Four Heavenly Kings

The Four Heavenly Kings are four Buddhist gods or devas, each of whom is believed to watch over one cardinal direction of the world. The Hall of Four Heavenly Kings is a standard component of Chinese Buddhist temples.

Quotes

• The usage of the terms Arya and Dasyu in the Bhaisajyavasta of the Mulasarvastivadavinaya is even more revealing of the overall Buddhist approach to inclusion. Here we have a story of the Buddha teaching his Dharma to the four guardian gods... Imparting the Buddhist teaching to these four guardians should be a breeze for the Buddha, But, there is a problem. Two of these, Dhrtarastra from the east and Virudhaka from the south, are aryajatiya. The other two, Virupaksa from the west and Vaisravana from the north, are dasyujatiya. The associations of arya with east and south, and dasyu with north and west, are very intriguing to say the least... The problem is that of delivering a single teaching which would be comprehensible to both the groups. If the Buddha were to teach only using the Arya language, the Dasyus might not comprehend it, and if he were to teach only using the Dasyu language, the Aryas might not comprehend. Finally, the Buddha decides to offer his teaching separately in both the Arya and Dasyu languages to these two groups... The Dasyu birth of the two guardians does not prevent them from receiving the teaching of the Buddha. Similarily, it shows the willingness of the Buddha (i.e. the Buddhist tradition) to adopt the Dasyu languages, if necessary, to impart the Arya Dharma to those who are Dasyu by birth. Trough a religiouos conversion, those who are Dasyus by birth emerge as the new spiritually Arya followers of the Buddhist path.
  • Mulasarvastivadavinaya. The Bhaisajyavasta of the Mulasarvastivadavinaya, quoted from What to do with the Anaryas? Dharmic discourses of inclusion and exclusion by Madhav M. Deshpande, 1996, p 120-1