Nio (Buddhism)
Niō or Inwang or Renwang or Nhân vương, also known as the Deva or Benevolent Kings, are two wrathful and muscular guardians of the Buddha standing today at the entrance of many Buddhist temples in East Asian Buddhism in the form of frightening wrestler-like statues. They are dharmapala manifestations of the bodhisattva Vajrapāṇi, the oldest and most powerful of the Mahayana Buddhist pantheon. According to scriptures like the Pāli Canon as well as the Ambaṭṭha Sutta, they travelled with Gautama Buddha to protect him. Within the generally pacifist tradition of Buddhism, stories of dharmapalas justified the use of physical force to protect cherished values and beliefs against evil. They are also seen as a manifestation of Mahasthamaprapta, the bodhisattva of power that flanks Amitābha in Pure Land Buddhism and as Vajrasattva in Tibetan Buddhism.Manifestations
Symbolic meaning
They are usually portrayed as a pair of figures that stand guarding the main temple entrance gates, usually called shanmen in China, niōmon in Japan, and in Korea. In Sanskrit, the right statue is known as Guhyapāda. He traditionally has his mouth open, representing the vocalization of the first grapheme of Sanskrit Devanāgarī. The left statue is Nārāyaṇa. He traditionally has his mouth closed, representing the vocalization of the last grapheme of Devanāgarī, read "". These two characters together symbolize the birth and death of all things. Similar to Jaya-Vijaya, they signify "everything" or "all creation". The contraction of both is the mantra om.Guhyapāda
Guhyapāda is a symbol of overt violence: he wields a vajra mallet "" and bares his teeth. His mouth is depicted as being in the shape necessary to form the "ha" or "ah" sound. In China, he is also known as General Ha in reference to this iconographic detail. Similarly, he is also known as Agyō in Japan due to this detail as well. In Chinese Buddhism, Guhyapāda is regarded as one of the Twenty-Four Protective Deities, who are a grouping of dharmapalas often enshrined in the Daxiong of temples and monasteries. In addition, Guhyapāda is also sometimes paired or identified with the Wisdom King Ucchuṣma, who is commonly known in Chinese as Huiji Jingang.Nārāyaṇa
Nārāyaṇa is depicted either bare-handed or wielding a sword. He symbolizes latent strength, holding his mouth tightly shut. His mouth is rendered to form the sound "", or "heng" or "un". In China, he is also known as General Heng in reference to this iconographic detail. Similarly, he is also known as Ungyō in Japan due to this detail as well.Vajrapāni
Both Guhyapāda and Nārāyaṇa are seen as manifestations of Vajrapāni, with the name literally meaning "vajra-wielding god".Nio Zen Buddhism was a practice advocated by the Zen monk Suzuki Shōsan, who advocated Nio Zen Buddhism over Nyorai Zen Buddhism. He recommended that practitioners should meditate on Nio and even adopt their fierce expressions and martial stances in order to cultivate power, strength and courage when dealing with adversity. Suzuki described Nio as follows: "The Niō is a menacing God. He wields the kongōsho and he can crush your enemies. Depend on him, pray to him that he will protect you as he protects the Buddha. He vibrates with energy and spiritual power which you can absorb from him in times of need."Influence on Taoism
In Chinese folk religion and Taoism, they are known as the two generals Heng and Ha. In the Taoist novel, Zheng Lun and Chen Qi were finally appointed as the two deities.