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佛教BuddhismBuddhismisoneoftheworld’sthreemajorreligions.ItwasfoundedbySiddharthaGautama(悉达多乔达摩)wholivedinthenorth-eastregionoftheIndiansubcontinentbetween6BCand5BC.BuddhismwaswidespreadinmanycountriesinAsia.DuringtheEasternHanDynastyitwasspreadfromtheWesttotheEastintoChina.ThenasaresultoftheBuddhistinfluenceonandmergencewithChineseculture,BuddhismcametobeanaturalpartofChinesecivilization,albeitwithauniquecharacter.BuddhismhasplayedanenormousroleinshapingthemindsetoftheChinesepeople，affectingouraesthetics,politics,literature,philosophyandmedicine.BuddhistImmortalsandMyths佛教形象和神话阿罗汉ArhatItreferstothosewhohaveattainedthegoalofenlightenmentorawakeningandachievednirvana(涅磐)withoutbeingreborn.ThedifferencebetweenanArhatandaBuddhaisthattheBuddhaattainsenlightenmentbyhimself,whereasthearhatdoesitbyfollowingtheteachingsofanther.阿弥陀佛Amitabha“Amitabha”isaSanskritworldliterallymeaningboundlesslightandboundlesslife.HeistheBuddhaintheLandofUltimateBliss(极乐世界)，inwhichallbeingsenjoyunboundhappiness.Accordingtothescriptures,Amitabhapossessesinfinitemeritresultingfromgooddeedsovercountlesspastlives.Hehasforty-eightgreatvowstoestablishandadornhisPureLand.Peoplealsoreciteorcalluponhisnamebythetimeofdying,inthehopeofbeingbornintheLandofUltimateBlisswiththereceptionbyAmitabha.Amitabhaisoneofthemostpopularandwell-knownBuddhainChina.大势至菩萨DaShiZhiBodhisattvaHeisabodhisattvathatrepresentsthepowerofwisdomandisoftendepictedinatrinity(三位一体)withAmitabhaandGuanShiYin,especiallyinPureLandBuddhism.Heisusuallyportrayedasawoman,withalikenesssimilartoGuanYin.Unlikemostbodhisattvas,heisoneofthelesserknownbodhisattvas,butisstillapowerfulbodhisattvas.IntheShurangamaSutra(《楞严经》),hetellsofhowhegainedenlightenmentthroughthepracticeofBuddharecitation,orcontinuouspuremindfulnessoftheBuddha，toobtainSamadhi(定).IntheContemplationSutra(《观无量寿经》),heissymbolizedbythemoonwhileGuanYinissymbolizedbythesun.地藏菩萨EarthStoreBodhisattvaEarthStoreBodhisattvaisnamedaftertheearth,whichnotonlygivesbirthtomanythingsandmakesthemgrow,butcanstoreagreatmanythingswithinitselfaswell.ItissaidthatheisoneoftheMahayanaBodhisattvasofBuddhism.BuddhismrelatesthatafterSakyamuni’sdeathandbeforeallthepeoplegotoheaven,hewastheBodhisattvathatsavedallthelivingcreaturesinheavenandhell.Hedidthingsnooneelsewantedtodo.Hecouldbearwhatotherscan’tbearandyieldwhenothercan’tyield.南无地藏王菩萨地域不空，誓不成佛。众生度尽，方证菩提。观世音菩萨GuanYinTheBodhisattvawhohearsthesoundsoftheworldrescuesallbeingsbyhearingtheirvoicesofsufferingandcriesforhelp.InChina,heiscalledGuanYinBodhisattva.AsoneoftheFourGreatBodhisattva,Heistheonewiththegreatestcompassionandmercy.GuanYincantransformintomanydifferentformsinordertocrossovertothebeings.GuanYin,usuallystandingorsittingonalotusflowerwithatreasurevasefullofdewheldinherrighthand,wasintroducedintoChinawithMahayanaBuddhism.BuddhismhasitthatGuanYinhas31differentimageswith32incarnations(化身).AsearlyastheNorthernandSouthernDynasties,thefemaleimageofGuanYinappearedandbecomequitepopularintheTangDynasty(618-907).千手千眼OneThousandHandsandEyesTheBodhisattvaGuanShiYinisoftendepictedwithonethousandhands,eachhandcontainingitsowneyetoindicatethevowsandpowersoftheBodhisattvatoseeallthosesufferingintheworldandtoreachintotheworldandpullthemoutoftheirsuffering.Withathousandeyes,hecanseeamillionmilestotheendofemptyspaceandtheDharmarealm.Athousandeyesobserve,athousandearshearallandathousandhandshelpandsupportlivingbeingseverywhere.弥勒佛MaitreyaMaitreyaisoneofthegreatBodhisattva-disciplesoftheBuddha.Heisfamousfortheperfectionofpatience,andinafutureagehewillbecomethenextBuddha.HeisalsothefounderoftheConsciousness-OnlySchoolofMahayanaBuddhism.Heisanexampleoftoleranceandlikestolaughandalwayshasabigsmileonhisface.普贤菩萨UniversalWorthyBodhisattvaBeingoneoftheFourGreatBodhisattvas,heistheBodhisattvaofGreatConduct,representingtheLaw.“Universal”meanshisiseverywhere.“Worthy”meanshisvirtueisasage’svirtue.HehasTenGreatKingVows，whicharetheguidelinesinpracticingBuddhismandcultivatingtheBuddhistWay.释迦摩尼SakyamuniSakyamuni,thefounderofBuddhism,wasbornasthePrinceofSakyans.Hegrewupamidstpalatialluxuriesandhisfatherpreventedhimfrombeingexposedtothemiseriesoflife.Buthetriedtoseektheanswertothemiseryofexistenceandawayofreleasefromtheintolerablecycleofendlessrebirths.Attheageof30,heattainedthesupremeEnlightenmentandbecametheBuddhaandwasthecalledShakyamuniwhichmeans“capabilityandkindness”.HethenpropagatedBuddhistdoctrinesfor49yearsincentralIndiaandwashighlyesteemedtobetheBuddha.Hediedattheageof80underapipaltree(菩提树).文殊师利ManjushriAsonetheFourGreatBodhisattva,heistheonewiththegreatestwisdom.Heisalsotheguardianofwisdomandalwaysridesonalion.HeisalsodescribedastheninthpredecessororBuddha-ancestorofShakyamuni.西方三生TheThreeWesternSagesTheyBodhisattvaofGreatMercy（观世音）whoistheleftattendantofAmitabha(阿弥陀佛),Mahasthamaprapta（大势至）whoistherightattendant,andAmitabha,theBuddhaofBoundlessSplendourwhoisthefounderofWesternparadise.普陀山PutuoMountainLocatedonasmallislandofonlytwelvesquarekilometersandbeingfivekilometerseasttoZhoushanislandinZhejiangProvince,Putu