CHINESE SUPERSTITIONS - University of Oregon

— 331 —
Divine nymphs gather these lotus-flowers in the early morning,
and bear them to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, who inhabit the
countless worlds of the universe (1). The Deva represented here
offers a lotus-flower to Vairocana, Buddha Supreme and Eternal (2).
plate,
The other Deva carries a stick of incense, Ilsiang ^ (3),
on a
and offers it likewise to Vairocana. It is a well-known fact
-
that the burning- and offering
of incense to the gods is the principal
act of worship in China, as it was in pagan Rome (4). Both of
these inferior deities are mere attendants on Buddha, and are
placed
beside him to do him honour.
It may be added that "Li the Tower-bearer"", T'o-t'ah Li-t'icn-
wang Jfc j%- ^ ^ 3£, though of Taoist origin, is found nowadays
in nearly all Buddhist temples. As Edkins well remarks, "oriental
religions are so mutually complimentary, that they sometimes adopt
each other's divinities without scruple" (5).
(1) Beal. \ Catena of Buddhist Scriptures from the Chinese, p. 379 (The
Western Paradise).
(2) See on Vairocana, Buddha Supreme and Eternal. Chinese Super-
stitions. Vol. VI. p. 119-123. Also Illustration n° 19. p. 120.
(3) Incense, Hsiang ^. See Chinese Superstitions. Vol. V. p. 533-540
(Incense-sticks and their usage).
p.
(4) Chinese Superstitions. Vol. V. p. 540. note 1; Vol. VI. p. 135. note 4;
145, note 2
(5) Edkins. Chinese Buddhism, p. 210. — Chinese Superstitions. Vol. 111.
Preface, p. I; Vol. VI. Preface, p. VIII, XIV, 93, 97, 159, 164,
195. note 4.
169. note 2;
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