question about vaisravana

Pictures of revered teachers, places, rupas, temples, shrine rooms etc. that bring inspiration to our members. Pilgrimage advice etc.
Post Reply
Fortyeightvows
Posts: 2948
Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2014 2:37 am

question about vaisravana

Post by Fortyeightvows »

the shrine is on the south side of my house placed so that the devotee is facing south.
Is it ok to still enshine vaisravana there or should he only be placed on a shrine set up on the north side of the house?
User avatar
Invokingvajras
Posts: 84
Joined: Mon Feb 20, 2017 5:11 am
Location: Portland, OR
Contact:

Re: question about vaisravana

Post by Invokingvajras »

Why is the shrine placed on the south side?
Spiraling Down the Middle Path

♒⚡~若悩乱者頭破七分~⚡♑
User avatar
Grigoris
Former staff member
Posts: 21938
Joined: Fri May 14, 2010 9:27 pm
Location: Greece

Re: question about vaisravana

Post by Grigoris »

I imagine because it is the direction of the Ratna family.
"My religion is not deceiving myself."
Jetsun Milarepa 1052-1135 CE

"Butchers, prostitutes, those guilty of the five most heinous crimes, outcasts, the underprivileged: all are utterly the substance of existence and nothing other than total bliss."
The Supreme Source - The Kunjed Gyalpo
The Fundamental Tantra of Dzogchen Semde
Fortyeightvows
Posts: 2948
Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2014 2:37 am

Re: question about vaisravana

Post by Fortyeightvows »

It is in the south side of the house with the deitys facing north....
Only because of the layout of our very small place
Fortyeightvows
Posts: 2948
Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2014 2:37 am

Re: question about vaisravana

Post by Fortyeightvows »

I think it's ok there.
crazy-man
Posts: 506
Joined: Wed Aug 26, 2015 2:22 pm

Re: question about vaisravana

Post by crazy-man »

Bishamon's (Vaisravana) rank as the most powerful of the four kings is also likely due to his role as king of the north. Says independent scholar Michael D. Gunther: "In Chinese cosmology, still familiar today as 'feng shui 風水,' north is the most dangerous direction, such that dwellings (including the palaces of the Tang and Heian emperors) are built facing in the opposite direction (south). It follows that the Guardian of the North must be the leader of the other directional guardians, and that he must carry the most powerful amulets -- namely, the relics of Buddha's own body -- in order to defend against the malign northern influences. In a practical sense, the north was considered the 'bad' direction for at least two reasons: agriculturally (in the northern hemisphere), the sun is in the south, and therefore a southern exposure is most desirable, and a northern exposure is least desirable (all gardners and farmers know this, even today); and in terms of geopolitics, the Mongol peoples of the north, against whom the Great Wall was built, presented the greatest danger to China throughout much of its history.
http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/bishamonten.shtml
User avatar
Grigoris
Former staff member
Posts: 21938
Joined: Fri May 14, 2010 9:27 pm
Location: Greece

Re: question about vaisravana

Post by Grigoris »

Sorry, my wrong. I often confuse Vaisravana as an epithet for Dzambhala.
"My religion is not deceiving myself."
Jetsun Milarepa 1052-1135 CE

"Butchers, prostitutes, those guilty of the five most heinous crimes, outcasts, the underprivileged: all are utterly the substance of existence and nothing other than total bliss."
The Supreme Source - The Kunjed Gyalpo
The Fundamental Tantra of Dzogchen Semde
Malcolm
Posts: 42974
Joined: Thu Nov 11, 2010 2:19 am

Re: question about vaisravana

Post by Malcolm »

crazy-man wrote: Thu Dec 28, 2017 10:24 pm
Bishamon's (Vaisravana) rank as the most powerful of the four kings is also likely due to his role as king of the north. Says independent scholar Michael D. Gunther: "In Chinese cosmology, still familiar today as 'feng shui 風水,' north is the most dangerous direction, such that dwellings (including the palaces of the Tang and Heian emperors) are built facing in the opposite direction (south). It follows that the Guardian of the North must be the leader of the other directional guardians, and that he must carry the most powerful amulets -- namely, the relics of Buddha's own body -- in order to defend against the malign northern influences. In a practical sense, the north was considered the 'bad' direction for at least two reasons: agriculturally (in the northern hemisphere), the sun is in the south, and therefore a southern exposure is most desirable, and a northern exposure is least desirable (all gardners and farmers know this, even today); and in terms of geopolitics, the Mongol peoples of the north, against whom the Great Wall was built, presented the greatest danger to China throughout much of its history.
http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/bishamonten.shtml
But this has nothing to do with the Indian legends surrounding Vaiśravana, where the south is regarded as the pernicious direction, associated with Yamarāja.

Vaiśravana is associated with horses and horsemen in Uttarakuru, the northern continent, as well as Guhyakas, a kind of yakṣa who love treasures and secrets.
Malcolm
Posts: 42974
Joined: Thu Nov 11, 2010 2:19 am

Re: question about vaisravana

Post by Malcolm »

Grigoris wrote: Thu Dec 28, 2017 11:39 pm Sorry, my wrong. I often confuse Vaisravana as an epithet for Dzambhala.
They are the same.
crazy-man
Posts: 506
Joined: Wed Aug 26, 2015 2:22 pm

Re: question about vaisravana

Post by crazy-man »

Like many Buddhist divinities, Bishamonten traces his origin back to India's Hindu-Buddhist pantheon, where he is known as Vaiśravaṇa (Pāli = Vessavaṇa), transliterated into Chinese as Píshāmén 毘沙門 (Jp. = Bishamon or Beishiramana 吠室羅未拏), and translated as Tamonten 多聞天 (lit. = One Who Hears Much), for he listened eagerly to the Buddha's sermons. Also known as Takutō Tennō 托塔天王 (Chn. = Tuōtǎ tiānwáng), meaning "deva-king who holds a pagoda on his palm." In China, he is considered the king of the north, the protector of earthly treasure, and the commander of the Yasha 夜叉 and Rasetsu 羅刹 (earth spirits and demons). In Chinese mythology, north corresponds to winter and the color black -- thus Bishamonten is also called the Black Warrior (genbu 玄武). <note> In China and Japan, he is considered the "Buddhacized" version of the black-skinned Vedic god Kubera. The latter is worshipped in India as the lord of the north, wealth, and treasure, whose name is rendered variously as Kuvera (Pāli), Jambhāla (Skt), 倶吠羅, 倶尾羅, 金毘羅, 金比羅, 拘毘羅, 宮毘羅, or 施財天.
http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/bishamonten.shtml
Fortyeightvows
Posts: 2948
Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2014 2:37 am

Re: question about vaisravana

Post by Fortyeightvows »

Malcolm wrote: Thu Dec 28, 2017 11:45 pm They are the same.
Really? But the story with the stones being thrown and why we do the water and all that is about dzambala, how could it be vaisravana?
Post Reply

Return to “Shrine Room”