Pilanpo
(
Chinese
:
毗?婆
) is said to be a
bodhisattva
and the mother of
Maori Xingguan
in
Chinese folk religion
.
[1]
[2]
[3]
According to Volume 7 of the
Lotus S?tra
, Pilanpo is one of the ten
rakshasis
who protect the
Dharma
.
[4]
Origin
[
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]
According to belief, Pilanpo is a shapeshifter whose true form is a
hen
. Since hens and
peacocks
are seen as related through the
phoenix
(
fenghuang
), she is considered to be a relative of the bodhisattva and former peacock
Mahamayuri
, the godmother of the
Buddha
. Her son Maori Xingguan is a rooster and star deity (昴日星官, the Sun Rooster of
Hairy Head
).
[2]
She is sometimes equated with
?k??agarbha
, a bodhisattva of the great element (mah?bh?ta) of space (?k??a).
In
Lotus S?tra
[
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]
In the Chapter 7, the "Dharani" section in the twenty-sixth chapter of the
Lotus Sutra
:
At that time, there were ten
rakshasis
(ogresses) named Lanpo, Pilanpo, Quchi, Huachi, Hechi, Duofa, Wuyaotu, Chienluo, Guoti, and Duoqie. These ten rakshasis, along with the mother of all rakshasas, her son, and their entourage, all came to the Buddha and spoke with one voice: "World-Honored One, we also wish to protect those who read, recite, and uphold the Lotus Sutra. We will remove their misfortunes. If anyone seeks to harm these teachers, we will prevent them from succeeding."
In
Journey to the West
[
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]
In
Journey to the West
, after
Tang Sanzang
and his disciples are defeated by the poison tea of the
Hundred-Eyed Demon King
, who possesses a thousand eyes that radiate brilliant golden light to confuse his enemies and victims, Sun Wukong flees from the demon and encounters
Lishan Laomu
.
[5]
On the instructions of Lishan Laomu,
Sun Wukong
requests help from Pilanpo, who eventually subdues and captures the demon king. Pilanpo said that she had been living low-key for over 300 years since she last attended the
Yulan Festival
[
zh
]
. She had kept her name incognito, never went out, and no one knew about her. When she asked Sun Wukong how he knew about her existence, he refused to answer. According to Pilanpo, the demon king's radiant golden light is so powerful that even the
Buddha
could not defeat it. Pilanpo uses an embroidery needle to do so, which was not made of iron or steel but was extracted by her son from his own eyes. After the demon king is subdued, Pilanpo sends him to guard Thousand Flowers Cave.
[6]
In Chapter 73 of the commentary on
Journey to the West
by Taoist Chen Shibin of the
Qing Dynasty
, it is explained that Lishan Laomu is familiar with the Hundred-Eyed Demon King, which refers to the pure yin consciousness containing poisonous flames. On the other hand, Pilanpo carries the
yang energy
, similar to Ziyun Mountain in the Cave of Thousand Flowers, and radiates the brilliance of the sun, revealing light.
[7]
The
Yuan
zaju
or operatic version text of
The Journey to the West
styles the Pilanpo as the friend of the
Queen Mother of the West
,
Princess Iron Fan
and Lishan Laomu.
References
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]
Sources
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]