The four Maharajas, heavenly kings of the cardinal points, who reported to Indra every month, showed themselves equally friendly. On one occasion Buddha was without a begging bowl; the Deva kings came to him and each one offered a begging bowl of emerald; the Buddha refused to take them, as they were of too precious material; so they offered bowls less fine and each was strenuous that he should accept _his_ gift; so Buddha took the four bowls and placing them together, lo, they became a single bowl, but with a rim showing how four had merged, so that none of the kind Devas was neglected or hurt in feeling, and the offering of all was accepted by the Great Teacher; it is said that this begging bowl was in existence hundreds of years after Buddha’s time, kept as a precious treasure in a temple. We need not then, be surprised, to find that a number of the old Brahmanic gods were taken bodily over into Buddhism. Brahma and Indra are in fact to-day considered in Mahayana to be the chief patrons and protectors of Buddhism. The four Maharajas have also been taken over completely. And Yama, the very ancient god of hell, to-day finds himself as comfortable in Buddhism as he ever could have been in Brahmanism, or in the earlier Aryan worship of the Vedas. [Illustration: PLATE XXVIII Hall of the Ten Kings of Hell: Yongju-sa (Notice combination of figures and painting; the god of hell with two helpers, five kings with small servants, two other officers, and one of the two Brahmanic guardians) [Page 91]] Approaching any Buddhist temple in Japan or Korea you are almost sure to find two gigantic figures standing at the outer gate. They are the old gods Brahma and Indra. They are represented as full-muscled men of gigantic size, wrestling against the powers of evil. (Plate XIX.)