Avalokiteśvara (Sanskrit: अवलोकितेश्वर , "Lord who looks down".Avalokiteśvara is often depicted in a female form known as Guan Yin. Avalokitesvara is also referred to as Padmapāni ("Holder of the Lotus") also Thirumai (Tirupati) or Lokeśvara ("Lord of the World"). According to Mahayana doctrine, Avalokiteśvara is the bodhisattva who has made a great vow to listen to the prayers of all sentient beings in times of difficulty, and to postpone his own Buddhahood until he has assisted every being on Earth in achieving nirvana. Of all the deities in Mahayana Buddhism, the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, Chenrezig, is one of the most celebrated. He is the lord endowed with complete illumination, who refrains from entering the blissful state of nirvana to remain here below and save the creatures of the earth. This devotion to the salvation of others emphasizes the profound compassion this bodhisattva represents.
Compassion for others had always been regarded as a virtue in early Buddhism, but it had a somewhat subordinate place to wisdom. In Mahayana Buddhism, compassion received an equal emphasis with wisdom, perhaps because the Mahayana was more consciously universal and covered a wider sector of society. In this view of the world, all men and women, not just those leading a monastic life, could achieve nirvana.
Avalokiteshvara, the merciful, is also called Padmapani. A transformation of this bodhisattva took place in China. As if in honor of his powers of love, the Chinese Buddhists portrayed him as a woman, the goddess Kuan-Yin, who cradles the symbol of the soul in her arms and resembles the Virgin Mary. In contrast to this concrete effigy, India sees this sympathetic savior as a cosmic being who takes countless shapes:
From his eyes come forth the sun and moon; from his brow, Mahesvara, the great god who creates life with a thunderbolt from his third eye; from his shoulders, Brahma and other gods; from his heart, Narayana, the soul of the universe; from his thighs, Sarasvati, the wife of Brahma and the goddess of wisdom, music, and science; from his mouth, the winds; from his feet, the earth; from his stomach, Varuna, an emanation from the sun initiating the cycles of nature and the embodiment of truth. He is a lamp to the blind, a parasol for those devoured by the heat of the sun, and a stream to the thirsty. He takes away all fear from those who are afraid; he is a doctor to the sick, and he is father and mother to the unhappy.
emanations of Avalokiteshvara.
We may visualize him as a transparent, rainbow like form, like a reflection in water, representing the empty and open aspect of awakened mind. He transcends the solidification of concepts, including our idea that he is "out there," separate from us.
The four arms and hands signify the four immeasurables: immeasurable loving kindness, immeasurable compassion, immeasurable joy, and immeasurable equanimity. Chenrezig, the Bodhisattva of Boundless Compassion, is the very embodiment and realization of the four immeasurables. The four immeasurables are the vehicles through which Chenrezig benefits beings.
"The first two, the inner arms, have palms joined at the heart, holding a sky-blue, wish fulfilling jewel." This symbolizes that in whatever way Chenrezig manifests to benefit beings, the quality of Chenrezig's mind is never separate from the all pervasive primordial wisdom.
In the outer right hand, Chenrezig is holding crystal beads and moving them the way we use a mala to count mantras. This symbolizes that there is not one moment when Chenrezig does not benefit beings. Like the steady movement of counting the beads, Chenrezig is continuously benefiting sentient beings and turning the wheel of enlightened activity
Compassion for others had always been regarded as a virtue in early Buddhism, but it had a somewhat subordinate place to wisdom. In Mahayana Buddhism, compassion received an equal emphasis with wisdom, perhaps because the Mahayana was more consciously universal and covered a wider sector of society. In this view of the world, all men and women, not just those leading a monastic life, could achieve nirvana.
Avalokiteshvara, the merciful, is also called Padmapani. A transformation of this bodhisattva took place in China. As if in honor of his powers of love, the Chinese Buddhists portrayed him as a woman, the goddess Kuan-Yin, who cradles the symbol of the soul in her arms and resembles the Virgin Mary. In contrast to this concrete effigy, India sees this sympathetic savior as a cosmic being who takes countless shapes:
From his eyes come forth the sun and moon; from his brow, Mahesvara, the great god who creates life with a thunderbolt from his third eye; from his shoulders, Brahma and other gods; from his heart, Narayana, the soul of the universe; from his thighs, Sarasvati, the wife of Brahma and the goddess of wisdom, music, and science; from his mouth, the winds; from his feet, the earth; from his stomach, Varuna, an emanation from the sun initiating the cycles of nature and the embodiment of truth. He is a lamp to the blind, a parasol for those devoured by the heat of the sun, and a stream to the thirsty. He takes away all fear from those who are afraid; he is a doctor to the sick, and he is father and mother to the unhappy.
emanations of Avalokiteshvara.
We may visualize him as a transparent, rainbow like form, like a reflection in water, representing the empty and open aspect of awakened mind. He transcends the solidification of concepts, including our idea that he is "out there," separate from us.
The four arms and hands signify the four immeasurables: immeasurable loving kindness, immeasurable compassion, immeasurable joy, and immeasurable equanimity. Chenrezig, the Bodhisattva of Boundless Compassion, is the very embodiment and realization of the four immeasurables. The four immeasurables are the vehicles through which Chenrezig benefits beings.
"The first two, the inner arms, have palms joined at the heart, holding a sky-blue, wish fulfilling jewel." This symbolizes that in whatever way Chenrezig manifests to benefit beings, the quality of Chenrezig's mind is never separate from the all pervasive primordial wisdom.
In the outer right hand, Chenrezig is holding crystal beads and moving them the way we use a mala to count mantras. This symbolizes that there is not one moment when Chenrezig does not benefit beings. Like the steady movement of counting the beads, Chenrezig is continuously benefiting sentient beings and turning the wheel of enlightened activity
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