Goddess Myths

Mazy ( Long Version )

Mazu, or Mat-Su, Chinese Goddess of the Sea, is the story of an extraordinary girl who became a goddess.

The Goddess Mazu's stories even come to us in an unusual way. Usually we have to search the works of poets and philosophers, historians and anthropologists, when wishing to explore the myths of the legendary ladies we call goddesses.  But ancient government edicts, court documents, Taoist scriptures, and even shipping logs provide the stories of the young girl and the goddess she became.

Mazu . . . a goddess, even after a millennium has passed . . . arguably the most worshipped in the world with over 1,500 active temples and 100 million devotees.

Hers is a fascinating story.

The Chinese goddess Mazu has many names and titles. Known in different regions as Matsu, Ma-Tsu, A-ma, Tianhou, and other names, with numerous titles that include "Motherly Matriarch", "Kuan Yin of the Southern Sea", "Daughter of the Dragon", and "Empress of Heaven".  Although some experts feel she may be a version of the older goddess Kuan Yin (who is better known in most western countries), Mazu is deeply rooted in the hearts of her people, especially coastal areas  in the East, and is best known as the "Goddess of the Sea".

In folk tradition it is believed that, when you are facing great difficulty, you can call her by the name "Mazu" and she will immediately come to your rescue. If, however, you address her as the "Empress of Heaven", she will have to take time to put on her fine clothing and will be delayed in coming to your aid!

The Chinese goddess Mazu originated with the deification of a young woman named Lin Mo Niang who had performed numerous miracles during her short life. A kind-hearted girl with a vast knowledge of Chinese medicine, she was known as a healer, curing the sick while teaching people how to prevent illness and injury. Many of the miracles she performed involved quelling storms at sea, so it is hardly surprising that she is known as the protector of all seafaring people.

Mazu was born on a small island in the straits of Taiwan off the coast of southeastern China in 960 A.D. Her middle-aged parents, the Lins, already had six other children, only one of them a girl.  Her mother prayed to the goddess of mercy, Kuan Yin, for another daughter.  Hearing her fervent prayers, Kuan Yin came to her in a dream, giving her a flower blossom to eat that caused her to conceive the next day.

The baby was named Lin Niang (in China the family name, or surname, comes first). At her birth the room was filled with a brilliant light and the fragrance of fresh blossoms. As a newborn, she was strangely silent. Alert and healthy, she did not cry at all during the first month of her life, leading her parents to nickname her Mo (which means "silent").

As she grew it quickly became apparent that Lin Mo was gifted with remarkable intelligence and an eidetic (photographic) memory. Supernatural powers were soon to become apparent as well.

Visiting a Buddhist temple when she was four years old, Lo Min began her incredible journey of spiritual enlightenment. Standing before a statue of the goddess Kuan Yin, she was given her "second sight", the ability to sense or "know" events that would happen in a distant time or place.

At the age of ten she began to study Buddhism, and when she was 13 she was accepted as a student by an elderly priest who, recognizing her profound spirituality, passed on to her the secret mysteries of Taoism.

One legend ascribes her mystical powers to an event that took place when she was fifteen. Going with her girlfriends to check out their new dresses in the reflections of a pool, a sea creature erupted out of the water and was holding a bronze disk out, offering it to the girls. Terrified, the others ran away, but the brave Lin Mo calmly accept the bronze.  From that moment on, she began to display unusual powers -- powers that grew daily and made her a legendary figure at a young age.