A Malaysian God

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Many people believe in just one God but since there are also so many different people in this world, why not many Gods too if you consider Chinese deities Gods, that is! It is undeniable but the general conception is there are many Gods in a Chinese religion. And I am of the opinion that the number of these Gods will always increase. In Malaysia for example, there is this Tua Pek Kong (Chinese: 大伯公, Da Bo Gong), one of the pantheon of Malaysian Chinese Gods, to prove my point. It was believed that Tua Pek Kong arrived in Penang 40 years before Sir Francis Light, the British founder of the island. Tua Pek Kong was a Hakka man named Zhang Li (张理) and his Sumatra bound boat was struck by wind and accidentally landed on Penang island of Malaysia. After his death, local peoples began worshipping him and built the Tua Pek Kong temple there. Today Tua Pek Kong is worshipped by Malaysian Chinese throughout the country. I really wonder if he is worshipped in mainland China though. ..

Comments

footiam said…
Till the point I know buddhism phylosophy, all the Buddhas were real existing persons (hope we will be too one day). Bon has the same system. I know that there is the same in Tai-Chi too. And the same about Japanese deities. Why the Chinese have not make a part of this tradition?

In Italy the persons create there own deities like Padre Pio, a monk, that was died in 1968, I think.
13 May 2008 at 00:24
footiam said…
Liudmila, I have never given that a thought but now that you say it, why, it's true isn't it that all the Buddhas are existing people. I think the Chinese have the same tradition as the Japanese. There are many Chinese deities who are historical figures. At home, we even have an altar for our ancestors, our grandparents and parents who are departed. Since italians have their own deities too, I guess this is something among the human race.
13 May 2008 at 00:27
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