# Hall of Heavenly Kings

The Hall of Heavenly Kings stands inside the Mountain Gate as the second major building on the monastery’s central axis. It is the transitional hall linking the secular world to the Mahavira Hall and is commonly called Maitreya Hall. Six sacred images are enshrined inside: Maitreya Bodhisattva at the center, the Four Great Heavenly Kings on the eastern and western sides, and Skanda behind Maitreya. The six images each carry responsibilities of teaching and Dharma protection, bringing together the mindset for living in the world and the Buddhist Dharma of protecting the world.

## Central Main Deity: Maitreya Bodhisattva
The first figure seen when entering the hall is the image of the big-bellied Maitreya. Its prototype is the Five Dynasties monk Budai, known as Qici, whom the world has recognized as an incarnation of Maitreya Bodhisattva. Maitreya is the future Buddha. After the teaching of Śākyamuni Buddha is complete, he will descend to the human world, attain Buddhahood, and liberate beings.
The image shows an open chest and belly and a constant smile. The broad belly symbolizes the capacity to tolerate what is difficult for the world to tolerate; the smiling mouth reminds people to smile at what is ridiculous in the world. It reminds visitors to let go of hatred and attachment and enter the monastery with a joyful and tolerant mind. Devotees first see Maitreya when entering the gate, symbolizing a broad heart that receives blessings and joyfully enters the path.


## Eastern Heavenly King Dhṛtarāṣṭra — Fulfilling One’s Duty and Maintaining the Middle Way
**Meaning of the name:** “Dhṛta” means to hold or maintain, and “rāṣṭra” means country, extended to family and self. “Dhṛtarāṣṭra” asks how we maintain our family without decline, our country without ruin, and ourselves without regression.
**Core teaching:** Dhṛtarāṣṭra teaches us to be responsible and fulfill our duties. Everyone has a role in society, whether as parent, child, employee, or leader. Doing one’s own proper duties to the best possible standard is to protect the country and the family.
**Symbolism of the Dharma instrument, the pipa:** The Heavenly King holds a pipa, representing the “way of the middle.” A stringed instrument requires tuning. If the strings are too tight, they break; if too loose, they produce no sound. They must be tuned just right. This teaches us not to go to extremes when dealing with people and matters, but to understand proper measure, following the Confucian Doctrine of the Mean and the Buddhist Middle Way.

## Southern Heavenly King Virūḍhaka — Seeking Daily Progress and Keeping Pace with the Times
**Meaning of the name:** “Virūḍhaka,” or “increase,” refers to the daily increase of virtue, learning, wisdom, and even life skills. One must not stagnate.
**Core teaching:** Buddhism does not advocate conservatism or rigid adherence to old forms. It advocates “seeking progress every day,” like the Confucian saying: “If one can renew oneself for one day, one should renew oneself day after day, and again renew oneself.” A society that does not seek progress will fall behind.
**Symbolism of the Dharma instrument, the jeweled sword:** Virūḍhaka holds a sword. The sword represents the “sword of wisdom,” which cuts through emotional attachment and afflictions. To pursue true progress, one must use wisdom to remove one’s own afflictions, wrong views, and bad habits, and use wisdom to resolve all worldly and supramundane problems.

## Western Heavenly King Virūpākṣa — Seeing Broadly and Keeping the Mind Unmoved
**Meaning of the name:** “Virūpākṣa,” or “broad eyes,” means to see much and open one’s vision to observe the world carefully.
**Core teaching:** In social experience, to become a good person and succeed in one’s work, one must “see much and observe much.” Understanding customs, social changes, and human relations allows one to know clearly what is going on, corresponding to the Mahayana idea of “reading ten thousand books and traveling ten thousand miles.”
**Symbolism of the Dharma instruments, dragon or snake plus still jewel:** Virūpākṣa has a dragon or snake coiled around one hand and holds a wish-fulfilling jewel in the other.
**Dragon or snake:** Represents unpredictability and change. Social conditions, people’s minds, and the environment change every day, moving unpredictably like dragons and snakes.
**Jewel:** Represents unchanging concentration and the true mind. Holding the jewel means that no matter how external society, the dragon or snake, changes, our inner mind should be like the jewel: principled, concentrated, and unmoving, not tempted or defiled by external conditions.

## Northern Heavenly King Vaiśravaṇa — Hearing and Learning Widely, Protecting the Pure Mind
**Meaning of the name:** “Vaiśravaṇa,” or “much-hearing,” means listening widely and encountering excellent culture and teachings.
**Core teaching:** Virūpākṣa means seeing much, and Vaiśravaṇa means hearing much. Together, these two Heavenly Kings correspond to the Confucian idea of broad learning and much hearing. We should listen widely to the Buddhadharma and to wholesome words, thereby increasing our insight.
**Symbolism of the Dharma instrument, the mixed-origin umbrella:** Vaiśravaṇa holds an umbrella or canopy. An umbrella shields one from wind and rain. Especially in modern society, where online content is mixed and alluring, the umbrella represents “protecting one’s pure mind.”