Originally posted by yamizi:
I think AEN missed my point.
My main point is that it's the Chinese buddhist who
[b]assume Jade Emperor to be Lord Sakra.
Buddha existed in the time when Brahmanism and other pre-Hinduism
religions and idealogies flouried. The buddhist idea of cosmology
was greatly adapted from the then Brahmanism.
Lord Sakra deem as the King of Heaven because he is also the god of
thunder and war. Whereas Jade Emperor depicted by the Chinese is
someone like an emperor that is compare to ours in ancient
China.
The main point is that Sakra is mentioned in the Sutras but there
is no mentioning of Jade Emperor in any Sutras.
From what I see it is in face very two different deities. But the
Chinese always take Jade Emperor to be Lord Sakra.
One may argue that it's a expedient means (Fang1 Bian4 Fa3) to
attract non-buddhists, but I hope knowledgable buddhists not to
take expedient as anyhow (Bie2 Ba3 Fang1 Bian4 Dang4 Sui2
Bian4).
The simple fact is that Jade Emperor isn't mentioned in any of the
Sutras only Lord Sakra, conclusion will be that it has nothing to
do with Buddhism. So I've no idea how AEN knows that Jade Emperor
has taken refuge.
I hope people who has geniune interest in Buddhism will look into
buddhist texts for answers, rather than hearsay. Some of the free
distribution books are of no standard, so please read with
discretion.[/b]
I see. Thanks for clarifying your point, anyway whether Lord
Sakra is the same as Jade Emperor, it is very clear that the
understanding of Jade Emperor and Buddhist understanding of Lord
Sakra is very different, therefore there is no reason for Buddhist
to worship Jade Emperor in the Taoist way. Furthermore celestial
beings not a worthy subject of refuge.