Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva

Buddhists believe Hell is one of the six destinations in the reincarnation. Souls are punished in Hell for the wrongs people did in their previous reincarnations. Ksitigarbha vowed that as long as there was still one soul in Hell, he would not become a Buddha. As there are always souls being punished, he has never attained buddhahood. He is most commonly depicted as a monk with a five-sided crown, holding a lotus flower in his left hand and a mudra (gesture) of courage or a Buddhist staff in his right hand.

Ksitigarbha differed from other bodhisattvas in that he was never an enlightened Buddha in any of his previous incarnations. Maitreya, for instance, is a Buddha who stays in Tushita heaven awaiting a rebirth on earth to become the next Buddha after Gautama Siddhartha or the Tathargata (如來佛). In one of his incarnation, Ksitigarbha was a woman. When she made an offering to an arhat (羅漢) or one who can achieve nirvana anytime, the latter asked her if she had any wish. She said she would like to know where her deceased mother had gone. The arhat went into meditation. While in trance, the arhat sought and found her mother was in Hell, where her soul was being punished.

When he came out of the meditation, the old monk asked the woman why her mother should be suffering in Hell. “Mother loved to eat turtles, especially baby turtles,” she replied. Then the old man told her to recite the name of Amitarbha (阿彌陀佛) or Namo Omituofo, which means “Hail, Amitarbha.” The arhat also drew a picture of Amitarbha for her to worship. She did what she was told. Then she had a dream. Amitarbha Buddha appeared in her dream and told her that her mother would be reborn in her own household.

The mother was reborn as a baby to a housemaid of the woman. The baby girl began to speak when it was only three days old. The baby told the woman she was indeed her mother in the previous life. “Thanks to your constant prayer,” the baby said, “I was able to leave Hell and was reborn in your household.” ‘But I can only live thirteen years,” the baby went on, “and I would go back to Hell.” That is the mother’s karma. She had not been punished enough for the wrongs she had done. The woman was very sad. She was sorry for her mother’s karma. Then she vowed to do what she could to help all sentient beings cease to suffer.

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