which are
personified as Shih-chia Fo (Shakya), O-mi-t'o Fo (Amita), and Ju-lai
Fo (Tathagata); otherwise Fo Pao, Fa Pao, and Seng Pao (the _San Pao_,
'Three Precious Ones')--that is, Buddha, the prophet who came into the
world to teach the Law, Dharma, the Law Everlasting, and Samgha, its
mystical body, Priesthood, or Church. Dharma is an entity underived,
containing the spiritual elements and material constituents of the
universe. From it the other two evolve: Buddha (Shakyamuni), the
creative energy, Samgha, the totality of existence and of life. To the
people these are three personal Buddhas, whom they worship without
concerning themselves about their origin. To the priests they are
simply the Buddha, past, present, or future. There are also several
other of these groups or triads, ten or more, composed of different
deities, or sometimes containing one or two of the triad already
named. Shakyamuni heads the list, having a place in at least six.

The legend of the Buddha belongs rather to Indian than to Chinese
mythology, and is too long to be reproduced here. [18]

The principal gods of Buddhism are Jan-teng Fo, the Light-lamp
Buddha, Mi-lo Fo (Maitreya), the expected Messiah of the Buddhists,
O-mi-t'o Fo (Amitabha or Amita), the guide who conducts his devotees
to the Western Paradise, Yueeh-shih Fo, the Master-physician Buddha,
Ta-shih-chih P'u-sa (Mahastama), companion of Amitabha, P'i-lu Fo
(Vairotchana), the highest of the Threefold Embodiments, Kuan Yin,
the Goddess of Mercy, Ti-tsang Wang, the God of Hades, Wei-t'o
(Viharapala), the Deva protector of the Law of Buddha and Buddhist
temples, the Four Diamond Kings of Heaven, and Bodhidharma, the first
of the six Patriarchs of Eastern or Chinese Buddhism.

Diamond Kings of Heaven

On the right and left sides of the entrance hall of Buddhist temples,
two on each side, are the gigantic figures of the four great _Ssu Ta
Chin-kang_ or _T'ien-wang_, the Diamond Kings of Heaven, protectors
or governors of the continents lying in the direction of the four
cardinal points from Mount Sumeru, the centre of the world. They are
four brothers named respectively Mo-li Ch'ing (Pure), or Tseng Chang,
Mo-li Hung (Vast), or Kuang Mu, Mo-li Hai (Sea), or To Wen, and Mo-li
Shou (Age), or Ch'ih Kuo. The _Chin kuang ming_ states that they bestow
all kinds of happiness on those who honour the Three Treasures, Buddha,
the Law, and the Priesthood. Kings and nations who neglect the