Dizang

Dizang, in Chinese Buddhism, bodhisattva (buddha-to-be) who is especially committed to delivering the dead from the torments of hell. His name is a translation of the Sanskrit Kshitigarbha (“Womb of the Earth”). Dizang seeks to deliver the souls of the dead from the punishments inflicted by the 10 judges, or kings, of hell (the fifth, Yanlo Wang, is the Chinese manifestation of the Indian lord of death, Yama). The judges are always represented standing when in the presence of Dizang, as a mark of their deference to him.

His previous lives included an existence as a Brahman maiden who secured the release of her impious mother from hell by devoted prayers to the Buddha. Legends concerning Dizang, emphasizing the virtue of filial piety, are recounted in the Chinese scripture Dizang benyuanjing (“Scripture on Dizang’s Vows”). The mountain Jiuhua in Anhui province is sacred to Dizang and is a favourite place of pilgrimage for Chinese Buddhists. In Japan, Dizang is known as Jizō. (See also Kshitigarbha.)