Buddhist tzaddikim?

仏千人神千人
(Hotoke sennin kami sennin; “A thousand Buddhas, a thousand gods”)

Definition:

The world may be full of bad people, but there are also many good people as well, including people good enough to be compared to bodhisattvas or benevolent deities.

Breakdown:

This simple noun phrases comprises a doubled use of the number-noun 千人 (sennin), “one thousand people.” The first use follows the noun 仏 (hotoke), “Buddha,” or a kind and enlightened person with the Buddha-spirit; the second follows 神 (kami), “god.”

Notes:

Compare and contrast with a similarly optimistic oni-focused saying from a while back.

My sources say that 千人 is used to suggest “a large number of people,” but it’s worth noting that there also seems to be a concept of 千仏 (senbutsu, “one thousand Buddhas,”) according to which there were / are / will be a thousand Buddhas over the course of the three past, present, and future kalpas of cosmic time. Let me stress that this isn’t a definite causal connection, but rather an interesting correspondence. Those interested in investigating further can check the source, a late 18th-century CE sharebon called the 太平楽巻物 (Taihei raku no makimono), by Morishima Churyo.

Some versions may include a comma between the two halves.

Example sentence:

「最近のニュースは鬼のような悪人たちの悪事ばっかりで、落ち込んじゃいそう。この世は仏千人神千人もいるのを忘れないように頑張らなくちゃ」

(“Saikin no nyuusu wa oni no you na akunin-tachi no akuji bakkari de, ochikonjaisou. Kono yo wa hotoke sennin kami sennin mo iru no wo wasurenai you ni ganbaranakucha.”)

[“The recent news has been a parade of evil deeds by demonically evil people, and I feel like I’m going to fall into a depression. I have to make sure to not forget that there are also plenty of saints.”]