Weituo

Skanda (), also known as Weituo () and Idaten (Japanese: 韋駄天), is a Mahayana bodhisattva regarded as a devoted guardian of Buddhist monasteries who protects the teachings of Buddhism. He is also sometimes called in the Chinese tradition "Hufa Weituo Zuntian Pusa", meaning "Honored Dharma Protector Weituo Bodhisattva", because he is one of the twenty-four celestial guardian deities mentioned in the ''Golden Light Sutra''.

In Chinese temples, Weituo faces the statue of the Buddha in the main shrine, traditionally unarmed and with his hands in anjali. In others, he is on the far right of the main shrine with weapon in hand, whereas on the left is his counterpart, Qielan (personified as the historical general Guan Yu). In Chinese sutras, his image is found at the end of the sutra, a reminder of his vow to protect and preserve the teachings.

According to legends, Skanda was the son of a virtuous king who had complete faith in Buddha's teachings. When the Buddha entered Nirvana, the Buddha instructed Skanda to guard the Dharma. It was his duty to protect members of the Sangha when they are disturbed by Mara, the tempter, and also to resolve conflicts amongst members of the Sangha. A few days after the Buddha's passing and cremation, evil demons stole his relics. Skanda's vow of protecting the faith and Dharma was proven when he managed to defeat and kill the evil demons and return the relics.

Origins

Stories vary on how Weituo was accepted into the traditional Chinese Buddhist pantheon. Some have proposed that Weituo's features were adapted from a Chinese deity who appeared in the Chinese classical Ming novel '' Fengshen Yanyi''. However, the existence of illustrated Weituo images predating the Ming Dynasty set his origins back to an earlier period in the development of Chinese Buddhism.

Weituo is described as a young man fully clad in the armor and headgear of a Chinese general, and is usually leaning on a vajra staff. Some say that Weituo is the Hindu war god Kartikeya (Murugan) himself, who bears the name Skanda. Others point out that Weituo might also be a manifestation of Vajrapani, a bodhisattva who bears some relations to Weituo because they both wield vajras as weapons, are portrayed with flaming halos, and are both heavenly protectors of Buddhism.

Although Weituo is only a deva, he is very often addressed as a bodhisattva.

As Miao Shan's lover

According to an account in a Ming dynasty text, the ''Xiangshan Baojuan'' (香山寶卷; lit: “Precious Scroll of Fragrant Mountain”), the Bodhisattva Guanyin ( Avalokitesvara) was said to have once reincarnated as the princess Miao Shan and Weituo was one of her cruel father's generals. He loved Miao Shan but realized he could not possibly be a proper partner to her, since she was a pure person. However, Weituo was inspired by Miao Shan's kindness so he decided to stay faithful and devoted to Miao Shan, even if she was not his wife. The two escaped Miao Shan's father, and the general-suitor helped build Miao Shan a temple and a kingdom of her own. Soon, however, the cruel king found them and killed them both. The general, because of his devotion to Guanyin, transformed into a bodhisattva himself, who vowed to always serve and protect Guanyin. His appearance as a Chinese general is the direct forebear to his connection with Miao Shan.

As a warrior

Another story says that Miao Shan was told to commit suicide by her grandmother. Her grandmother forced Miao Shan to leap into the sea because she was thought to have been an incarnation of a demon, when in fact she was not. The emperor told a loyal soldier named Luo Ping to pretend to throw Miao Shan into the ocean. He brought her with Yin Ma, the mother of Weituo, to her village. Years passed, when an evil fish demon came. A disloyal soldier named Huo Yi was sent by the fish demon to kill Miao Shan. The fish demon wanted revenge on Miao Shan because she was the incarnation of ''Ci Hang Da Shi'', a Buddhist deva that put the fish in a lotus pond. Huo Yi and his troops went to the village where Miao Shan and WeiTio lived and fought. Huo Yi's son killed Weituo. After Miao Shan became the bodhisattva Guanyin, she made Weituo a bodhisattva guardian. He became a bodhisattva because he took care of Miao Shan and loved her as a sister.

According to the lunar calendar, his birthday is the 3rd day of the 6th lunar month.

Gallery

File:Skanda detail heart sutra zhao mengfu.jpeg, Weituo as portrayed by the Chinese artist Zhao Mengfu during the Yuan dynasty
File:Skanda at Miaoying Temple.JPG, Statue of Weituo at Miaoying Temple in Beijing, China
File:Weituo, Yonghegong Lamsery, Beijing.jpg, Statue of Weituo at Yonghe Temple in Beijing, China
File:Statue of Wei Tuo at Daitian Temple, Kaohsiung.jpg, Statue of Weituo at Kaohsiung Daitian Temple, Taiwan
File:大池西林寺 (9)韋馱尊者.jpg, Statue of Weituo at Dachi Xinlin Temple in Penghu, Taiwan
File:Ping Sien Si - 010 Wei hu (Skanda) (15948243350).jpg, Statue of Weituo at Ping Sien Si Temple in Pasir Panjang, Perak, Malaysia

See also

*Dharmapala
*Kataragama deviyo, the Sri Lankan Buddhist representation of Skanda
*Kartikeya, the Hindu origin of Skanda
*Śakra (Buddhism)
*Tara (Buddhism)

References

{{Buddhism topics
Bodhisattvas
Buddhist gods
Chinese gods
Golden Light Sutra
Twenty-Four Protective Deities
Kartikeya
Buddhism in China