False gods: Part II

by Lin Xiangao (October 1979. No copyright. Edited and translated by Tony Lambert)

6. MIAODAO TIANZUN
This is a false god of Confucianism. Originally Confucianism was not a religion. Confucius did not speak about God. He said: “If you do not know about life, how can you understand death?” But afterwards people changed his teachings into “Confucianism.”

Confucianism calls Miaodao Tianzun one of the “heavenly lords” (dijun) who is also one of the Buddhist bodhisattvas. He is also Lu Songbin who was one of the Eight Sages. Lu was a native of Jingyao during the Tang dynasty. He took the imperial civil service examinations twice but failed. He wandered through the country and met Zhong Lihan who taught him the art of immortality. His birthday is the 14th day of the 4th month. Many barbers honor him as their “patron saint.”

Although Confucianism is not a religion it has created Miaodao Tianzun—a Buddhist bodhisattva—for people to worship as a god. Sadly people do not know his origins and believe it to be true, although it is a false god.

7. THE JADE EMPEROR
Now let us examine the false gods of Daoism. Daoism does not use images much, but prefers to use tablets.

The Jade Emperor is also called “The Heavenly Emperor” (Wutian Shangdi), and the Heavenly Lord (Tiangong). At the end of the Han dynasty [1,800 years ago], there lived Zhang Yi who studied Daoism from his childhood and became a hermit in the Wudang Mountains, practicing alchemy and healing people. In the time of Weizong of the Song dynasty there lived Lin Lingsu who was a Daoist master who persuaded the emperor to honor Zhang Yi as the Jade Emperor and make the people worship him as a god. This was to protect the empire from disaster. But not long after, Emperor Weizong was defeated by the Mongols.

This god is the highest in Daoism also known as the Original Heavenly Lord (Yuanshi Tianzun), and has three manifestations:

1. The Heavenly Precious Lord (Tianbaojun) who dwells in the heavenly “Pure Jade Palace.”

2. The Living Precious Lord (Lingbaojun) who lives in the “Great Pure Palace.”

3. The Divine Precious Lord (Shenbaojun) who lives in the “Upper Pure Palace.”

The Original Heavenly Lord dwells in the Big Dipper—the highest point in the heavens. His dwelling is the “36 Heavenly Caves” and the “72 Happy Lands” which are all within China. Laozi and Buddha were both created by him.

Christ Jesus came from heaven to be a man; he is the incarnate God. But the highest god of Daoism is a man who became a god! Men becoming gods is an impossibility—only God can become man. Further, Christianity is international—all who believe will be saved—but Daoism is limited to China. Why does not their god save all mankind? He lives in the Big Dipper but there are no people or gods there, and it is not the highest point of the heavens! Why should we believe this superstition? Many who worship the bodhisattvas also worship the Jade Emperor. One is Buddhist, from India, the other is Daoist from China. How can we worship both simultaneously? They are both false gods. We must face facts. We hope all those who worship false gods will believe in Christ as their Savior because only Jesus is the true God.

8. SANYUAN (SANGONGDADI) The Three Originals (The Three Great Palace Emperors)
Sanyuan is also a Daoist god. Zhang Daoling, Zhang Heng and Zhang Jiao recruited disciples, asking all who wanted healing to produce five bushels of rice. The gods they first worshiped were of heaven, earth and water, also called the Heavenly Official, the Earth Official and the Water Official. They were popularly known as the Lords of the Three Realms. They taught that these three were deputies of the Jade Emperor. Their birthdays were the 15th of the first month, the 15th of the 7th month and the 15th of the 10th month [the lunar calendar]. Another story was that the Emperor Yao was the Heavenly Official, the Emperor Shun was the Earth Official and the Emperor Yu was the Water Official. Which theory is right? If the Three Originals are gods why are there different theories? They were all men, created by God, so how could they become gods?

9. BEIDI (THE LORD OF THE NORTH)
He is also called Supreme Lord of the Dark Heaven, or the Dark Warrior (Xuanwu). In the Song dynasty because the character “xuan” was linked to the emperor’s name, they changed the name of the god from Xuanwu to Zhenwujun—the True Warrior Prince. Xuanwu is lord of the North Pole where he dwells and his birthday is the 3rd day of the 3rd month. His temple is the Palace of the North Pole and he is popularly called “Father god” (Shangdidie) or “Lord god” (Shangdigong). He was worshiped by slaughtered corpses. The men of old worshiped the North Pole stars for fame and longevity. He, too, is a false god. Why should we worship a god who was powerless to prevent his name being changed by the emperor to avoid bad luck?

10. CHENGHUANGSHEN (GOD OF WALLS AND DITCHES)
This name was first used by Sima Dan. He saw the officials were not upright and mistreated the people so he set up the image of a faithful official of the Han Emperor Gao Zu on a tablet as an example for all the officials. Later it was misnamed the god of city walls, and temples were built in his honor.

11. GUANGONG (LORD GUAN)
Also known as Emperor Guan, his original name was Shi Shouchang and he was a native of Shanxi. He later changed his name to Guanyu and became a general for Liu Bei [at the time of the Three Kingdoms c220 AD] He was a loyal official during the Later Han dynasty. He was put in charge of the prefecture of Xingzhou but he was unable to protect the Han, and was overthrown by Sunquan [of the Kingdom of Wu].

People later said he guarded the southern gate of heaven and ruled over good and bad fortune. But he was unable to protect Liu Bei and Zhangfei [of the Shuhan Kingdom]. So why is he called “protector of the nation”? Today people worship him as a god, but he was only a man and is now in hell, even unable to save himself.

12. TUDISHEN (GODS OF THE EARTH)
In the Zuizhuan (one of the Confucian classics) “Tu” means “Lord of the Earth.” In fact this “tu” is the official in charge of managing water and soil. In the time of Emperor Rui Song this official was good at his job so people later made an image of him as an old man calling him “Lord of the Earth.” His day is the 29th day of the 3rd month. Today people are so ignorant they still worship a waterworks official as a god!

13. LORD TU (THE KITCHEN GOD)
There are many explanations of this god:

1. There was a man called Li who became Lord Tu after death.

2. The Jade Emperor sent an envoy to each home to investigate their sins and good deeds. On the 24th day of the 12th month he returns to heaven to report. So on this day every family prepares special offerings and smears the mouth of the idol so he will only report good things.

3. The Zuozhuan says: “Lord Tu can pacify the Nine Lands” and is Lord of the Nine Heavens.

4. The Wujing says: “Lord Tu was a man called Su Jili who feared his wife, Lady Tu, who beat her husband. She was a woman called Wang Bomei.”

Which of these explanations is right? Does god dwell in the stove? Only cats like to sleep on top! Would you sleep on top of the stove at a friend’s house? Does the Lord of heaven and earth dwell in the ovens of each family?

14. MEN SHEN (DOOR GODS)
The Door god was originally Confucian, but now many Daoist temples have his image, to guard the main entrance. His face is red, he has three eyes and he holds a whip in his hand. But God dwells in heaven, how can he be a doorkeeper for us? It is dogs who guard our doors!

15. WANGDIE (FATHER KINGS)
In the Song dynasty in Fujian there were five youths who all took the examinations and became faithful officials in the capital. But sadly a jealous official told the emperor they were traitors so they were sentenced to death. However, a powerful official stood up for them so they were merely imprisoned. The jealous officials feared they would be let out and cause them harm so they bribed the guards and gained access to strangle them. When the emperor found out he had these evil officials killed, but posthumously promoted the faithful five.

It was said that after their death their complaints reached the Jade Emperor in heaven. He made them kings and sent them back to Fujian to protect the people and prevent disasters. Temples were built to them; this was the origin of the Father Kings.

But in truth they were only men. They were made kings by the Jade Emperor so are clearly his inferiors. Before we saw we cannot worship the Jade Emperor as he was only originally a man so even less should we worship these Father kings.

16. HAILONGWANG (THE SEA DRAGON KING)
He is the god of wealth and also the god who leads the way. But many people who worship him to get rich actually become the opposite! People who are seeking a way out of difficulty also worship him, but, again, many of them find no escape. What about after you die? Can this god give you eternal life?

Copyright 2005 OMF International