Pilanpo


Pilanpo is a bodhisattva and the mother of the Sun Deity of Mao in Chinese folk religion.

Legends

According to legend, Pilanpo is a shapeshifting bodhisattva, and in her true form she is depicted as a hen. She is the relative of Mahamayuri, a bodhisattva and the godmother of buddha who changed from the great peacock. The prototype of the phoenix is the hen, and the peacock is also the daughter of the phoenix. Since the originated from the hen, Pilanpo and Mahamayuri are the close relatives. Pilanpo arranged the phoenix to protect and rescue the peacocks. Her son is Sun Deity of Mao, a sun rooster deity.
Sometime, Pilanpo is often equated with Ākāśagarbha, a bodhisattva who is associated with the great element of space, but actually, Pilanpo has her own number of stories and legends. Pilanpo is under the Buddha and so she lived in seclusion. She were living in Thousand Flowers Cave at the Purple Clouds Mountain.

''Journey to the West''

In Journey to the West, when Tang Sanzang was captured by the powerful Hundred Eyed Demon King, who has a thousand eyes that radiate brilliant golden light to confuse his enemies and victims, Sun Wukong was difficult to defeat the demon king. Fortunately, Lishan Laomu gave instructions, and Sun Wukong requested the help of the Bodhisattva Pilanpo. The demon king is eventually subdued and captured by Pilanpo Bodhisattva with an embroidery needle, and sent to guard the Thousand Flowers Cave at Purple Clouds Mountain.