From
the ninth century onwards, he was the patron deity of the Chinese
imperial family. The Jade Emperor presides over Heaven and Earth just
as the earthly emperors once ruled over China.
Based
on one account the Jade Emperor was originally the crown prince of the
kingdom of Majestic Heavenly Lights and Ornaments. At birth he emitted a
bright light that filled the entire kingdom. When he was young, he was
benevolent, intelligent and wise. He devoted his entire childhood to
helping the needy (the poor and suffering, the deserted and single, the
hungry and disabled). Furthermore, he showed respect and benevolence
to both men and creatures. After his father died, he ascended the
throne. He made sure that everyone in his kingdom found peace and
contentment, after that he told his ministers that he wished to
cultivate Dao in a mountain cave and cultivate. After 1,750 trials,
each trial lasting for 120,976 years, he attained Immortality. After
another a hundred million years of cultivation, he finally became the
Jade Emperor.
The
Jade Emperor is usually depicted seated on a throne in imperial robes,
his flat-topped crown embedded with strings of pearls that dangle from
the front. He holds a short, flat tablet in clasped in both hands
before his chest.
He looks very majestic with his flowing beard.
He looks very majestic with his flowing beard.
His
birthday is celebrated on the ninth day of the Lunar New Year commonly
known as “Tian Gong Dan” (天 公 誕 Festival of the Heavenly God). It is an
important festival to the Taoists and Chinese community. Taoist
temples throughout the world held gathering and prayers together to
worship him. To beseech him to grant peace, prosperity, protection from
calamities for the entire year, favorable weather conditions, and
abundant harvest.
Most
people are not aware that the Jade Emperor is the protector of the
Buddha dharma in Buddhism. He’s called Lord Sakra or Indra or in the
Shurangama Mantra (楞 嚴 咒) his name is recited as “Namo Yin Two La Ye” (南 無 因 陀 羅 耶).
According to Buddhist text he resides in “Trayastrimsa Heaven”
as in Sanksrit and means "Heaven of the Thirty-three'. The Lord of the
Heaven of the Thirty-three resides above our heads. There are eight
heavens in the east, eight in the west, eight in the north, and eight
in the south, making thirty-two; the thirty-third is located in the
center of the others and is at the peak of Mount Sumeru.
'Trayastrimsa, "Heaven of the Thirty-Three",
is not thirty-third in a vertical arrangement of heavens. Vertically
it occupies the second position among eighteen heavens. Its name is
taken from the fact that it is the central one among a group of heavens
located on the same plane, with eight heavens on each of its four
sides.
The
lord of the central heaven, the thirty-third, is named Sakra or Indra,
and in Buddhism he is a protector of the Buddha's Dharma.
The Heaven of the Thirty-Three is eighty thousand yojanas high, and its city, the City of Good View, is made of the seven precious materials and is sixty thousand yojanas high. In the center of that city is Sakra's palace, which is made of the most exquisite and valuable gems.
The Heaven of the Thirty-Three is eighty thousand yojanas high, and its city, the City of Good View, is made of the seven precious materials and is sixty thousand yojanas high. In the center of that city is Sakra's palace, which is made of the most exquisite and valuable gems.
In
the past at the time of Kashyapa Buddha, Sakra was a very ordinary and
a poor woman who saw a temple in ruins and vowed to restore it.
Soliciting friends and relatives, she gradually gathered a group of
thirty-two women. She herself was the thirty-third. Each of the
thirty-three gave as much support as she could muster and with their
collective effort they repaired the ruined temple. When each one died
she ascended to the heavens and became ruler of her own heaven. The
heaven in which Sakra, the former leader of the women, lives, is called
the Trayastrimsa Heaven....
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Sumber : http://www.taoistsecret.com/taoistgod.html
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