Amitabha and Avalokitesvara
Amitābha (Sanskrit: अमिताभ, Amitābha (wordstem), Sanskrit pronunciation: [əmɪˈt̪aːbʱə]) Amida or Amideva is a celestial buddha described in the scriptures of the Mahāyāna school of Buddhism. Amitābha is the principal buddha in the Pure Land sect, a branch of Buddhism practiced mainly in East Asia, while in Vajrayana Amitābha is known for his longevity attribute, magnetising red fire element, the aggregate of discernment, pure perception and the deep awareness of emptiness of phenomena. According to these scriptures, Amitābha possesses infinite merits resulting from good deeds over countless past lives as a bodhisattva named Dharmakāra. "Amitābha" is translatable as "Infinite Light," hence Amitābha is also called "The Buddha of Immeasurable Life and Light". (Wikipedia)
Avalokiteśvara (Sanskrit: अवलोकितेश्वर lit. "Lord who looks down") is a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. This bodhisattva is variably depicted and portrayed in different cultures as either female or male.
Avalokiteśvara is one of the more widely revered bodhisattvas in mainstream Mahayana Buddhism, as well as unofficially in Theravada Buddhism. (Wikipedia)
In the Pure Land sect of Buddhism, Avalokiteshvara (Guan Yin) is one of the triad of Buddha Amitabha's Western Paradise that is often depicted in temples and in Buddhist arts. In the center is Amitabha Buddha. To his right is the bodhisattva of strength, Mahasthamaprapta, and to his left is Guan Yin, personifying his endless mercy.
Head of Bodhisattva Avalokitesva, Brooklyn museum
Head of Bodhisattva Avalokitesva, Brooklyn museum
Image source: commons.wikimedia.org
Statue of Kannon (Guan Yin)
Statue of Kannon (Guan Yin) in the courtyard of Daien-in Temple, Mount Koya, Japan
Image source: commons.wikimedia.org
Statue of Avalokiteśvara
Left: Bronze statue of Padmapani, circa 1100 (Images of Chenresig or Avalokiteshvara in the form of Padmapani)
Right: Gandhāran statue of Avalokiteśvara, abhaya-mudrā. 3rd century CE
Image sources: en.wikipedia.org
commons.wikimedia.org
Avalokiteshvara is the earthly manifestation of Amitabha. Many of her figures can be identified by the presence of an image of Amitabha in her crown or headdress.
Sculpture of Khasarpana Lokesvara (Avalokitesvara)/Avalokiteshvara sandstone statue
Left: Sculpture of Khasarpana Lokesvara (Avalokitesvara)
Country: India. Site Name: Nalanda. Monument: sculpture of Khasarpana Lokesvara. Iconography: Khasarpana. Gestures: padma (lotus), varada mudra (gift-bestowing gesture). Dynasty/Period: Pala. Date: ca. ninth century CE, 801 CE - 900 CE. Material: stone. Dimensions: H - ca. 42.00 in W - ca. 15.00 in. Current Location: National Museum, New Delhi, India.
Right: Avalokiteshvara sandstone statue
Khmer Empire, pre-Angkor Period. Late 7th Century. Current Location: Philadelphia Museum of Art.
A bronze statue of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara from Sri Lanka.
A bronze statue of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara
from Sri Lanka, ca. 750 CE
Bronze statuettes of The Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara
Bronze statuettes of The Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara
Left: Bronze, H. 8.8 cm. Probably Khocho, 7th -8th century
Museum fur Indische Kunst (MIK III 539)
Right: Bronze, H. 7.5 cm. Khocho, 7th -8th century
Museum fur Indische Kunst (MIK III 6124)
During the Tang period the popularity of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara increased enormously and
no other Buddhist deity was the subject of so many
works of art.
Left: This small, entirely gilded statuette is
very similar in style to right statuette. Avalokiteshvara stands
in a graceful pose on a stepped lotus pedestal, the lotus
in his right hand, the flask in his left. Ribbons fall
from his multipointed crown almost to the ankles,
meeting the robe before they turn out to end in a
point.
Right: This small bronze is one of a series of very similar
statuettes, and though the position of the hands is reversed is clearly
akin to the left statuette. Avalokiteshvara is standing on a lotus
which is fashioned into a tenon below. In his right hand hanging by his side he holds the flask which is
his hallmark, in his raised left hand the lotus. Ribbons
fall from his crown.
The Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara
The Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara
Painting on ramie, 95x59 cm. Murtuk, 9th- 10th century
Museum fur Indische Kunst (MIK III 8559)
This devotional picture, framed by a sequence of red
circles on a white ground, is still an effective work
despite its fragmentary state of preservation. In a severe
hieratic pose the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara sits in
meditation on a lotus blossom, the stem of which
grows out of a pool. On either side of the stem stands
the figure of a worshiper wearing white robes.
Avalokiteshvara (in Chinese, Kuan-yin) is portrayed in his male form; his right hand is raised in the
gesture of disputation or teaching (vitarkamudm), his
left hand is held in front of the torso. On the palm is
a flask {kalasha), one of the attributes of the bodhisattva, containing divine nectar or, as the Chinese
called it, "sweet dew" (Buddhism fitted in well with
the Chinese way of thinking; dew is in China the drink
of the Taoist immortals). The bodhisattva, sumptuously arrayed and adorned, has a representation of
the Buddha Amitabha, his spiritual father, in his
crown. The crown is embellished with jeweled pendants on either side. Avalokiteshvara's head and body
are surrounded by a nimbus and a mandorla whose
beaded edges show that the Sasanian style of textile
decoration had not been forgotten.
To either side of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara,
on a dark blue background strewn with wish-granting
jewels (chintamani), are three bodhisattvas of varying
size, who may represent his different embodiments.
At left center, clad in a white robe with a white cloth
draped over a tall headdress, sits one of Avalokiteshvara's Chinese embodiments, the so-called Pai-yi
(white-robed) Kuan-yin or the Sung-tzu (child-be-stowing) Kuan-yin. This figure holds his right hand
aloft, pointing with the index finger to a child borne
on the palm of the left hand. The other five bodhisattvas display no special attributes.
Above the nimbus behind Avalokiteshvara's head
is a red cloud formation from which ten branches ascend, supporting lotus pedestals; on each sits a Buddha
in the attitude of meditation, dressed alternately in a
brown or red robe. With the inclusion of the Buddha
on the extreme right, now lost, this is probably the
group of ten Buddhas who in the Amitabha cult are
assigned to the ten directions.
In the lower part of the painting three men and
three women kneel on each side of a cartouche containing a Uighurian votive inscription. Of the male
donors only parts of the heads and bodies have been
preserved. The women, on the left, are wearing Uighurian robes with wide borders. Their hairstyles and
make-up are Chinese, as can clearly be seen from the
woman in the middle.
The inscription is for the most part illegible. According to Dr. Peter Zieme, we can, however, deduce
the name of the donor, a mention of the donation of
the picture as a "good deed" (the passage itself is un-decipherable), and the wish that the persons named
in the text be absolved from reincarnation in undesirable forms of existence and attain Buddhahood. The
inscription also contains the term trimtna, or "three
treasures," which in popular Buddhism often signifies
a grouping of three deities. In this case it refers probably to a painting of the Buddha Amitabha with the
bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara on the left and the bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta or Manjushri on the right.
Thus we may assume that this votive picture constituted the left-hand section of a triptych.
Head of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara
Head of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara
Painting on silk, 8.5 x 7.5 cm. Toyok, 8th -9th century
Museum fur Indische Kunst (MIK III 6534 )
This head of a bodhisattva can be identified as that of
Avalokiteshvara by the fragmentary miniature Buddha
in the headdress. An aid to dating is a comparison
with murals in the tombs of the Crown Princes Chang-huai and I-te and of Princess Yung-t'ai. These tombs
near the capital city Ch'ang-an were constructed in the
years 706-711. On account of the great distance between them the style of the capital would have reached
Turfan some time later, but it would also have lasted
there a good deal longer than at its source. Here we
have a round face with full lips, whose upper line is
prolonged in an angle to suggest the plump cheeks;
pronounced, gently curved upper eyelids and semicircular pupils; and thin lines marking the lower lids: the
style is reminiscent of the full-bodied type of female
depicted in the first half of the eighth century. This
influence cannot have appeared in the Buddhist painting of Turfan before the middle of the eighth century,
which dates the small bodhisattva head in the second
half of the eighth century or the first half of the ninth.
Eleven-Headed Avalokiteshvara
Eleven-Headed Avalokiteshvara
Painting on silk, 17.0 x 15.7 cm. Yarkhoto, 9th century
Museum fur Indische Kunst (MIK III 8001)
In Mahayana Buddhism a new concept developed early
on, namely that one had a right to expect universal
salvation. To make it possible for every individual to
achieve this, various doctrines evolved, one of them
being the idea of the bodhisattva. Thus, Avalokiteshvara appears as the typical bodhisattva, who delays his
own Buddhahood until all beings have been delivered.
His prime task is to bring the doctrine of salvation to
all beings.
Many texts speak of him, for example, the Sukhavativyuha, the Lokeshvarashataka, the Sadhanamala; he
is also mentioned in chapter 24 of the Saddharmapundarikctsutra. Another great Mahayana sutra, the Avalokiteshvara^unakarandavyuha, is entirely devoted to
him. This text was translated into Chinese as early as a.d. 270.
The cult surrounding the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara ("the Lord who looks down from above," that is,
who looks on all beings full of compassion) 1 was also known to the Chinese pilgrim Fa-hsien. He himself beseeched the bodhisattva to rescue him when he was
caught in a sudden storm on the voyage from Ceylon
to China.
Avalokiteshvara is portrayed in various guises. This
silk painting shows him with eleven heads: there is one
head beside each ear; above the hairband six more heads
are clearly visible, with two others only partially preserved; one head, presumably that of the Buddha Amitabha, formed the peak of the pyramid.
In his eleven-headed ekadasamukha form, Avalokitesvara faces many directions. The nine faces in a group of three are peaceful in appearance. The tenth head above the three tiers bears a ferocious and wrathful expression. At the top, an eleventh head represents Amitabha Buddha, who is considered the spiritual father of Avalokiteshvara.
Thousand armed Avalokitesvara bodhisattva
Thousand armed Avalokitesvara bodhisattva
Image source: en.wikipedia.org
Thousand armed Avalokitesvara bodhisattva
Thousand armed Avalokitesvara bodhisattva
Image source: commons.wikimedia.org
Thousand armed Avalokitesvara bodhisattva
Thousand armed Avalokitesvara bodhisattva
Image source: photobucket.com/
Thousand armed Avalokitesvara bodhisattva
Thousand armed Avalokitesvara bodhisattva
Image source: photobucket.com
Thousand armed Avalokitesvara bodhisattva
Thousand armed Avalokitesvara bodhisattva
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Thousand armed Avalokitesvara bodhisattva
Thousand armed Avalokitesvara bodhisattva
Image source: commons.wikimedia.org
Thousand armed Avalokitesvara bodhisattva
Thousand armed Avalokitesvara bodhisattva
Image source: commons.wikimedia.org Vietnam
18-armed comunista bodhisattva
18-armed comunista bodhisattva
The portray of Avalokitesvara in Communist China.
Image source: image.baidu.com
Amitabha, Avalokitesvara and the Pure Land (the Western Paradise)
Descent of Amida Triad welcoming the dead to the Western Paradise.
Descent of Amida Triad welcoming the dead to the Western Paradise.
Image source: commons.wikimedia.org
Amitabha is said to be, in spiritual sense, the father of Avalokiteshvara. According to legend, Avalokitesvara was born from a beam of light emanating from Amitabha’s right eye.
Amitabha realized the spiritual potential of Avalokitesvara and prophesized that he will epitomize the karuna of all buddhas.
Karuna is the activity of compassion in the world and the willingness to bear the pain of others.
In the Pure Land sect of Buddhism, Avalokiteshvara (Guan Yin) is one of the triad of Buddha Amitabha's Western Paradise that is often depicted in temples and in Buddhist arts. In the center is Amitabha Buddha (Amida). To his right is the bodhisattva of strength, Mahasthamaprapta, and to his left is Guan Yin, personifying his endless mercy.
There are famous paintings depicting the triad welcoming the dead to the Western Paradise.
Avalokiteshvara is the earthly manifestation of Amitabha. Many of her figures can be identified by the presence of an image of Amitabha in her crown or headdress.
Sometimes the bodhisattva is pictured with features of both genders. This is symbolic of the bodhisattva's transcendence of dualities.
Further, the Lotus Sutra says that the bodhisattva can manifest in whatever form is best suited for the situation.
Legend of the thousand-arms, thousand-eyes Guan Yin bodhisattva.
The bodhisattva often has multiple heads and arms, which symbolize his limitless capacity to perceive suffering and to help all beings.
One prominent Buddhist story tells of Avalokitesvara vowing never work unceasingly until he had freed all sentient beings from suffering in samsara.
"Should I ever become discouraged , I shall shatter into a thousand pieces."
Despite his strenuous effort, however, he quickly became overwhelmed and realized, to his dismay, that for every culprit liberated, another instantly took his place. After continuously witnessing the misery of beings trapped within their delusions and in a moment of exasperation, he became so disheartened that true to his vow, his entire body shattered into a thousand pieces.
Amitabha Buddha, seeing his plight, came to his aid and put the pieces back together.
He attained a new form — one with eleven heads (ekadasamukha) with which to hear the cries of the suffering and a thousand helping hands each with its own wisdom eye and is commonly called "the thousand-arms, thousand-eyes" bodhisattva.
In this form, the bodhisattva is described as facing in all directions, sensing the afflictions of suffering beings and coming to their aid simultaneously.
The Sanskrit name "Avalokiteshvara" is interpreted many ways -- "The One who hears the cries of the world"; "The Lord who looks down"; "The Lord who looks in every direction."
Avalokitesvara
Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara in the form of King Jayavarman VII
.
Image source: www.flickr.com
Avalokitesvara
Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara in the form of King Jayavarman VII
Image source: media.photobucket.com
The way of Avalokitesvara (Kuan-Yin)
The Sanskrit name "Avalokiteshvara" can be interpreted as "The One who hears the cries of the world". In Chinese, Kuan-Yin literally means "The One who observes the sounds (of the world)".
In what supposed to be Avalokitesvara's final incarnation, as he was at the threshold to nirvana, he heard a very strange mixture of sounds rising up from all around him. Avalokitesvara--"He who observes the sounds of the world"--had never heard this kind of sound before. So he came out of his meditation and asked, "What are those sounds?"
His disciples answered, " O Avalokitesvara, those are the weeping sounds of the world, not just the sentient beings but the non-sentient as well--the trees weep, the winds weep and the stones weep. Life is hard and full of suffering and you have been the source of strength for all of us in the struggle. But now that you are about to leave this world we all are so very sad."
"Well, then I’ll renounce enlightenment till all are enlightened."
The Four Great Vows:
I vow to liberate all beings, without number
I vow to uproot endless blind passions
I vow to penetrate dharma gates beyond measure
I vow to attain the way of the Buddha
And I Shall Joyfully Participate in the Sorrows of the World.
The Way of the Bodhisattva
The Great Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara is a personification
of the highest ideal ol the Mahayana Buddhist
career. His legend recounts that when, following a series of
eminently virtuous incarnations, he was about to enter into the
surcease of nirvana, an uproar, like the sound of a general
thunder, rose in all the worlds. The great being knew that this
was a wail of lament uttered by all created things-the rocks and
stones as well as the trees, insects, gods, animals, demons, and
human beings of all the spheres of the universe-at the prospect
of his imminent departure hom the realms o[ birth. And so, in
his compassion, he renounced for himself the boon of nirvana
until all beings without exception should be prepared to enter
in before him-like the good shepherd who permits his flock to
pass first through the gate and then goes through himself, closing it behind him. (HEINRICH ZIMMER'S "PHILOSOPHIES OF INDIA, page 534)
Graceful Avalokitesvara holding a lotus flower.
Graceful Avalokitesvara holding a lotus flower.
A relief from the 8th-9th century Candi Plaosan temple, near Prambanan, Java, Indonesia.
Image source: commons.wikimedia.org
Legend of Miao Shan
Miao Shan
Image source: commons.wikimedia.org
Miao-shan being carried off by a tIger
Miao-shan being carried off by a tIger
Image source: www.csupomona.edu
www.freeclipartnow.com
Additional image: www.carolineyoung.com (Link)
Another story from the Precious Scroll of Fragrant Mountain describes Guanyin as the daughter of a cruel king who wanted her to marry a wealthy but uncaring man. The story is usually ascribed to the research of the Buddhist monk Chiang Chih-ch'i in 1100 AD. The story is likely to have a Daoist origin. Chiang Chih-ch'i, when he penned the work, believed that the Guanyin we know today was actually a Buddhist princess called Miaoshan, who had a religious following on Fragrant Mountain. Despite this, however, there are many variants of the story in Chinese mythology.
According to the story, after the king asked his daughter Miao Shan to marry the wealthy man, she told him that she would obey his command, so long as the marriage eased three misfortunes.
The king asked his daughter what were the three misfortunes that the marriage should ease. Miaoshan explained that the first misfortune the marriage should ease was the suffering people endure as they age. The second misfortune it should ease was the suffering people endure when they fall ill. The third misfortune it should ease was the suffering caused by death. If the marriage could not ease any of the above, then she would rather retire to a life of religion forever.
When her father asked who could ease all the above, Miao Shan pointed out that a doctor was able to do all these.
Her father grew angry as he wanted her to marry a person of power and wealth, not a healer. He forced her into hard labor and reduced her food and drink but this did not cause her to yield.
Every day she begged to be able to enter a temple and become a nun instead of marrying. Her father eventually allowed her to work in the temple, but asked the monks to give her very hard chores in order to discourage her. The monks forced Miao Shan to work all day and all night, while others slept, in order to finish her work. However, she was such a good person that the animals living around the temple began to help her with her chores. Her father, seeing this, became so frustrated that he attempted to burn down the temple. Miao Shan put out the fire with her bare hands and suffered no burns. Now struck with fear, her father ordered her to be put to death.
In one version of this legend, when she was executed, a supernatural tiger took Guanyin to one of the more hell-like realms of the dead. However, instead of being punished by demons like the other inmates, Guanyin played music and flowers blossomed around her. This completely surprised the head demon. The story says that Guanyin, by merely being in that hell, turned it into a paradise.
A variant of the legend says that Miao Shan allowed herself to die at the hand of the executioner. According to this legend, as the executioner tried to carry out her father's orders, his axe shattered into a thousand pieces. He then tried a sword which likewise shattered. He tried to shoot Miao Shan down with arrows but they all veered off.
Finally in desperation he used his hands. Miao Shan, realising the fate the executioner would meet at her father's hand should she fail to let herself die, forgave the executioner for attempting to kill her. It is said that she voluntarily took on the massive karmic guilt the executioner generated for killing her, thus leaving him guiltless. It is because of this that she descended into the Hell-like realms. While there she witnessed firsthand the suffering and horrors beings there must endure and was overwhelmed with grief. Filled with compassion, she released all the good karma she had accumulated through her many lifetimes, thus freeing many suffering souls back into Heaven and Earth. In the process that Hell-like realm became a paradise. It is said that Yanluo, King of Hell, sent her back to Earth to prevent the utter destruction of his realm, and that upon her return she appeared on Fragrant Mountain.
Another tale says that Miao Shan never died but was in fact transported by a supernatural tiger, believed to be the Deity of the Place, to Fragrant Mountain.
The Legend of Miao Shan usually ends with Miao Chuang Yen, Miao Shan's father, falling ill with jaundice. No physician was able to cure him. Then a monk appeared saying that the jaundice could be cured by making a medicine out of the arm and eye of one without anger. The monk further suggested that such a person could be found on Fragrant Mountain. When asked, Miao Shan willingly offered up her eyes and arms. Miao Chuang Yen was cured of his illness and went to the Fragrant Mountain to give thanks to the person. When he discovered that his own daughter had made the sacrifice, he begged for forgiveness. The story concludes with Miaoshan being transformed into the Thousand Armed Guanyin, and the king, queen and her two sisters building a temple on the mountain for her. She began her journey to heaven and was about to cross over into heaven when she heard a cry of suffering from the world below. She turned around and saw the massive suffering endured by the people of the world. Filled with compassion, she returned to Earth, vowing never to leave till such time as all suffering has ended.
After her return to Earth, Guanyin was said to have stayed for a few years on the island of Mount Putuo where she practised meditation and helped the sailors and fishermen who got stranded. Guanyin is frequently worshipped as patron of sailors and fishermen due to this. She is said to frequently becalm the sea when boats are threatened with rocks. After some decades Guanyin returned to Fragrant Mountain to continue her meditation.