"If the virtuous ones of the future see the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva’s image, hear the Ksitigarbha Sutra, chant this Sutra, make offerings to Ksitigarbha, pay homage to him, they will receive twenty-eight kinds of benefits"
- Shakyamuni Buddha in the Sutra of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha 

Lord Ksitigarbha, one of the four great Bodhisattvas in Buddhism, vowed not to become enlightened until the hells are empty. He is also known as the Earth Store Bodhisattva or Di Zang Wang in Chinese. Lord Ksitigarbha is always portrayed with a kind and benevolent look, wearing a crown representing the five Dhyani Buddhas (Buddhas of the five directions). He holds a wish-fulfilling jewel in one hand and in the other, a monk's pilgrim staff with six rings signifying the six realms of existence hell, hungry ghost, animal, human, asura and deva.

Sometimes, he is also shown with his two disciples who were father and son. Dao Ming, the monk on his left and his father Min Rang He on the right, came from a well-to-do family. They donated generously to spread the dharma upon receiving teachings from Lord Ksitigarbha and were amongst the first to renounce their worldly life to become disciples.

Thekchen Choling's rupas (see picture above) of Ksitigarbha and his two disciple, are from the sacred Mount JiuHua in China, where Lord Ksitigarbha’s emanation lived around 600 A.D.

Prayers to Lord Ksitigarbha can help create the causes for:  

• Protection by heavenly beings

• Purification of negativities 

• Superior wisdom

• Ending suffering of loved ones

• Never regressing from Bodhichitta

• Ultimate enlightenment

The Life of Ksitigarbha

There is a familiar story of Ksitigarbha in China during the Eastern Han dynasty during the reign of Emperor Ming. At the time, monks and scholars arrived from those countries to seek the Dharma, which was flourishing in China. One of these pilgrims was a Korean prince called Kim Kiaokak (or Jin Qiaojue in Chinese) who became ordained as a monk with the name of Earth Store (or Jijang, the Korean pronunciation of Dizang). 

Going to the region of Anhui, he ascended Mount Jiuhua where he built a hut deep in the mountain so that he could meditate. While in the hut, the monk was bitten by a poisonous snake. He did not move, instead letting the snake escape. A lady passer-by saw this and gave the monk some medicine to cure him. The monk continued to meditate in his hut for the next few years. 

One day, a scholar named Chu-Ke led a group of friends and family up Mount Jiuhua. Noticing the monk meditating in the hut, they went in to check on his well-being. They noticed that the monk's bowl did not contain any food, and that his hair had grown back. 

Feeling pity for the monk, Scholar Chu decided to build a temple as an offering to him. The whole group descended the mountain immediately to discuss plans for the temple. They obtained the permission of Wen-Ke, who owned Mount Jiuhua and agreed to the building of a temple on his mountain. Wen-Ke and the group then ascended the mountain once more and asked the monk how much land he needed. 

The monk replied that he needed a piece of land that could be covered fully by his kasaya (robe). The monk then threw the kasaya in the air and before his astonished and bewildered companions, the robe miraculously expanded to cover the entire mountain. Amazed at what he witnessed, Elder Wen-Ke immediately decided to renounce the entire mountain to the monk, and became the monk’s disciple. Sometime later, Wen-Ke's son also left the home life to start his life as a monk. 

The monk lived on Mount Jiuhua for seventy five years before passing away at the age of ninety-nine. Three years after his nirvana, his tomb was opened only to reveal that the body had not decayed. Monk Jijang's well-preserved, dehydrated body may still be viewed today at the monastery he built on Mount Jiuhua. 

Past Life of Ksitigarbha

The Ksitigarbha Sutra recounts one of Ksitigarbha’s lifetimes as a Brahmin maiden named Sacred Girl. Her mother was often slanderous towards the Triple Gem and this troubled the girl deeply when her mother died.

Wanting to save her mother from the tortures of hell, the girl sold all her possessions just so that she could buy offerings which she made daily to the Buddha of her time, the Buddha of Flower of Meditation and Enlightenment. Fervently, she prayed to the Buddha for her mother to be spared of the pains of hell.

One day, we she was making her prayers at the temple, she heard the voice of the Buddha advising her to go home immediately and recite his name if she wanted to know where her mother was. She did as she was told and soon found her consciousness transported to a Hell Realm where she met a guardian who informed her that through her fervent prayers and pious offerings, her mother had accumulated much merit. Through this merit, she had already been liberated from hell and had ascended to heaven.

The girl was greatly relieved. But on seeing the great suffering of the beings in Hell, she was so moved that she made a vow to do her very best to relieve beings of their sufferings forever in all her future lives. 

Join us in making prayers and offerings on the eve of Ksitigarbha’s birthday as well as on the actual day of his birthday itself! Click here to find out more.