hina Insight Newsletter - June/July 2005

False Gods

Edited by Tony Lambert, OMF China Researcher

Wandering the back streets of Guangzhou even twenty years ago it was very noticeable that every other house had a tin can with an incense stick burning at the entrance. Today, city restaurants and businesses in many cities all over China boast elaborate altars with gaudy idols every bit as expensive as those to be seen in Hong Kong or Taiwan. It has always seemed to me that Chinese folk religion is a much under-researched and little understood phenomenon to most Western Christians. A pamphlet written by Guangzhou's well-known house-church pastor Lin Xiangao (Samuel Lamb) sheds some helpful light on the subject. Please note this tract was written not for academics but to help ordinary Chinese Christians reach out more effectively to their neighbors.

FALSE GODS
By Lin Xiangao. Written 1 October 1979. No copyright.

Preface
Scripture reading: “Oh, Son of Man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces…. This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Repent! Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices!’” (Ezekiel 14: 3-7)
Since there really is a God, who is the true God? Buddhists say, Buddha. Muslims say, Allah. But we say, only Jehovah (Yehehua) is the true God. If there is a true God, then inevitably there are also false ones as the devil uses all kinds of tricks to create false gods to stop people acknowledging the Lord of heaven and earth. The Bible says there is only One True God. (see Numbers 4:35) There must be a God of the universe—but other religions are wrong when they talk of “the heavens full of gods and Buddhas.” There is only One True God but there are innumerable false ones. In some religions, just the one religion has created many gods! Please note: there is a God—but only One. Perhaps you will say: “You keep to your god and I’ll keep to mine! Don’t attack other people’s gods.” No. No. We don’t attack anyone, but we must see through false gods. If we can’t distinguish who is the true God, which God can we worship? Some people even say all “gods” are to be believed in and so they go down the wrong path to eternal punishment rather than gaining eternal life.
We analyze the false gods and prove they are false so we can get to the truth, and no longer believe in gods who cannot save us. We must repent speedily and believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior!
Now we will not discuss all the idols worshiped in the world (of course, many Chinese worship foreign false gods.) But the false gods worshiped by Chinese are numerous: god of stones, god of trees, mountain gods, water gods, rain gods (the green dragon god), gods of wind and thunder, the lightning goddess, cat, dog and horse spirits etc, etc. Below we look at some of the more common false gods.

1. BUDDHA

In China, Buddhists are most numerous, but most people do not know the origins of Buddhism. They consider Buddha to be a god. Now let us show from history that he was not a god. Buddhism came from India and its founder was Sakyamuni. Please note, he never said he was a god and never approved other people worshipping him as one. Original Buddhism never said that after people die they go to the Western Heavens. The Chinese changed Buddhism (it had already been changed in India) and said Buddha was a god, and people after death go to the Western Heavens.
“Sakya” is a clan name meaning “able to be merciful.” “Muni” is an honorific. He was a philosopher, and also called a sage. He also has many other names such as “Taiyu, Rulai, Tianren” etc. “Buddha” means “enlightened one.” There is no agreement on the dates of his birth and death. Indian histories cite 634-554 B.C. but in China and Japan it is said he was born on April 8 and lived to be eighty years old. He was born in Kapilavastu in northern India on the borders of Nepal. His father governed a petty kingdom, long since destroyed. His father, Suddhodana, had two wives and Sakya was his eldest son. His mother was Maya and she died seven days after his birth. He was brought up by his aunt. When he was 17 he married Yasadhara. To satisfy his boredom, his father also found concubines for him.
He is also called “rulai” (the Perfect One). In his youth he was dissolute, but when he was 19 he came to his senses and realized all life was painful. He left home to be an ascetic. When he was 30 he sat down beneath a bodhi tree to meditate, and vowed not to leave before he achieved enlightenment. He meditated for 49 days and finally was enlightened. He instantly became a buddha. He attracted disciples by his teachings: forbidding killing, vegetarianism etc. The men were called “bikkhu” and the women “bikkhuni.” He preached for 49 years mainly in India on both sides of the Ganges. Every morning he set off to beg for his food.
He lived until he was 80 when he had many illnesses. There was a famine; a coppersmith invited him to eat but gave him rotten food. He fell seriously ill, and with Ananda and his other disciples around him finally “entered extinction.” After a week he was interred and his body divided into eight portions to be sent to different countries to build stupas in commemoration.
So he was clearly a man, not a god. He never advocated that he should be worshiped as a god. Later people set up images of him with long fingers and a swastika on his chest, and long earlobes, turning him into a god. Thus we say he is one of the false gods.

2. AMITO BUDDHA

He is also a false god of Buddhism. There is no such person in history. There is a legend that he was an Indian monk, the Buddha of endless life. He is surrounded by bodhisattvas. He is said to be the Lord of the Paradise of the Far West. Buddhists believe that by chanting “Nan-wu-amito-fo” they can achieve salvation. Sakyamuni was the historical Buddha and he was not a god, so Amito Buddha is even less so.

3. GUANYIN [THE GODDESS OF MERCY]

Many people believe Guanyin is a god[dess] even placing Guanyin higher than Sakyamuni Buddha. In reality, Sakyamuni is the highest Buddha and Guanyin is only one of the bodhisattvas below the Buddha in rank.
Guanyin was originally called Guanshiyin. Why was her name changed? The Tang dynasty emperor Taizong’s original name was Li Shimin. In feudal society, the emperor’s personal name was taboo. To avoid using the “shi” character they shortened Guanshiyin’s name to Guanyin.
Guanyin served at the side of Amito Buddha. Originally she was male. But Buddhists believed females were more easily deceived [by their worshippers] and so made Guanyin into a female deity. Her image originally had many hands.
Buddhism has variously 6 or 7 Guanyins or even 31 or 33! According to the Guanyin sutra “she is the third daughter of a king and became a bodhisattva. She drowned in the midst of the lotus flowers so we call her the goddess of transformation.” People believe that those who are childless can pray to “Guanyin who sends sons.” Those who are drowning cry out to the “Guanyin of the fish-baskets” and all those who suffer can pray to “Guanyin of the thousand eyes and thousand hands.”
So is Guanyin a goddess? Of course not. She does not rank with Amito Buddha and only serves at his side, and is even lower in rank than Sakyamuni Buddha [the historical Buddha]. If he did not acknowledge his own divinity, how can Guanyin be divine? Let us be clear that bodhisattvas are only servants of the Buddha and not gods. They are false gods, so let’s not worship them!

4. KING YANLUO [YAMA]

King Yanlo was originally a god of the Hindu religion but later the Buddhists made him one of their gods. They say he is the sun god and is judge and king of the world of ghosts. In the world of ghosts Yanluo controls the male demons and Jieyanmei governs the female ones. It is said he dwells in the nethermost hell. Under him are 18 lesser kings who govern 18 different hells. There are also many officials in hell who are all great monsters. For instance, they have heads of oxen and faces of horses, or are pigs, foxes, dogs etc. Day and night they torture the sinners quite horribly. Later Buddhism amalgamated the king of hell and King Yanluo into a dual god; they also merged with Daoism to create “Yama of the 10 Hells.” When we think of Yama we must refer to Duke Bao. In the reign of the Emperor Renzong of the Song dynasty, he was an official at court in Kaifeng and dispensed justice without fear or favor. After his death, people called him King Yan who was in control of life and death in hell. All who died came before him to be judged. If they had been unjustly treated before their death, they could return to the world of light to live. If they had sinned, then they were punished in hell.
In this way, Buddhism created a hybrid from Hinduism and Daoism to deceive people. But many people still believe it to be true. This god was originally Indian so how could it merge with Daoism to become “Yama of the Ten Hells”? As Duke Bao was a Kaifeng official how could he be part of all this? They are all false gods and cannot save themselves, much less save mankind!

5. YULANGONGPENHUI [AVALAMBANA]—THE HUNGRY GHOST FESTIVAL

Annually on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month, Buddhists busily placate the demons. Let us examine the origins of the ghost festival. “Avalambana” is a Sanskrit word meaning “vessel of grace.” According to Buddhist tradition, Mulian, one of Buddha’s ten disciples saw his dead mother suffering in hell. He begged the Buddha to save her. He replied: “In her previous life she was avaricious; so you must collect merit to save her. Every 15th of the 7th month you must offer delicacies to the monks and chant the sutras.” Mulian obeyed, and as a result his mother was saved from hell.
This festival was first set up in India in 732 A.D. Its origins in China date back to the reign of the Tang Emperor Taizong in 766 A.D. Mulian was moved by filial piety to prevent his mother from becoming a hungry ghost in hell. But sadly Taizong was led astray by his courtiers to dedicate a temple and this afterwards became the ghost festival. It was believed popularly that all the spirits of the dead came back from hell to meet with their families. Every home set out offerings and asked the monks to hold religious ceremonies to placate wandering spirits.
All the above describes the false gods of Buddhism who also have syncretistic origins in Hinduism and Daoism.

[TO BE CONTINUED]

Copyright 2005 OMF