The Four Heavenly Kings guard the Buddhist cosmos and protect Gautama Buddha's dharma, attending his teachings and defending against demonic forces.
The Four Heavenly Kings stand guard on the four slopes of Mount Meru, the axis of the Buddhist cosmos, warding its approaches against the incursions of asuras and malevolent spirits.
Indra commands the Four Heavenly Kings, who guard the four cardinal directions of Mount Meru under his authority as king of Trayastrimsha heaven.
The Four Heavenly Kings station themselves on the slopes of Mount Meru, each commanding one cardinal direction and its host of supernatural beings — gandharvas, kumbhandas, nagas, and yakshas — to shield the world from demonic incursion.
When Siddhartha attained enlightenment beneath the Bodhi tree, the Four Heavenly Kings descended from Mount Meru and offered him four stone alms bowls, which he merged into one to receive his first meal as the Buddha.
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