Day 2, January 27th—2011
Dizhang was once a man—but an exceptional man that did great good throughout his lives until he finally achieved Nirvana.
But being in that long-sought mythical place—being finally a Buddha, Dizhang couldn’t forget the poor suffering humans on Earth that he’d left behind. So he decided to leave that eternal paradise and come back to Earth to help us.
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| Dizhang |
This made Dizhang a ‘Bodhisattva,’ a Buddha that left Nirvana to help others achieve it. In China, there are 4 famous Bodhisattvas: one of Wisdom, Diligence, Mercy (with 10,000 arms to help as many people as possible), and finally Dizhang—the Bodhisattva of Hell.
He earned this title because he didn’t simply come back to Earth to help us…Dizhang committed to living in Hell, suffering in that damned dominion until every single person on Earth has achieved Nirvana.
Each of the 4 famous Bodhisattvas has their own Holy Mountain in China, where Buddhist temples are built especially to honor them.
Jiuhua Shan—the Holy Mountain we were now climbing—belonged to Dizhang.
-Seb
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