Khuyến Thiện Hộ Pháp (劝善护法, Dharmapāla of Encouraging of Good Deeds), 17th century, Bút Tháp Temple, Vietnam. Khuyến Thiện often stands with the Trừng Ác Dharmapāla to form a pair in Vietnamese Buddhism temples.
Trừng Ác Hộ Pháp（整恶护法, Dharmapāla of Punishing of Bad Deeds), 17th century, Bút Tháp Temple. Trừng Ác often stands with the Khuyến Thiện Dharmapāla to form a pair in Vietnamese Buddhism temples.
Adharmapāla[a] is a type of wrathful godinBuddhism. The name means "dharma protector" in Sanskrit, and the dharmapālas are also known as the Defenders of the Justice (Dharma), or the Guardians of the Law. There are two kinds of dharmapala, Worldly Guardians (lokapala) and Wisdom Protectors (jnanapala). Only Wisdom Protectors are enlightened beings.[2]
A protector of Buddhist dharma is called a dharmapala. They are typically wrathful deities, depicted with terrifying iconography in the Mahayana and tantric traditions of Buddhism.[3] The wrathfulness is intended to depict their willingness to defend and guard Buddhist followers from dangers and enemies. The Aṣṭagatyaḥ (the eight kinds of nonhuman beings) is one category of dharmapālas, which includes the Garuda, Deva, Naga, Yaksha, Gandharva, Asura, Kinnara, and Mahoraga.[3]
InVajrayanaiconography and thangka depictions, dharmapala are fearsome beings, often with many heads, many hands, or many feet. Dharmapala often have blue, black, or red skin, and a fierce expression with protruding fangs. Although dharmapala have a terrifying appearance, they only act in a wrathful way for the benefit of sentient beings.
The devotional worship of dharmapālas in the Tibetan tradition is traceable to early 8th-century.[3]
The main functions of a dharmapāla are said to be to avert the inner and outer obstacles that prevent spiritual practitioners from attaining spiritual realizations, as well as to foster the necessary conditions for their practice.[4]
Kalsang, Ladrang (1996). The Guardian Deities of Tibet Delhi: Winsome Books. (Third Reprint 2003) ISBN81-88043-04-4.
Linrothe, Rob (1999). Ruthless Compassion: Wrathful Deities in Early Indo-Tibetan Esoteric Buddhist Art London: Serindia Publications. ISBN0-906026-51-2.
De Nebesky-Wojkowitz, Rene (1956). Oracles and Demons of Tibet. Oxford University Press. Reprint Delhi: Books Faith, 1996 - ISBN81-7303-039-1. Reprint Delhi: Paljor Publications, 2002 - ISBN81-86230-12-2.
