Guan Shi Yin Bodhisattva And Buddhism
By Tan Peng Yau
Source: Siddham.org
The Compassionate Guan Shi
Yin Bodhisattva is universally known to all those living in
However despite of this,
many don't know about His origin. Many less educated Buddhists especially the
elderly would cite a story where Guan Shi Yin was once the third princess Miao
Shan in ancient
However, in order for us to
understand his origin and mission, it is still the best to use the scriptures
for reference as such stories are not that reliable for a serious study of
Buddhism. Despite of my limited knowledge, I hope everyone would have a greater
understanding of Guan Yin and Buddhism.
Firstly, what is a
Bodhisattva (Pu Sa). Bodhisattva is a sanskrit word which can be split into two
parts. Bodhi means wisdom and compassion, sattva means a being. Together the
term means "A being with great compassion and wisdom". Specifically,
such a being wishes to gain enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings.
In fact for many, Bodhisattvas give up their opportunities of Buddhahood so
that they can help others as a Bodhisattva where their characteristics of
compassion are more pronounced. . In Bodhisattvahood there are ten stages and
those of a high level are known as great Bodhisattvas. However it is important
to remember that Guan Shi Yin is in fact a Buddha as he attained enlightenment
infinite kalpas ago but in order to help others He decided to manifest as a
Bodhisattva. (This issue will be elaborated later.)
His origins
Guan Yin's original name in
sanskrit is Avalokitesvara (pronounced as Ah va loh ki teh sva ra) which
roughly means "The Observer of the sights and sounds of the world"
The chinese translations of her name are either Guan Shi Yin???(Regarder of the
worlds cries) or Guan Zhi Zai??? (Observer of the ultimate nature of things). Of the two, Guan shi yin is
more popular perhaps due to the fact that this world is full of sufferings and
people need a great savior to behold them. In Japanese, Korean and Tibetan, his
is known as Kannon, KuanUm and Chenrenzig respectively.
Regarding the origin of
Guan Shi Yin, there are many sources to refer from. The first is the Suramgarma
sutra (Shou Leng Yan Jingº·«ÄY¸g). In it, GuanYin narrated how he learnt from
his teacher in his world-Buddha Guan Yin(the disciple takes the name of the
teacher in honour of the teacher). He was then taught how to observe things
internally and externally as a way to cultivate towards Buddhahood.
The second is that in
sutras it was recorded that Guan Yin is actually The Tathagatha of the
Brightness of True Dharma (¥¿ªk©ú¦p¨Ó).
The third is from the
records of Master Dao Xuan (¹D«Å). Master Dao Xuan of Tang Dynasty was a monk
of high attainment, as a result, many heavenly beings came to make offerings to
him. Once he asked about the origin of Guan Yin and a deva told him that
infinite kalpas ago, there was a king named Zhuanyan (²øÄY¤ý) and he had 3
daughters, the youngest was called Miao Shan (§®µ½) who left home and later
became Guan Yin. From this it is highly possible that the Miao Shan story
developed from this incident.
In addition, in Bei hua
sutra (´dµØ) it was recorded that there was a father -son relationship between
Guan Yin and Amitabha. Amitabha was then a King in that world system and
Avalokitesvara was one of his sons. Guan Yin vowed before the before the buddha
in his world that if any being in misery called upon his name, he would try to
relieve his suffering. The buddha praised him and said that he would be named
as Avalokitesvara. It was also stated that Guan Yin will one day succeed
Amitabha's place.
After reading this, some
might think,"So whch is the correct version?". There are many ways of
looking at this problem. However, whatever way we try, we should understand
that enlightened beings do not have a true body, in fact they exist as energy
(mind). Thus the many forms and lifetimes they manifest are just a display of
their quest to liberate sentient beings of many shapes and inclination. In the
Lotus Sutra (ªkµØ), it is listed that Guan Yin appears in any form in
accordance to the needs of the beings who need his instruction. As such,
arguments whether Guan Yin is male, female, Chinese, Tibetan etc is as
meaningless as arguing whether water is square or round!
In addition, people who
know little about Buddhism tend to translate Guanyin Pusa as "The Goddess
of Mercy", this is inaccurate. First as said earlier, Guianyin is neither
male or female. Secondly, Buddhist do not make gods or goddesses the main
object of their devotion. Why? These so called gods/goddesses are only beings
on the heaven realm of the six states of existance of Samsara. People are born
there due to their large amount of merit in their past life but even though
they are happier than humans, they still have to die one day and might even
drop down as a animal or hell-being. In short, they are not liberated from the
cycle of life and death unlike the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Thus praying to
them cannot deliver ourselves from samsara! This accidental/intentional
degrading of Guanshiyin might be due to the early westerners in
The various representations of Guan Yin
In
On a side note, in the
chinese tradition, Guan Yin has two attendants on her two sides. On her right
is a girl carrying a flaming pearl and on the left is a boy folding his palms
together. The boy is known as Shan Cai (µ½°]), the Celestial youth of the
Treasure of Merit ( kumara Sudhana ). This boy was extremely wise and dedicated
his life in pursuit of Buddhahood. He visited 53 saints and finally met
Bodhisattva Samantabhadra (´¶½åµÐÂÄ) who advised him to practise the tenfold
path in order to be reborn in the western world of Amitabha-Sukhavati and be
enlightened there. Many have thought that he was the son of the bull demon, so
on and so forth. This is just the imagination of the author of the novel
Journey to the West. The girl is called the Dragon girl, normally she is
thought to be the 8 year old daughter of a dragon king. This daughter became a
buddha later, much to the misbelief of Shakyamuni buddha's disciples who
previously thought that only men could be buddhas. Anyway, these two are
thought to be Guan yin's attendants.
The symbolism behind the different icons of
Guan Yin
As mentioned before,
Buddhas and Bodhisattvas do not have any true form or shape. However as
sentient beings like us live in a material world, there is a need to create a
way to remember the qualities of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. One of this ways
is through the making of images on paper, cloth, metal, stone etc. Contrary to
popular opinion, images have existed during Shakyamuni Buddha's time. It arose
from an incident whereby the king and many others missed the Buddha's presence
and therefore made an image of him out of sandalwood while he was in the
heavens preaching to his mother. Thus the presence of an image is for people
who live later to feel the Buddha's presence. In another way, the image is a
personification of abstract ideas (like Compassion and Wisdom). The various
hand signals (mudras) and ritual implements in iconography have much meaning
behind them and some commonly associated with Guan Yin are listed below.
|
Object |
Symbolism |
|
Lotus(paymay) |
Purity,
Transformation of inner defilements to the qualities of Buddhahood. |
|
Jewel or
gem(mani) |
Ability
to grant the wishes( good ones of course!) of sentient beings. |
|
White
quartz prayer beads |
Reminder
to sentient beings to recite his mantra Om Mani Paymay Hum for concentration
and attainment of Enlightenment. White quartz is also a stone sacred to him. |
|
Bow and
arrow |
The
defeat of the four negative forces |
|
Vase of
nectar |
Wisdom
quenching the thirst of Ignorance. Also represents the relieving of
sufferings since nectar is the food of hungry ghosts. |
|
Antelope
skin |
The only
way to overcome hatred is through universal compassion |
|
|
The
healing of the sickness of the body and mind. |
|
Palm
facing outwards with fingers pointing to the ground |
The
gesture of charity towards all. |
|
Palm
facing outwards and pointing upwards |
The
bestowing of fearlessness on all. |
|
White
robe or white body colour |
White
represents absolute purity of the buddha's body, speech and mind. |
Many followers of other
externalist religions have often criticised that buddhists worship idols. This
is a wrong and extreme view held by some people, if they were to believe what
they preach, then the use of photographs should be banned! Images are not the
Buddhas themselves but a representation of their superior qualities. This is similar
to the use of symbols in languages to convey meanings. The symbols have no
meaning till the meanings are assigned to the symbols. This also means that any
misinterpretations on the meanings of the symbols used are also meaningless as
the true meanings are not interpreted correctly. For example, the various
weapons held are not to advocate violence but to symbolise the defeat of evil
and ignorance. Similarly, the wrathful appearance of Buddhas etc do not portray
demons but display another aspect of courageous compassion.
Guan yin is often shown
with a thousand hands and although this is biologically impossible, it
symbolises the uinversal compassion for all beings (ie,a helping hand for every
one). Of course if there were more than 1000 people in help it would be
ridiculous to think that Guan Yin would have a lack of arms to help others.
Many numbers are used metaphorically in Buddhism, this is an important point we
must keep in mind. In Tibetan Buddhism, Guan Yin is also portrayed as a male
deity ( there is a female form of him known as
1) Living beings are infinite, I vow to save them all.
2) Sorrows and defilments are infinite and I vow to break them all.
3) The Dharma doors are infinite and I vow to learn them all.
4) Buddhahood is the Highest without compare and I vow to achieve it.
These are just some of the
many symbolism used in Buddhist iconography and the above serves as a brief
introduction.
The proper attitude to have in praying to Guan
Yin
Many people pray to Guan
Yin but few really know the real reason in praying to him. For the majority of
the people, the following reasons would be cited.
1) For the peace and safety of the family.
2) For prosperity in wealth etc.
3) For a peace of mind especially in difficulties.
Of the above, 1) is the
most commonly cited. There is nothing wrong with praying with such objectives.
However in the true spirit of Buddhism, we need to know the true meaning of
prayer. The main objective of prayer is to provide a moment of spiritual
reflection on the doctrine not just to seek divine help on problems etc. Some
have the attitude of praying only in need of help but during normal times
praying tends to be less devout. Some semi-buddhists, being in influence of
Taoism, even treat prayer as a commercial transaction. They might pray,"
Oh Buddha, grant me this wish and I will donate $X to the temple etc, buy large
amounts of lamp oil, be a good person so on and so forth. This is very wrong.
The Buddha and Bodhisattvas are perfect and impartial, unlike other divinities
worshipped in other religions. They have no need for our offerings and thinking
that we can bribe them is wishful thinking. The true purpose of offerings is to
show our devotion and train our generosity. We should fulfill our religious
duties and be a moral person at all times without any inclination to use such
duties as 'bribery'. However some people out of their genuine respect and
devotion often have an occasion to make large scale offerings to the Buddhas
and others. Such is of course encouraged. Therefore the motivation is extremely
important for it is the motivation that means the difference.
The correct way to pray
For the sake of explaining
the true spirit of prayer, a typical prayer follows:
Om Mani Pay may Hom Sri
(Om Mani Padme hum Hrih(in written form))
I take refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha
Homage to Lord Avalokitesvara of Great compassion.
Namo Arya Avalokitesvara
I request the Compassionate One, please listen to me,
Please guide myself, mothers and fathers.
In all 6 realms to be freed swiftly from the great ocean of samsara
I request that the vast and profound awakening mind may grow.
With the tear of your great compassion, please purify all evil karma and
delusions.
Please lead all sentient beings with your hand of compassion to the
Please, Amitabha and Avalokitesvara.
May all of you be my virtuous friends in all my lives.
Show us well the path and quickly place us in Buddha's state.
( personal requests are then added humbly)
From this prayer, it is
evident that prayer has a higher ideal that what people think. The main
priority is to pray that may all (including ourselves) be free from all sufferings
and one day attain Buddhahood. Buddhism teaches that all beings with life have
this potential to be a Buddha, but like a jewel locked in a safe, this
potential is like an unsprouted seed. Thus is the difference between the
Buddhas and sentient beings like us is like a fruit and a seed. Once we
generate compassion, it develops this potential, in this way everyone has a
Guan Yin in himself\herself. Thus we pray to develop compassion and wisdom not
just for the fulfillment of mundane wishes.
The Universal mantra:
This mantra which is
pronounced as Om Mani Pay may Hom (also known as the mantra of six syllables )
is the most common in the Himalayan region where it is recited from the very
young to the very elderly in honour of Avalokitesvara. It is also engraved on
prayer wheels, walls and cliffs to remind people of the compassion of
Avalokitesvara. In fact it can be said that any child who can call
"Mama" can recite this mantra. Chinese Buddhists too recite it quite
often but the recitation of the name Namo Ah Mi Tuo Fo/ Namo Guan Shi Yin Pusa
is more popular.
What is a mantra? Simply
speaking it means "The protection of the Mind". It refers to a sacred
sanskrit phrase which is recited for a particular purpose especially to develop
compassion etc. This mantra although short contains everything in the path to
be Enlightened. The six sounds shut the doors of rebirth in the 6 realms of
existence ( humans, gods, asuras, animals, hungry ghosts and hell beings) and
destroys their sufferings. This mantra is said by Guan Yin herself and it
contains infinite meanings and blessings. In fact to give a summarized teaching
on it would take 3 years. However people are not expected to know all the
meaning in order to recite it.
As an introduction,
Many have either
intentionally or unintentionally made fun of this mantra as Mani sounds like
"money" in English. This act is a form of blasphemy that earns bad
karma. Furthermore whether a person believes or not, he should respect the
beliefs of other people. Buddhist too have a duty to gently remind such people
to refrain from such offensive behavior. Most would not even allow their
parent's names to be a subject of jokes not mentioning the names of the
Enlightened ones who behold us without cease. The Buddhas are perfect and do
not feel angry at anyone, no matter how evil. Karma is not a punishment from
the Buddhas, it is a Universal law that acts on anyone. To understand this,
suppose someone slanders the President of a country. Even if the President
forgives him personally, he would still be punished under the law as no one is
above the law.
To further understand the
relationship between the Buddha and us, an analogy is needed. The Buddhas are
like counsellors in prison who talk to the inmates (ie sentient beings who suffer)
so that they could be released for good behavior (deliverance to the many
Buddha lands) and be of use to the society (attain enlightenment and then
deliver other sentient beings). The counsellors enter and exit the prisons
freely but they cannot say, "We pity you people a lot, therefore today we
shall release all of you on our own today." Thus the Buddhas cannot
directly deliver all beings (In fact, no one can do so), everyone is
responsible for him/herself. The law of Karma is like reaping what you have
sown. The Buddhas have practised infinite ages ago when they were too sentient
beings like you and me but have since reaped the fruits of Buddhahood. This is
the positive aspect of the law of Karma and only Buddhism alone preaches the
possibility of all life forms to attain the same state as the Divinities
involved. In stopping the sufferings of all beings, it is meant that if all
were to heed the teachings of the Buddhas, places such as the hells etc would
no longer exist as such sufferings are caused by no one else but ourselves. It
is like there is no need for prisons, laws and policemen if the world was
perfect.
Why prayers sometimes don't work
Sometimes, people new on
the Buddhist path feel disheartened to find out that their prayers have not
been answered. This is unfortunate as such people have yet to understand the
true spirit of prayer.
For prayers to be answered,
we to need to play an active role to achieve the objective that is being prayed
for. Suppose a person prays for a long life but still kills living beings, such
prayers would of course never come true. We need to plant the seed for
happiness in order to let the seed grow. If the seed was not there, any amount
of sunlight or fertilizers (ie The blessings of the Buddhas ) would not produce
the desired fruit. Praying is not an occasion for bribery or laziness. We
need to start helping ourselves before the Buddhas can assist us in any way.
In addition, some people
experience unfortunate things despite being devout. Some might then ask, "
What did I do wrong?, I have been kind and devout all my life!, Why did such a
thing happen? " Well, we, as sentient beings are in the great sea of
misery where there is not true happiness. Even though one has been kind all his
life, there are many factors as to why we suffer. For example, wars and natural
disasters are sometimes due to the collective karma of the people as a whole.
Others are due to other people or circumstances that no one can control. To
illustrate this, there was the occasion when Shakyamuni Buddha knew that his
clan was to be massacred by a king. Three times he talked this king out of his
cruel intention to war along the route to Buddha's hometown. However he always
rekindled his wish and on the fourth time Buddha knew that his people were
doomed. His disciple Maudgalyayana who had great spiritual powers did not heed
Buddha's advice and still used his powers and hid his people in to his alms
bowl. However he was shocked to find that all in his bowl still died. It was
only then that he realized that there were just some ripening of bad karma that
could not be avoided. We would never know when we would die (not mentioning
those highly cultivated people who know), thus when time is short and we must
do what is the most worthwhile for us and others. Avoiding death is not
solving the problem, it is in knowing about death which is a fact of life
before we can know the true meaning of life.
However no matter what happens, we can
rest in true faith that the Buddhas would do all they could to help all
sentient beings. This is to be remembered in our hearts.
Praying in sickness
In sickness, trying to rely
solely on mantras and prayers is not advised. Although high monks can pray,
meditate to heal themselves, most people like us should seek medical help
primarily first. This not an occasion to prove our faith, even the great
masters of the past still learnt medicine to maintain the health of themselves
and others. Some people deliberately refuse any medical help in the belief that
their disease is the ripening of their karma and therefore the more they
suffer, the faster the karma will go. This mentality is not unlike the Hindus
who practise self-mortification (ie, torture themselves) in order to be born in
the heavens as a reward. We need to take care of ourselves in order to
pracise the Dharma and to be of service to others. Faith healing should be
used to complement medicine and not to replace it.
In times of terminal
diseases, prayer should be used to strengthen the mind in preparation for
death. If we practised the Dharma well beforehand, we would then be less likely
to be confused when the stages of death starts to come. We should not hope for
an unrealistic desire to get cured miraculously as death is certain to
everyone. Thus a typical prayer for the terminally ill would run something like
this:
Homage to Amitabha Buddha and Avalokitesvara.
Behold us beings who suffer in Samsara
I (so and so), has contracted this disease perhaps out of my past misdeeds.
If I am of future benefit to others around me, bless me so that I may recover
quickly.
If my time is up, may this short duration of suffering quickly pass. At that
time, Lord Amitabha, please remember your past vows and manifesting your Golden
body, please bring me to your Joyful
May I be born from a lotus in Sukhavati and learn from your and the
Bodhisattvas so that I can then be like you in order to benefit those yet to be
delivered.
Namo Amitabha Buddhaya !
The different schooltheravadas of Buddhism
There are 2 schools of
Buddhism, namely the Mahayana (Vajrayana is within this branch) and the
Hinayana (better known as the Theravada). Maha means Great and yana means
Vehicle, thus Mahayana means The Great Vehicle and Hinayana means The Small
Vehicle (Theravada means The Way of the Elders).
The Theravada school
emphasizes the need of renouncing this suffering of the world and practicing
for one's own salvation. However, though compassion is emphasized, it is not
necessary for the attainment of Arahatship which is a form of lower
enlightenment where the Arahat(Ah Luo Hanªüùº~) does not take rebirth in this
world anymore. This school relies on Pali scriptures and spread mainly to
The Mahayana maintains that
all beings can attain the same state of enlghtenment of the Buddha. The
Mahayanan ideal is that of infinite compassion which is the Bodhisattva idea as
mentioned earlier. All disciples of the Mahayana need to have great
compassion and even though we may not have this ability now, we need to make it
a ideal that we need to achieve. We strive for Buddhahood so that we can help
other beings. There are infinite Bodhisattvas and Buddhas ready to help all
beings in trouble the most famous being Kuan Shi Yin. This school relies on Sanskrit
scriptures and spread to
Having faith in the Mahayana
Buddhist historians often
accuse that Buddha never said the Mahayana scriptures, it was "made
up" by people who wanted to compete with Hinduism. Vajrayana was made to
be in a worse light, they claim that as the battle with Hindus started losing,
elements from Hinduism like magic, mantras etc were "added" to call
it Vajrayana to make it more attractive during 700AD onwards. This helped, as
their theory goes, but by the 11the century the battle with Hindus was lost and
Buddhism vanished from
This theory is obviously
flawed, think, why keep bothering with the Buddha time after time if he was
such a killjoy? Why then they not rather convert to Hinduism altogether?
In addition, if the
Mahayana was not told by the Buddha then why numerous ancient Buddhist masters
converted to Mahayana? As such people were nearer to the past, would not they
know better what is authentic and what is false? Furthermore, Vajrayana existed
since Buddha's time and the earliest Chinese text on Mantras was done from the
early 2nd century onwards. How can they then assume that the various schools
were founded at periods corresponding to the periods when they became popular
among the masses! Archeological evidence is often misleading as the scriptures
were passed down orally by great masters. How can they then assume and
reconstruct to such a unreasonable extent!
The reason why different
schools came about is because Buddha taught different people differently
according to individual needs of the disciples. Buddhism is unlike other
religions where one doctrine is forced on all. The Mahayana and Vajrayana were
only taught to people who can understand what Buddha was trying to say without
misinterpretation. To understand this, recall when young we were taught that we
can only subtract 3 from 5 and not 5 from 3. In the later stage we know that we
can get negative numbers. Certain mathematical laws are broken as we proceed to
higher education. We should understand that this is why sutras sometimes
contradict each other. Therefore to insist that Buddhist should not recite
mantras, not believe in the Mahayana etc, due to reasons based on Theravada
scriptures is like insisting that the mathematics taught in Universities are
wrong based on the mathematics taught in the Primary level!
However as the Mahayana is based on the
Theravada as a foundation, we should not despise the Theravada teachings as
unimportant as like a mathematician does not despise ordinary addition and
subtraction as useless theories. This is a very important point that we must
remember.
Most people, have a special
affinity for Guan Shi Yin which make them thus suitable for learning the
Mahayana. We should then take heed of the great doctrine of Mahayana and learn
it well to benefit others.
The Pure
The Mahayana emphasizes the
need to be enlightened in order to help others. This aspiration is indeed noble
but in this present age being enlightened in this lifetime on earth is
virtually impossible. We are born in this impure world full of evil and sorrow,
depending on only our own to deliver ourselves is very difficult. Buddha
Shakyamuni taught different doctrine to different people but among the many,
the Pureland doctrine is the best suited for today 's people. Basically, Buddha
Amitabha made 48 vows to save all beings to his pure
Sukhavati is entirely
different from the normal concept of Heaven where the inhabitants just enjoy
there and serve their tyrannical Lord. In Buddhism, these heavenly beings have
still not escaped the wheel of reincarnation, they will still fall when their
long life span comes to an end. The beings in Sukhavati have infinite life like
that of Amtabha where they learn directly from him and other great
Bodhisattvas. In time, they will too attain the state of Buddhahood and go
forth to deliver those yet to be delivered.
Sukhavati is unlike our
world where there are many opportunities to slide back from our practice, there
is no possibility of back sliding once we are born there in Sukhavati. The
beings there do not have material bodies but exist as a formless state where
sufferings of sickness and death do not happen.
Thus, the best we can do to
get enlightened is to seek rebirth in Sukhavati by virtue of Amitabha's vows
and name. To be born there, three conditions are needed, namely Faith, Vow and
Practice «HÄ@¦æ. Faith means to believe in the words of Shakyamuni and the
ancient great masters that Amitabha made 48 vows and created Sukhavati with his
power in order to save others. There are many first hand accounts of devotees
who died knowing their own date of death beforehand and saw the Buddhas coming
to fetch them. Further reading on such accounts could be made at buddhist
libraries.
Vow is to sincerely want to
go to Sukhavati without any attachment to our Saha world. In addition, the vow
to wish to seek Buddhahood for the sake of delivering others, not just for
one's enjoyment is to be re-emphasized here.
Practice is to recite the
name of Amitabha or any other mantras of the Great Bodhisattvas and dedicate
all merits for one's rebirth to Sukhavati. All three conditions are necessary,
not even one can be omitted.
Having said so much, the
recitation of any mantras or names of any Buddha MUST be dedicated for one's
rebirth to Sukhavati and the benefit of all sentient beings. Without dedication,
any anger would impede the ripening of such virtuous merit. As mentioned
earlier, personal and worldly request come after the dedication (ie, take
second preceedance. ) As the inclinations of people are all different, it would
be unreasonable to insist that only this certain recitation enables rebirth. I
mean, some like to recite Namo Amitabha buddhaya while others prefer Namu Kanno
Bosatsu or her other mantras, thus we must remember that Amitabha is not that
concerned with such minor differences which are the same ultimately, it is like
no matter one uses chopsticks or a spoon to eat, as long one relieves one's
hunger, the objective is achieved. In addition, many might ask," Is not
the frequent contemplation of death pessimistic?" To this, we must know that
death comes to all and avoiding it is cowardly. To solve the problem, we need
to face it, not avoid it. In fact, it is the through the understanding of death
that we know the best way to make use of our rather short time on earth. We
would then engage in actions that benefits others rather than wasting our lives
on useless and trival things.
Setting up an altar
An altar is the focal point
of prayer and worship in our homes etc. Maintaining and praying at a altar
regularly is a good way of keeping in mind the teachings of the buddhas.
It is not that difficult to
maintain one contrary to what most people think. Firstly, set up a place with a
simple altar (ot those gaudy Taoist tables ) facing away from the toilets,
kitchen and bedrooms (s a form of respect ).
Secondly, obtain an icon of any buddha or Bodhisattva one
wishes to honour, the most common being Guanyin or Amitabha with the two
Bodhisattvas. The style ( chinese, japanese or tibetan) and material is not
important. What is crucial is that one must feel completely at ease with the
icon. In addition, whether the icon is just a poster, porcelain, brass, the
artwork needs to be reasonably fine with proportional facial features. The
choice of materials depends on the financial status of each individual but
plastic statues made of resin are normally not used. The display of only the
head of Buddhas is also considered to be inappropriate (in the past, looters
often sawed off the heads of icon that were too big to haul away) as only a
complete icon can be honoured.
Thirdly, sent the icon for
consecration by an orthodox Buddhist monk prior to installing the icon for
veneration on a particular day.
With regards to the altar
keep it clean, bright and sacred. Offerings need not be over elaborate, a
simple oil lamp, incense burner and a daily offering of a glass of water would
suffice. For safety reasons, taper candles should not be burned unattended, if
necessary use votive candles in glasses. The oil lamp if lit perpetually, needs
to have a proper glass lamp shield to protect from air currents and flying
insects. The flame should be kept small (about 1cm in height) and trimmed daily
to prevent dirt from accumulating in the oil. If one feels that for safety
reasons, the lamp needs to be extinguished ( using tweezers, not the mouth to
blow the flame off.) before sleeping, then by all means do so. Electric lamps
could also be used (not those with red bulbs ) as offerings.
Coil incense is preferably
used as the traditional standing incense spreads ash all over the altar. If one
feels that one is allergic to the smoke, them incense burning can be omitted.
The crucial thing is to have a pleasant place to honour the Buddhas.
In addition, never offer
things that contain meat, lard, eggs, wine, onion, garlic, chives, leek and
spring onion. These are forbidden as offerings in general. As Buddhism is
against the taking of any life, offering of meat the sake of fulfilling a
selfish wish is considered offensive. The vegetables listed are prohibited due
to their pungent nature which stimulates and excites a person ( thus people who
meditate do not consume these vegetables). The true spirit of offerings would
be elaborated in the next section.
The meaning of offerings
The act of offering is
practiced among all major religions but in Buddhism, offering has a different
symbolism that few really understand. For easy reference, some common offerings
and their meanings are shown in the table below.
|
Offerings |
Symbolism |
|
Lights
(sny type) |
The
light of wisdom cutting through the darkness of ignorance. |
|
Incense |
The
fragrance of pure morality |
|
Water |
The
calmness of the mind. |
|
Flowers |
The
impermanance of life |
|
Fruits |
The
Ultimate fruit of Buddhahood |
|
Cakes(eggless)
|
The
gratitude for our food which comes from the hard labour of other beings. |
There is a need to
understand the true meaning of offering such objects as there is no point in
doing things that are not understood completely. For example, as mentioned
earlier, Buddhas do not need our offerings as many people think. The purpose
of offerings is to cultivate a habit of generosity to others. Water as an
offering is practised even by the very poor as an offering to the Buddhas.
Water is widely available and yet without water, life is impossible!
There is no stipulated
offerings that must be done. Rather, it depends on the financial status of each
individual. The form is also not important, whether it is chinese or tibetan
incense, carnations or jasmine, glass or plastic plates etc, it means the same
as long the motivation is pure. The different ways of offerings are due to
differences in cultural and geographical reasons. For eg, Tibetans use butter
for lamps as they don't grow vegetable oil in their area and flower motifs are
used to represent flowers in Tibet for the same reason. To insist that only
butter can be burned in lamps is then an extreme. The Buddhas are not
interested over such trival things!
In addition, it is to be
remembered that the main objective as a Buddhist is to benefit others. Thus
there must be a balance between helping others (charities etc. ) and religious
offerings using the same amount of money. Offering 10 dollars to a starving
person is much better than offering thousands of dollars to the Buddhas. Why?
It is the welfare of sentient beings that the Buddhas are concerned about.
They have no need for such things. If a person does not help others at all and
yet make enormous offerings then he is losing the point altogether.
Unfortunately history shows that there are cases all over the world where
religious leaders were more concerned with hoarding wealth rather than doing
what is supposed of them.
Such mistakes must never be
repeated again by the all people in the Buddhist world!
Prayer beads
Prayer beads are used in
Buddhism as an aid to concentrate one's mind during prayer. It is called Nian
zhu (©À¯]), Fo zhu (¦ò¯]) in chinese, Ju Zu (¼Æ¯]) in japanese, Treng nga in
tibetan, Mala in Sanskrit. Some also call it as Buddhist counting beads or the
Buddhist rosary. The normal number of beads used consists of 18, 21, 27, 36,42,
54 and 108 beads. High monks are known to use long ones with 216 or 324 beads.
However, most people use the 108 type for their daily prayer. Wrist rosaries
strung using elastic strings normally have 18, 21, 27 beads depending on the
size of the beads. Material of the beads range from plastic, Bodhi seeds to
semi precious stones.
Using prayer beads is a
good way to concentrate and keep count of the number of prayers repeated. Every
string of prayer beads has a large head bead known as the Guru bead which has 3
holes and ends with a decorative tassel or chinese knot. Beginners usually
start with small strings of 27 beads made of sandalwood or Bodhi seeds as these
are cheaper and easier to use due to their short length. Plastic and artificial
cats eye beads are not normally used by serious students of Buddhism due to
their synthetic nature. Another function of beads is to amplify the power of
the invocations said on the beads. Semiprecious stones are used not to flaunt
the owner's wealth but to increase the merit of the prayers said on the beads.
Different materials have different purposes but for beginners, Bodhi seeds and
sandalwood can be used for all types of prayers. ( As a sidenote, clear quartz
is a stone sacred to Guanshiyin and could be used if one recites Om Mani Padmay
Hum frequently.)
The number of beads have a
special significance, for example, 108 represents the 108 type of mental
defilments that are to be destroyed with the repetitions of mantras and names
of the Buddhas. There are of course many other meanings attached to the other
numbers but basically multiples of 7 are sacred to Buddhism. Other numbers such
as 22, 33, 66 and 99 are used in other religions and should be avoided.
The use of beads is useful
for keeping track of the number of prayers said. To use it, start by placing
the first bead next to the head bead between your middle joint of the middle
finger and the thumb. For every prayer said, move the beads inwards till you
reach the head (ie: 1 cycle). Normally, if the head bead contains a tiny
picture of any Buddha, the fingers should not rub over the head bead, instead
one should turn the rosary around and start again. However, if the head bead is
just a solid bead without any pictures inserted into it, the fingers can just
rub over it and start a new cycle. This is just one of the many ways of using
the beads though different traditions can have other ways of saying their
beads.
To keep track of the number
of "rounds" of beads said, there is a device known as Counters (©À¯])
tied on the prayer beads. It has two strings of beads, 10 on each string
terminating in two different ritual objects know as the Vajra and the
The string of beads should
be treated with respect and should not be stepped over, played with or sat on.
Beads are to help us to meditate on the Buddhas but some wear beads on their
wrists because of a belief in their talismanic powers to protect them. This
should not be the attitude, though there are cases where beads which were
frequently recited on helped their owners in miraculous ways, the wearing of
beads should be to remind us of the Buddhas and to engage in recitation
wherever convenient. Beads which are not recited on have minimal powers at all,
wearing one just for the sake of wearing defeats the real purpose. However,
there are some who wear one on their wrist to remind themselves of the constant
need to be aware of our thoughts and actions, this of course is alright. Some
also feel that if the string breaks while one is praying it is a sign of coming
disaster. This attitude is very wrong, nothing on earth is permanent! Even
images of the Buddhas decay due to time. Rather than feeling worried we should
take this opportunity to contemplate the meaning of Impermanance. The beads
could be stringed back and used again thinking, before I die, I must be
diligent in my practice.
On a side note, the beads
worn by Qing Dynasty officials on their necks actually came from prayer beads
used by Tibetans!
Becoming a real Buddhist
Like other religions, one is only a true Buddhist only if one takes the
Three Refuges¤T¬Ô¨Ì. The Three Refuge are:
1)The Buddha
2)The Dharma (The Teachings of Buddha)
3)The Sangha (The Community of Monks and Nuns)
One expresses one's desire
to take the Buddha's teaching as one's guidance recites the following verse in
an official ceremony organized by orthodox Buddhist temples of any tradition.
During this ceremony, one is required to recite sincerely the following verse:
Namo Buddhaya, Namo Dharmaya, Namo Sanghaya.
«n¼¯¦ò,«n¼¯ªk, «n¼¯¹¬
After this simple ceremony,
one is officially a full fledged Buddhist disciple. It is best to undergo this
ceremony under the witness of monks or nuns but if it is not possible one can
recite the Three Refuges sincerely in front of any altar of any Buddhas or
Bodhisattvas. It is the joyous acceptance of the Three Jewels ¤TÄ_ ( another
name for the Three Refuges) that is important, the ritual is not important. In
addition, the particular monk or nun presiding over the ceremony is only a
witness to our profess of faith. We take refuge in the whole Sangha not to a
particular monk or nun. Thus we should avoid saying " I took refuge in
Venerable So and So". Also, it is to be noted that only children who know
what is Refuge Taking all about can be given Refuge as it is important for the
takers to know what they are doing. Babies cannot be given the Refuge but it seems
that some equate the process to be like Baptism where one's sins are "
washed" away after the ceremony. If the true meaning of the Refuge
ceremony is not known, taking it blindly as a salvation process defeats the
whole purpose of taking the Refuge. After the refuge, one is now a Buddhist and
should not pray to other gods ( Taoist, etc) as a upkeep of the refuge and a
thorough understanding of who can offer the best teaching that enable us to
attain enlightenment. Syncretism has no place in orthodox Buddhism! Please
remember that one cannot step on two boats at the same time.
Miracles of Bodhisattva
Avalokitesvara While
miracles are not our objective of practicing the Dharma, miracles are not
unusual in the history of Buddhism. There are many books from ancient times to
today where miraculous accounts are collected and read by others to inspire
faith. Two accounts are reproduced here to give an ideal of the compassion of
Guanshiyin.
Account 1
In the late Qing Dynasty of
China (1644-1911) there was a revolution led by a Chinese Christian who wanted
to create a Kingdom known as the Tai Ping Tian Guo¤Ó¥¤Ñ°ê. However this group
went around killing, plundering and burning the people and their property. At
that time in southern
Account 2
In 1922, there was a large
earthquake in Asakusa Tokyo. Many building collasped and the whole place was
set ablaze after cooking stoves were overturned. Many people were trapped by
the great conflagration. Some tried hiding in the ponds in the parks but the
fire which was fanned by the winds scorched them to death. Out of desperation,
thousands began crowding at the Asakusa Kannon
The people had no other
choice but to pray from their bottom of hearts to Kannon. Many were chanting
"Namu Kannon Bosatsu save us!"Miraculously, everytime the towering
flames tried to burn towards the temple, another gust of wind would blow the
flames back to where the flames came from. Many people also witnessed the
physical manifestation of Kannon in the typical Japanese form, riding on the
head of a dragon. Many thousands were saved during that catastrophic day.
Today, this temple is famous as a tourist spot and the Kannon statue is
considered so sacred that it is only revealed to the public once in many years.
After reading these two
accounts, some might ask, can these accounts be attributed to Guanyin Pusa? Can
they be due to other possible reasons? To this I would say, many miracles are
almost impossible to prove using science as we know it at this period. But from
the many accounts, attributing the miracles to mere coincidence or
hallucinations is unreasonable. For example, the
The Memorial days of Guanyin
By tradition, Guan Yin has 3 dates dedicated to her. These are
19 of 2nd month-------------- Her birthday
19 of 6th month--------------- Her Enlightenment day
19 of 9th month--------------- Her Ordination day
All months are in the
Chinese lunar month. On these dates, devotees flock to any temple dedicated to
her and make offerings as a respect to her. Many chinese temples also have
prayer sessions and vegetarian lunches prepared for the many people.
Well some might ask, as
Shakyamuni is the only Buddha to be born on earth then how did these dates come
about? Many of these dates are by tradition and are usually dates where there
was a major miracle by the particular Buddha or dates of birth, passing away of
high monks who have demostrated(indirectly) that they were the emanations of
the particular Bodhisattva. For example, there was this monk who emanated a
buddha and rays of light from his mouth every time he recited Namo Amitabha
Buddhaya, when he passed away in a miraculous way, people took his birthday 17
of the 11 month as the birthday of Amitabha. Such dates are for the masses to
have a day of refresh their faith even though the Buddhas have infinite birthdays
throughout their quest for Buddhahood. Well this is fine for people, we should
not have this misconception to do good, be vegetarian, help the charities etc
ONLY when her memorial days are near. This should not be the case, we should be
praying to her and practice constantly whether it is her birthday or not. These
days are for us to refresh and to affirm our faith in Guanyin.
Holy Places Dedicated to Guan Yin
Holy places dedicated to
Guanyin are countless but the most famous of these is the PuTuo µÐªû¤s mountain
in
I suppose the information
given so far is helpful to my readers with regard to GuanShiYin the Bodhisattva
of Infinite Compassion. As my Buddhism knowledge is far from adequate, please
inform me of any suggestions or comments for improvement on this webpage.
May my readers join me in dedicating the merit from this work.
Namo Shakyamuni Buddhaya
Namo Amitabha Buddhaya
Namo Avalokitesvara
Namo Vajrapani
Homage to all great
Mahayana teachers May I/we dedicate this merit for the eradication of all forms
of suffering of all sentient beings and may all come under the protection of
the Great Avalokitesvara. May I/we seek rebirth in Sukhavati so that we can
learn under Amitabha and Avalokitesvara and be Enlightened so that I/we can
come back and deliver others.
May all Buddhas and
Bodhisattvas of the 10 direction give their blessing that this would be
achieved without delay!