Of Taiwan's "Temples to the Patriarch", eight or nine out of ten are dedicated not to Bodhidharma, patriarch of the Ch'an School of Buddhism, but to the Pure Water Patriarch.

Adherents of folk religion do not generally seek theological or philosophical truths; their belief is grounded in a god's effectiveness as a miracle-worker.

Originally a Buddhist monk, although one who was not elevated to the status of a Buddha or Bodhisattva, the Pure Water Patriarch is widely venerated by the people of Taiwan for his extraordinary spiritual powers.

At crack of dawn, old Mr. Li of Tienmu, his daughter and son in-law head excitedly for Tamsui, having just heard from the Pure Water Patriarch temple management committee that their turn has at last arrived to take the century-old "nose-shedding Patriarch" into their own home.

"This Patriarch image from Tangshan sheds its nose as a warning before major events," says temple worker Mr. Wang. On November 23, 1867, a crowd of the faithful were escorting the image When its nose fell off by Tamsui harbour. Just as many nearby residents were rushing out to see, a big earthquake suddenly struck. Several houses collapsed but no one was injured as they were all out of doors. Ever since, the Patriarch image shedding its nose has been a sign of warning.

Legends about the Patriarch image's power passed from mouth to mouth, until the custom arose of believers taking the image into their own homes for extra spiritual protection. "They usually only keep it for two or three days," Ms. Hu explains, either to pay a vow, to ward off evil, or to venerate the Patriarch as part of their regular religious observance.

The Tamsui Patriarch Temple has 18 images for believers to take home, and each one has a long line of subscribers. "Their schedule's so fully booked that maybe only the premier is a busier man," quips Mr. Li.

Buddhists use various polite forms of address when speaking of monks, but the word patriarch is used only of Bodhidharma, founding patriarch of the Ch'an School. So how did the Pure Water Patriarch come by this appellation?

"In Chinese folk belief, whose basic animism is overlaid with a blend of Confucian, Buddhist and Taoist doctrines, the gods are customarily addressed like relatives to show intimacy." According to anthropologist Juan Ch'ang-jui, believers speak of the land god as "grandfather" and the Bodhisattva Kuan-yin as "mother," with as much familiarity as if they were addressing their own grandfather or mother. The term "patriarch" is just an honorific form of address, in the same way as Buddhists speak of eminent monks as "masters."

The Pure Water Patriarch, whose original name was Ch'eng P'u-tsu, began life as a Buddhist monk before various twists of fate led to his being venerated as a patriarch in folk belief.

According to the Yung-ch'un local gazetteer and various Patriarch Temple records, Ch'en P'u-tsu was born in Yung-ch'un county, Fukien, in the Ch'ing-li reign (1041-1043) of Emperor Jen-tsung of the Sung dynasty. As a child he read sutras while grazing goats, and joined the community at Ta-yun Monastery, where he gained enlightenment after studying under Ch'an Master Ming-sung for three years. Upon taking leave to return to his home district, the master urged him to remember that the greatest virtue in Buddhism was benevolent action, and that he should devote himself to being of benefit to the world.

Back home, Ch'en P'u-tsu used his medical and pharmacological skills to save the lives of others. During a great drought in 1083 he was asked to pray for rain, and sure enough it did. The locals then built him a monastery on Mt. Penglai and named it Pure Water Peak because of its spring of sweet water.

In 1101, at the age of 65, the Pure Water Patriarch spoke his last words, stressing that "the physical body is an external thing, and there is no advantage in being attached to it," before composing himself for death.

But this is not the end of the story. In 1134, according to the local gazetteer, Pure Water Peak was struck by a thunderbolt which burned strangely all night, leaving behind white chrysanthemums, flowering ginger and an incense burner, behind which sat the deceased Pure Water Patriarch in meditation. Suddenly the mountain was shrouded in a thick mist which lifted the patriarch slowly into the heavens. Only now did people remember the patriarch's words that Pure Water Peak was the Buddha's home and that he would manifest himself there, and so they built a temple to venerate him and Emperor Kao-tsung bestowed upon him the title of "Illustrious Arhat Master."

In the reign of Hsiao-tsung (r. 1163-1189) the people of Tehua, Fukien, took the patriarch's image to their district in a time of drought, and sure enough it rained. Under Ning-tsung (r. 1195-1224) the prefect of Chuanchow prayed to the patriarch's image in a severe drought, and sure enough it rained directly. Because of his efficacy in bringing rain, the Pure Water Patriarch was venerated in folk belief as a water god.

Such miracles turned the Buddhist monk Ch'en P'u-tsu into the Pure Water Patriarch of folk belief, and with the immigration to Taiwan of settlers from Fukien his sphere of influence spread far beyond the confines of Chuanchow.

According to a survey conducted by Juan Ch'ang-jui there are a total of 98 Pure Water Patriarch temples in Taiwan, of which Tainan county has most with 29. But most celebrated of all is the temple at Sanhsia, Taipei county.

"Most of Taiwan's nearly 9,000 temples are best known for their cult, but this is the only one that is famous for its art." Cheng Yu-ts'ai, secretary of the Sanhsia Pure Water Patriarch temple reconstruction committee, proudly boasts that nowhere else has a temple with such fine carvings as this one, which is still under construction after 40 years and at a cost of over NT$120 million.

"As chief architect of the temple's reconstruction, the late artist Li Mei-shu engaged Taiwan's best temple builders and craftsmen in wood and stone carving in order to leave to posterity a fine cultural heritage of traditional architectural art." Cheng Yu-ts'ai adds that many foreigners, particularly Japanese, make special journeys to see this "temple of oriental art." This beautiful temple has brought prosperity to the backwater town of Sanhsia, but who knows whether this is thanks to the Pure Water Patriarch or to the labors of Li Mei-shu?

Chinese folk religion is highly eclectic in its beliefs, so temples tend to group several gods together. Most Patriarch temples are also dedicated to Kuan-yin, San T'ai-tzu and other deities and carry out a range of Taoist rites, even including offering the three sacrificial meats of fish, pork and chicken.

Most people have long forgotten that the Pure Water Patriarch was once a Buddhist monk; pure Buddhists do not recognize him, and the general mass of folk believers have no knowledge of his origins. Despite the flourishing state of Patriarch temple worship and the large number of adherents to his cult, surely the kindly Patriarch himself must occasionally think "you people really don't appreciate me!"

[Picture Caption]

The Pure Water Patriarch is also dubbed the "Nose-shedding Patriarch" on account of a century-old legend--before any major disaster strikes, he sheds his nose as a warning. For this reason modern images of the Patriarch are normally made with a removable nose.

It is customary among believers to take the Patriarch's image into their homes for a short stay in hopes that he will change their luck through his spiritual power .

The Clear Water Patriarch is worshipped at almost all of Taiwan's Patriarch temples. That at Sanhsia is noted for its outstanding artistic decoration.

Originally just a local deity of the Chuan-chow region, since his cult spread to Taiwan the Pure Water Patriarch has taken people from north and south of the Yangtze under his wing.

No doubt the Patriarch was surprised to find himself suddenly elevated from a humble Buddhist monk to the status of a deity!

It is customary among believers to take the Patriarch's image into their homes for a short stay in hopes that he will change their luck through his spiritual power .

The Clear Water Patriarch is worshipped at almost all of Taiwan's Patriarch temples. That at Sanhsia is noted for its outstanding artistic decoration.

Originally just a local deity of the Chuan-chow region, since his cult spread to Taiwan the Pure Water Patriarch has taken people from north and south of the Yangtze under his wing.

No doubt the Patriarch was surprised to find himself suddenly elevated from a humble Buddhist monk to the status of a deity!