Why can't we worship Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva? What are the benefits of worshipping Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva?

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva is one of the four great Bodhisattvas in Chinese Buddhism. It is said that his preaching place is in Jiuhua Mountain in Anhui Province. He is the Bodhisattva in charge of the underworld, so some people believe that Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva cannot be worshipped. Then why can’t we worship Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva? What are the benefits of worshipping Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva?

Why can't we worship Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva?

According to folklore, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva is the leader of the underworld and is in charge of the ghosts in hell. Therefore, we cannot kneel down to worship Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. In fact, this is a misunderstanding.

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva resides in hell and saves all ghosts. He made a vow that he would not become a Buddha until hell is empty, so people have the wrong idea that worshiping Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva will attract ghosts. Some people think that since Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva resides in hell, it is not good to invite him into the home as it will bring bad luck to the family. At the same time, people who often worship Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva will also have worse luck. This is wrong. Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, as one of the four great Bodhisattvas in Chinese Buddhism, actually has a very high status in Chinese Buddhism, but he is the only Buddha who can save all the ghosts in hell. Therefore, many people believe that Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva can only be guarded by special temples, and it is better not to worship him in ordinary families. If it happens, it will attract some bad things and make people uneasy.

What are the benefits of worshipping Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva?

1. Fulfilling wishes first

Among the four great Bodhisattvas, Manjushri represents wisdom, Samantabhadra represents action, Avalokitesvara represents compassion, and Ksitigarbha represents vows. From the perspective of fulfilling all the wishes of all sentient beings, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva surpasses all other great Bodhisattvas. We sentient beings often become worried and distressed because we cannot obtain what we desire. After knowing that Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva is the best wish-fulfilling Bodhisattva, no matter what wish you make, when you are anxious and hope to realize it as soon as possible, you must think of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva as your first reaction.

2. The Deity of Increasing Karma

Relying on the blessings of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, we will naturally: achieve more good results day by day, accumulate saintly causes, maintain an unregressing Bodhi, quickly transcend to holy places, and ultimately attain Buddhahood. During the four regular Dharma assemblies of the academy stipulated by the holy Dharma King Jigme Phuntsok, tens of thousands of five offerings are displayed every day during the ceremonies, and the Dharma of Ksitigarbha and the "Sutra of Samantabhadra's Vows" are practiced to increase and accumulate vast resources for becoming a Buddha, and pray that the merits of precepts, concentration, and wisdom and the unbiased Buddhist Dharma will increase, become complete, and flourish in every corner of the world.

III. Summary of Merits

In the "Sutra of the Past Vows of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva", top Bodhisattvas such as Manjushri, Samantabhadra, Guanyin, and Maitreya are brought out, all for the purpose of highlighting the extraordinary merits of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva is the sum of the merits of all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. He is truly the most inconceivable among the inconceivable. Therefore, the Buddha said that if people heard about the merits of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, they would definitely doubt and faint.

4. Special Career

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva has a deep compassion and vowed to create hundreds of thousands of billions of incarnations to chase after sentient beings, accept and teach them, and save them with hundreds of thousands of expedient means. His every thought is to bring happiness to all sentient beings, both in the human and heavenly realms, and to achieve Nirvana. Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva came from the southern world, but Sakyamuni Buddha entrusted Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva with the task of teaching and enlightening the stubborn sentient beings in the Saha world from now until the attainment of Buddhahood by Maitreya Bodhisattva. This shows that they are extraordinary. Therefore, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva’s work of accepting and receiving is inconceivable and fills the ten directions.

5. Filial piety comes first

Whenever we think of this great vow, “I will not become a Buddha until hell is empty, and I will not attain Bodhi until all sentient beings are saved,” our souls will immediately experience a thorough awakening, freeing us from our self-infatuation and generating the urge to benefit sentient beings. This is the great vow that Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva made for his parents. Who are his parents? He did not regard any sentient being as an outsider, and believed that all sentient beings were his parents. For the sake of all parents in the world, he would rather stay in hell forever and try every means to save them.