recently took etc. They were there for one purpose, the blessing of Rinpoche, so that their live could be improved further, so that they can book a place in the Buddha Land. To them, Buddhism is about using the money to buy expensive buddha pendants for themselves, donating money to monastery of their choice (preferbly those with Holiness), and most importantly, everybody must know how much money they have donated. Oh.. not to forget, Rinpoche must also bless their pendants, cars, yachts etc, so that they can not only be the richest being in Samsara, they can also build their Villas in the Buddha Land. Guess what's the topic the Holiness preached on the stage? Renunciation.

Just sharing of my thoughts here.... :P To summarise, Buddhism is not about pray pray, get blessing, donate money for the better of oneselves.

Bodhi hut SG

Just to share a recent DVD I watched on “什么是禅" by 慧律法师。。

他说了这么一段话：

天是棺材顶，

地是棺材底，

兜来兜去，

总在棺材里。

Eridanus SG

Okay.. I get the idea.

Summarising up everything that you guys told me..

They are like teachers to us in life and we pay respect to them for their great deeds and teachings?

Well, to AEN: I was a Buddhist all the way, but when I was young I didn't really pay much attention to my religion.. During primary school times I nearly switched religion, but I didn't. Haha.

If you guys don't mind to answer another question of mine >.<. I have a lot to know about my own religion. XD.

I have another question.. Do we have heaven and hell like Christianity? Where do the good people go to when they die? Where do the bad people go to when they die?

bohiruci SG

Okay.. I get the idea.

Summarising up everything that you guys told me..

They are like teachers to us in life and we pay respect to them for their great deeds and teachings?

Well, to AEN: I was a Buddhist all the way, but when I was young I didn't really pay much attention to my religion.. During primary school times I nearly switched religion, but I didn't. Haha.

If you guys don't mind to answer another question of mine >.<. I have a lot to know about my own religion. XD.

I have another question.. Do we have heaven and hell like Christianity? Where do the good people go to when they die? Where do the bad people go to when they die?

Eridanus ,the concept of God is a fabrication by human since time immemorial to comfort his survival in a harsh african savannah forest. Christianity also stemmed from the human explanation of apocalyptic view of the God's Will

Jesus Christ is like a Great Bodhisattva in Buddhism ,seeking to relieve the Oppressed Jews from the Control of the Roman Empire

The religion of Gods is seeking outer inspirational ,while Buddhism goes through an inner reflection of ones self to attain liberation

An Eternal Now SG

Okay.. I get the idea.

Summarising up everything that you guys told me..

They are like teachers to us in life and we pay respect to them for their great deeds and teachings?

Well, to AEN: I was a Buddhist all the way, but when I was young I didn't really pay much attention to my religion.. During primary school times I nearly switched religion, but I didn't. Haha.

If you guys don't mind to answer another question of mine >.<. I have a lot to know about my own religion. XD.

I have another question.. Do we have heaven and hell like Christianity? Where do the good people go to when they die? Where do the bad people go to when they die?

Glad you continued to look into Buddhism.. my Master himself was once a Christian pastor who wrote Christian books, and later he turned to Buddhism after being challenged to write a book for his [false] criticisms against Buddhism... after reading Buddhism, his whole perspective of Buddhism changed, he found what he wanted and converted. It was an interesting story, but maybe next time..

To answer your questions... yes we have heaven and hell like Christianity. However, as you know, we do not believe in eternal heaven and hell. The beings in hell and heaven also have a temporal lifespan, even though it is very long... they will eventually pass away from the plane and take rebirth according to their karma.

A person is reborn according to his karma, wholesome karma leads to higher realms, unwholesome karma leads to lower realms. What are higher realms? Human, asura, heaven/deva. What are lower realms? Hell, ghost, animal. Altogether they make up six realms.

Another thing is, in Christianity there is only 1 level of heaven and probably 1 hell. In Buddhism, there are many heavens and many hells. There are 28 heavens, for example,

According to Buddhism, the various celestial levels of existence, in ascending order, are divided into three worlds, namely:
(i) Field of Desires
(ii) Field of Forms
(iii) Field of Formless

(i) Field of Desires:
Within the Field of Desires, there are:

(ii) Field of Forms:
Above the Field of Desires is the Field of Forms where beings delight in Jhanic bliss achieved by renouncing sense-desires. This field consists of 4 Dhyana Heavens - the Heaven of 1st Dhyana, the Heaven of 2nd Dhyana, the Heaven of 3rd Dhyana and the Heaven of 4th Dhyana.

(iii) Field of Formless:
There are 4 other heavens within this Field of Formless. The heavens are totally devoid of matter or bodies. These are:

An Eternal Now SG

Summarising up everything that you guys told me..

They are like teachers to us in life and we pay respect to them for their great deeds and teachings?

Thats right, to respect them, and practice their teachings, so that we too may awaken.

justdoit77 SG

I have this question in my mind.. It might be a foolish one..

But why do we pray to different Gods or Goddesses instead of Buddha?

Different gods or goddesses as in (Guan Yin Ma, Guan Yu) etc. Are they some kind of divisions or something?

Can anyone enlighten me with an answer?

Hi Eridanus
I was similar to you, I was like a "part time" buddhist when I first get to know buddhism. lol.
Many buddhists normally pray to bodhistava rather than buddha.
That is because bodhisatva is closer to us due to their vow to give happiness to sentient being and help us to liberate from samsara.
They have very strong 缘 (karmic relationship) with us, so strong until some people know about Guan Yin bodhisatva but don't even know Buddha Sakyamuni. Really.

These maha bodhisatva already attain buddhahood many aeons ago yet they can't bear to see us suffer so still come back to samsara.
It is said that the founder of Tian Tai school (智者大师) is one of many manifestations of buddha sakyamuni.
So, practice hard and be a full time buddhist, as long as you don't give up yourself, buddha and bodhisatva will never give up on you no matter where you go. :)

wilsonhao SG

Hmm, i also didnt know that most buddhist pray to bodhisattvas and buddhas, but i guess you're right to say that. But it depends on traditions. Theravada only pay revenance to Buddha Sakyamuni, the great one. Then we have Mahayana which have both buddha and bodhisattvas and arhats. In the Vajrayana we have buddhas, bodhisattvas, arhats, dharma-protectors, deities which we can meditate on.

Regarding this statement,"It is said that the founder of Tian Tai school (智者大师) is one of many manifestations of buddha sakyamuni" , i somehow dont agree with it. Buddha Sakyamuni has already parninirvana and left the world, and how did he come back as manifiestation again? This statement leaves me wondering

justdoit77 SG

There are many buddhist who pray to bodhisatva. All dharma doors can be categorized to 3 types (essence, appearance, function) those practice the appearance and function need strong devotion to buddha and/or bodhisatva in order to succeed.
For example, pureland school, they can pray to amitabha buddha or Guan Yin bodhisatva to be born in the pureland.
For people who practice vajrayana, when doing sadhana, they also pray to the yidam, yogini and so on. They in essence is the same as bodhisatva.
I not sure is it that most buddhist have practice that involve "pray", but one thing for sure, praying alone is not enough, take for pureland for example, they also need certain level of good karma.

Regarding the 智者大师 one, one may or may not believe, doesn't matter. But if after a buddha entering into parinirvana cannot have manifestation again, then how does guan yin (avalokistevara bodhisatva) and many other buddha manifest as bodhisatva and protector one. To them, samsara and nirvana have no difference in nature.

wilsonhao SG

Well, i think regarding the manifestation of Buddha, it all depends on tradition again. We see tibetan buddhism having many deities and so on who are manifestation of many Buddhas, similarly in mahayana, but we dont see them in Theravada tradition.

Someone who is a theravada told me that their stand of nibbana is that Gautama buddha after parninibbanna will not appear in this world again. But i know of course, that in mahayana standpoint is like what you have said.

But anyway i dont think thats very important on the issue of whether buddha can manifiest. Im sure Buddha wants us to advocate on his teachings and practice them and not ponder over his existence currently.

jacqn SG

Halo TS, like you, i also realised buddhism very much on my own. i was born into a taoism family. my grandma and parents will always buy chicken and roast meat to pray, and ate after the praying. even though i was very young and would follow what my parents did, i had wondered why praying involves killing living things for praying. because i thought the animals are like us, if i fear pain and death, surely the animals felt that too right.

Sorry side track a bit.. My mother converted to buddhism after her divorce and she realised a lot of things too. i was very much left alone to explore on my own. She left me to make my own choices in life. I am very glad that i was not being led into astray. I have always felt lucky that i have good friends and colleagues surrounding me, some of them were not sincere, but still my life was not affected very much by them. Few times i nearly went off the track, with nobody giving me advice, but i was very glad some how or rather i went back to the right way. i attributted all these to my past actions. i have treated all with respect, for i believe the world is round. Although i am not wealthy and in fact am working very hard for my life, i am still contented with the fact that i am healthy and well.

i am much older than you and AEN, and i am still exploring this religion much on my own. You will not be surprised that i may ask questions that are way stupid than yours.

An Eternal Now SG

i am much older than you and AEN, and i am still exploring this religion much on my own. You will not be surprised that i may ask questions that are way stupid than yours.

Your Shan Gen must be deeper than many of us, thats why you are compassionate and started searching into Buddhism yourself.. :)

wilsonhao SG

Haha, all of us have a story behind on how we came into buddhism. But all in all, something must have sparked us into finding out more about buddhism.

I was attracted to it by music. I find those mantras very nice and thus decided to explore the musics and further into buddhism.

dragon_stone SG

Got to work and just happen to be at Ma Zu temple last Sunday, there is a story inscribed in english and chinese versions beside the statues about GuanYu on how he became a Dhama protector

I was also at Buddha Tooth Relics Temple later to see exhibits about Buddha life.

And of course dumplings exhibit at Chinatown market. Very interesting weekend!

Bodhi hut SG

Got time you can visit the FO GUAN SHAN at Puggol....

dragon_stone SG

Yah thanks, heard in the news its just opened. Would be there anytime as fate had determined that I will be going around there to visit one of the new jobsite at Punggol Barat.

Trying to learn how to post pics into the replies...