God, where are you?

 

God, where are you?

History will never end, but who writes history? What is puzzling is that history almost all comes from myths, fables and folklore, so there have been debates about gods and ghosts, good and evil, true and false. Different beliefs have brought different values, and believers of different beliefs have stirred up disputes. In different wars, it is not God who ultimately determines the changes in the world, but the struggle and redistribution of interests.

In order to investigate the culture of the Western Regions, the wise man Agudengba went to India, Nepal, and is now traveling to Bangladesh. He met an old man named Lavani from Bangladesh.

Old Lavani enthusiastically told Agudenba about the history and culture of the Bangladeshi people and this country.

Old Lavani told Agudengpa the myths and legends about Emperor Shakti:

In the "Za Agama Sutra", the names of Emperor Sakyamuni were listed, including Shakti Huanyin, Fulandala, Maghava, Sabhava, Kaushika, Sarfatbodi, Thousand Eyes, Yintili .

But the full Sanskrit name of Emperor Shakti is Śakro devānām indraḥ, which is transliterated as "Shitihuan Indra", or "Shitihuan Yin" for short. Freely translated as "Emperor of Heaven". "Sakyamuni" in Sanskrit means able and capable, but according to Buddhist legend, this is his surname. Deva means heavenly beings and gods. And Indra means king, conqueror, and victor. The name means "the one who can be the master of the gods in the heavens". Therefore, he is also known as "Emperor Shitian" in the South Asian subcontinent. However, during the Chinese translation, in order to comply with the Chinese language order, the Chinese reversed the order of the Sanskrit words and called it "Emperor Shakti", also known as Emperor Shi, Shitian, and Tiandi.

Emperor Shakti is also known as "Indra" because the ancient Indians believed that he was the god of thunder and courage. When the early Aryans invaded the Indian Peninsula, his status was higher than that of Brahma, the god of creation. The reason was that at that time the Aryans People are constantly fighting wars, and Emperor Shakti has the image of a god of bravery and a god of battle.

Shakti is a Hindu god who is responsible for thunder, lightning and battle. He was later absorbed by Buddhism and became the protector of Buddhism.

Agudengba asked the old man Lavani:

Have you heard of the Jade Emperor in Chinese folklore?

After Buddhism was introduced to China from India, the "Emperor Shakti" in Buddhism belongs to the God of "Trayasa" on the second day of the Desire Realm in Buddhist heaven. Still affected by three disasters.

According to Tao Hongjing of the Southern Dynasties of China: The Jade Emperor God resides in the Jade Clear Realm, which is the Clear Sky. He is above the three realms of Taoism: the desire realm, the color realm, and the colorless realm. In Taoism, the heavens and humans in the three realms of heaven and above are immediately separated from life and death, and the three disasters cannot reach them.

Therefore, according to the general theory of Taoist immortal genealogy, the Jade Emperor is one of the six emperors after the Three Pure Ones. The heaven he lives in is much higher than the realm of desire in Buddhism.

What are the six emperors?

The six emperors refer to the six gods under the Taoist Three Pure Gods who dominate the world, namely: the Jade Emperor who controls the heavens, the Gouchen Emperor who controls the thunder, the Zihui Emperor who controls the stars, and the Yu The Qinghua Emperor who rules all kinds of things, the Changsheng Emperor who rules all spirits, and the Houtu Emperor Earth Emperor who rules all lands.

This statement originated from the ancient Chinese concept of "Liuhe". The so-called "Liuhe" refers to the huge space of the universe, namely upper, lower, east, west, south and north.

After the Song Dynasty, due to the strengthening of the status and functions of the Jade Emperor in the Taoist pantheon, and in order to classify the four assistants of the Futai Taoist Scriptures, the "Jade Emperor" and "Qinghua Emperor" were removed, and the "Six Imperial Guards" became the "Four Imperial Guards". "Yu" is also interpreted as the emperors of the four poles in the north, south, west and east, namely: the Ziwei Emperor in the North Pole, the Changsheng Emperor in the South Pole, the Taiji Emperor and the Qinghua Emperor in the East Pole.

Agudengba smiled and said to the old man Lavani:

After Buddhism was introduced to China, due to the tendency of the three religions to unite, the two major Chinese religions, Buddhism and Taoism, often tended to regard the other's gods as their own. But what’s interesting is that the appointment power of these gods is decided by people. God does not have this right.

The "Chang Agama Sutra" records that the Emperor Shakti, the emperor of Hua Zizaitian, once asked Yanmo Tian, Tushita Tian, and Hua Zizaitian to assist him in fighting against King Asura, which seems to imply that his status is higher than the other four heavens.

But Chinese Buddhism believes that he is just the Lord of the Trayastrim, and his mount is a six-tusked white elephant. He often led the gods to fight against Asura. In Buddhist legends, Shakti himself is the Yaksha god in the heavens. Legend has it that his wife Shezhi was born as an Asura, but there are also legends that called her "Mother Yaksha".

There is a saying among Chinese people that the Jade Emperor of Taoism is equated with Shakti, and the ninth day of the first lunar month is regarded as the birthday of Lord Shakten.

Agudengba smiled and said: In fact, the Jade Emperor God and Emperor Shakti are not the same immortal Buddha. Emperor Shakti, who immigrated to China from ancient India, became a temple worker for both Buddhism and Taoism in China.

Old Lavani smiled: The same god has different deities in different regions. The reason is that gods were created by humans, but more believers still believe that gods created the world.

The old man Lavani impromptu sang a divine song 《"God, where are you?" 》：

 

I believe in the existence of gods,

But I wonder where God is?

I want to find the right answer,

May God be with me.

 

In fact, life is wonderful in its own way.

Some people are blindly comparing themselves to each other.

Always hoping to stand out,

Dominate the world and gain both fame and fortune.

 

Why should we look left and right?

Compare who is the most prosperous and wealthy.

Why should we look around?

Making fun of others takes away their happiness.

 

Life doesn’t have to be a waste of energy;

To compete with others,

Don’t be too envious of others,

We have our own brilliance.

 

Don’t envy other people’s drinks,

Cool boiled water can also quench thirst.

Relax and focus on yourself,

There is more than one path to happiness.

 

Never feel ashamed of yourself,

Don't let your mood slowly get moldy,

There is no standard answer in life,

It turns out that God is in our hearts.