Kuan Yin... Legend/History "The
Compassionate Saviouress"
Kuan Yin is the compassionate Saviouress of the East. Throughout the Orient
altars dedicated to this Mother of Mercy can be found in temples, homes and
wayside grottoes and prayers to her Presence and her Flame are incessantly on
the lips of devotees as they seek her guidance and succor in every area of life.
Still very much a part of Eastern culture. Kuan Yin has awakened interest in
her path and teaching among a growing number of Western devotees who recognize
the powerful presence of "the Goddess of Mercy and Compassion," along
with that of the Virgin Mary, as an illuminator and intercessor of the Seventh
Age of Aquarius.
The long history of devotion to Kuan Yin provides insight into the character
and example of this Lightbearer who has not only laid down her life for her
friends but taken it again and again as intercessor and burdenbearer. For centuries,
Kuan Yin has epitomized the great ideal of Mahayana Buddhism in her role as
"bodhisattva (Chinese p'u-sa)--literally a being of bodhi, or enlightenment,"
who is destined to become a Buddha but has foregone the bliss of Nirvana with
a vow to save all children of God.
The name Kuan Shih Yin, as she is often called, means literally "the one
who regards, looks on, or hears the sounds of the world." According to
legend, Kuan Yin was about to enter heaven but paused on the threshold as the
cries of the world reached her ears.
There is still much scholarly debate regarding the origin of devotion to the
female bodhisattva Kuan Yin. Kuan Yin is considered to be the feminine form
of Avalokitesvara (Sanskrit), the bodhisattva of compassion of Indian Buddhism
whose worship was introduced into China in the third century.
Scholars believe that the Buddhist monk and translator Kumarajiva was the first
to refer to the female form of Kuan Yin in his Chinese translation of the Lotus
Sutra in 406 A.D. Of the thirty-three appearances of the bodhisattva referred
to in his translation, seven are female. (Devoted Chinese and Japanese Buddhists
have since come to associate the number thirty-three with Kuan Yin.)
Although Kuan Yin was still being portrayed as a male as late as the tenth century,
with the introduction of Tantric Buddhism into China in the eighth century during
the T'ang dynasty, the image of the celestial bodhisattva as a beautiful white-robed
goddess was predominant and the devotional cult surrounding her became increasingly
popular. By the ninth century there was a statue of Kuan Yin in every Buddhist
monastery in China.
Despite the controversy over the origins of Kuan Yin as a feminine being, the
depiction of a bodhisattva as both 'god' and 'goddess' is not inconsistent with
Buddhist doctrine. The scriptures explain that a bodhisattva has the power to
embody in any form--male, female, child, even animal-depending on the type of
being he is seeking to save. As the Lotus Sutra relates, the bodhisattva Kuan
Shih Yin, "by resort to a variety of shapes, travels in the world, conveying
the beings to salvation."
The twelfth-century legend of the Buddhist saint Miao Shan, the Chinese princess
who lived in about 700 B.C. and is widely believed to have been Kuan Yin, reinforced
the image of the bodhisattva as a female. During the twelfth century Buddhist
monks settled on P'u-t'o Shan--the sacred island-mountain in the Chusan Archipelago
off the coast of Chekiang where Miao Shan is said to have lived for nine years,
healing and saving sailors from shipwreck--and devotion to Kuan Yin spread throughout
northern China.
In Buddhist theology Kuan Yin is sometimes depicted as the captain of the
"Bark of Salvation," guiding souls to Amitabha's Western Paradise,
or Pure Land--the land of bliss where souls may be reborn to receive continued
instruction toward the goal of enlightenment and perfection. The journey to
Pure Land is frequently represented in woodcuts showing boats full of Amitabha's
followers under Kuan Yin's captainship.
Amitabha, a beloved figure in the eyes of Buddhists desiring to be reborn in
his Western Paradise and to obtain freedom from the wheel of rebirth, is said
to be, in a mystical or spiritual sense, the father of Kuan Yin. Legends of
the Mahayana School recount that Avalokitesvara was 'born' from a ray of white
light which Amitabha emitted from his right eye as he was lost in ecstasy.
Thus Avalokitesvara, or Kuan Yin, is regarded as the "reflex" of Amitabha-a
further emanation or embodiment of "maha karuna (great compassion), the
quality which Amitabha himself embodies in the highest sense. Many figures of
Kuan Yin can be identified by the presence of a small image of Amitabha in her
crown. It is believed that as the merciful redemptress Kuan Yin expresses Amitabha's
compassion in a more direct and personal way and prayers to her are answered
more quickly.
The iconography of Kuan Yin depicts her in many forms, each one revealing a
unique aspect of her merciful presence. As the sublime Goddess of Mercy whose
beauty, grace and compassion have come to represent the ideal of womanhood in
the East, she is frequently portrayed as a slender woman in flowing white robes
who carries in her left hand a white lotus, symbol of purity. Ornaments may
adorn her form, symbolizing her attainment as a bodhisattva, or she may be pictured
without them as a sign of her great virtue.
Kuan Yin's presence is widespread through her images as the "bestower of
children" which are found in homes and temples. A great white veil covers
her entire form and she may be seated on a lotus. She is often portrayed with
a child in her arms, near her feet, or on her knees, or with several children
about her. In this role, she is also referred to as the "white-robed honored
one." Sometimes to her right and left are her two attendants, Shan-ts'ai
Tung-tsi, the "young man of excellent capacities," and Lung-wang Nu,
the "daughter of the Dragon-king."
Kuan Yin is also known as patron bodhisattva of P'u-t'o Shan, mistress of the
Southern Sea and patroness of fishermen. As such she is shown crossing the sea
seated or standing on a lotus or with her feet on the head of a dragon.
Like Avalokitesvara she is also depicted with a thousand arms and varying numbers
of eyes, hands and heads, sometimes with an eye in the palm of each hand, and
is commonly called "the thousand-arms, thousand-eyes" bodhisattva.
In this form she represents the omnipresent mother, looking in all directions
simultaneously, sensing the afflictions of humanity and extending her many arms
to alleviate them with infinite expressions of her mercy.
Symbols characteristically associated with Kuan Yin are a willow branch, with
which she sprinkles the divine nectar of life; a precious vase symbolizing the
nectar of compassion and wisdom, the hallmarks of a bodhisattva; a dove, representing
fecundity; a book or scroll of prayers which she holds in her hand, representing
the dharma (teaching) of the Buddha or the sutra (Buddhist text) which Miao
Shan is said to have constantly recited; and a rosary adorning her neck with
which she calls upon the Buddhas for succor.
Images of Avalokitesvara often show him holding a rosary; descriptions of his
birth say he was born with a white crystal rosary in his right hand and a white
lotus in his left. It is taught that the beads represent all living beings and
the turning of the beads symbolizes that Avalokitesvara is leading them out
of their state of misery and repeated rounds of rebirth into nirvana.
Today Kuan Yin is worshipped by Taoists as well as Mahayana Buddhists--especially
in Taiwan, Japan, Korea and once again in her homeland of China, where the practice
of Buddhism had been suppressed by the Communists during the Cultural Revolution
(1966-69). She is the protectress of women, sailors, merchants, craftsmen, and
those under criminal prosecution, and is invoked particularly by those desiring
progeny. Beloved as a mother figure and divine mediatrix who is very close to
the daily affairs of her devotees, Kuan Yin's role as Buddhist Madonna has been
compared to that of Mary the mother of Jesus in the West.
There is an implicit trust in Kuan Yin's saving grace and healing powers. Many
believe that even the simple recitation of her name will bring her instantly
to the scene. One of the most famous texts associated with the bodhisattva,
the ancient Lotus Sutra whose twenty-fifth chapter, dedicated to Kuan Yin, is
known as the "Kuan Yin sutra," describes thirteen cases of impending
disaster--from shipwreck to fire, imprisonment, robbers, demons, fatal poisons
and karmic woes--in which the devotee will be rescued if his thoughts dwell
on the power of Kuan Yin. The text is recited many times daily by those who
wish to receive the benefits it promises.
Devotees also invoke the bodhisattva's power and merciful intercession with
the mantra OM MANI PADME HUM-- "Hail to the jewel in the lotus!" or,
as it has also been interpreted, "Hail to Avalokitesvara, who is the jewel
in the heart of the lotus of the devotee's heart!" Throughout Tibet and
Ladakh, Buddhists have inscribed OM MANI PADME HUM on flat prayer stones called
"mani-stones" as votive offerings in praise of Avalokitesvara. Thousands
of these stones have been used to build mani-walls that line the roads entering
villages and monasteries.
It is believed that Kuan Yin frequently appears in the sky or on the waves to
save those who call upon her when in danger. Personal stories can be heard in
Taiwan, for instance, from those who report that during World War II when the
United States bombed the Japanese-occupied Taiwan, she appeared in the sky as
a young maiden, catching the bombs and covering them with her white garments
so they would not explode.
Thus altars dedicated to the Goddess of Mercy are found everywhere--shops, restaurants,
even taxicab dashboards. In the home she is worshipped with the traditional
"pai pai," a prayer ritual using incense, as well as the use of prayer
charts--sheets of paper designed with pictures of Kuan Yin, lotus flowers, or
pagodas and outlined with hundreds of little circles. With each set of prayers
recited or sutras read in a novena for a relative, friend, or oneself, another
circle is filled in. This chart has been described as a "Ship of Salvation"
whereby departed souls are saved from the dangers of hell and the faithful safely
conveyed to Amitabha's heaven. In addition to elaborate services with litanies
and prayers, devotion to Kuan Yin is expressed in the popular literature of
the people in poems and hymns of praise.
Devout followers of Kuan Yin may frequent local temples and make pilgrimages
to larger temples on important occasions or when they are burdened with a special
problem. The three yearly festivals held in her honor are on the nineteenth
day of the second month (celebrated as her birthday), of the sixth month, and
of the ninth month based on the Chinese lunar calendar.
In the tradition of the Great White Brotherhood Kuan Yin is known as the Ascended
Lady Master who bears the office and title of "Goddess of Mercy" because
she ensouls the God qualities of the law of mercy, compassion and forgiveness.
She had numerous embodiments prior to her ascension thousands of years ago and
has taken the vow of the bodhisattva to teach the unascended children of God
how to balance their karma and fulfill their divine plan by loving service to
life and the application of the violet flame through the science of the spoken
Word.
Kuan Yin preceded the Ascended Master Saint Germain as Chohan (Lord) of the
Seventh Ray of Freedom, Transmutation, Mercy and Justice and she is one of seven
Ascended Masters who serve on the Karmic Board, a council of justice that mediates
the karma of earth's evolutions--dispensing opportunity, mercy and the true
and righteous judgments of the Lord to each lifestream on earth. She is hierarch
of the etheric Temple of Mercy over Peking, China, where she focuses the light
of the Divine Mother on behalf of the children of the ancient land of China,
the souls of humanity, and the sons and daughters of God.