Tathagata Buddha’s Four Protectors

The four great Dharma protectors of Tathagata Buddha are the Heavenly King of Controlling the Country, the Heavenly King of Growth, the Heavenly King of Broad Eyes, and the Heavenly King of Many Hearings. The twenty gods are the gods among the eight tribes in Vedic mythology.

The four heavenly kings in Journey to the West were Chineseized by Chinese folk novelists. In the mythological and ghost novel "The Romance of the Gods", it is written that the four heavenly kings are the "four brothers of the Jiamengguan Demon Family" and are not It's recorded in Buddhist scriptures, but it's just the content of a novel.

The Four Heavenly Kings are the protector gods of Buddhism. The Four Heavenly Kings, also known as the Four Heavenly Kings, are the four gods in the thirty-three heavens of Buddhism and are located in the first heaven.

The first heaven is also called the Four Heavens. It is usually arranged on both sides of the first hall of the Pure Land Buddhist Temple, hence the name of the Heavenly King Hall. It is rumored that the four heavenly kings protected the world for four days on the mountainside of Mount Sumeru.

The heavenly king holding the country in the east, holding the pipa, protects the Dongsheng Shenzhou;

The growth heavenly king in the south, holding the sword, protects the Nanfangbu continent;

Guangmu in the west The Heavenly King holds a snake or a red dragon and protects Hezhou in Xiniu;

It is often heard in the north that the Heavenly King holds an umbrella and protects Luzhou in Beiju.

Extended information

Origins of the four heavenly kings:

The four heavenly kings come from the twenty heavens of Brahmanism, that is, Hindu mythology. They are: the king of state-holding, the king of growth, The King of Wide Eyes and the King of Hearing. The twenty gods are the gods among the eight tribes in Vedic mythology. With the gradual development of Buddhism, the Buddha incorporated the eight tribes of Hindu mythology (the tribes of gods, Nagas, Nagas, Yakshas, ??Asuras, etc.) into Buddhist mythology.

The Four Heavenly Kings are the protector gods of Buddhism. The Four Heavenly Kings, also known as the Four Heavenly Kings, are the four gods in the thirty-three heavens of Buddhism and are located in the first heaven. The first heaven is also called the Four Heavens. It is usually arranged on both sides of the first hall of the Pure Land Buddhist Temple, hence the name of the Tianwang Hall. It is rumored that the four heavenly kings protected the world for four days on the mountainside of Mount Sumeru.

The king of holding the country in the east, holding a pipa, protects Dongsheng Shenzhou; the king of growth in the south, holding a sword, protecting Nanfangbu continent; the king of Guangmu in the west, holding a snake or red dragon, protecting Xiniuhezhou; in the north there are many Wen Tianwang, holding an umbrella, protects Luzhou in Beiju.

Reference material Baidu Encyclopedia-Four Heavenly Kings