Wisdom Quarterly: American Buddhist Journal: Mexican "Guan Yin" Day, Los Angeles

Monday, December 12, 2011

Mexican "Guan Yin" Day, Los Angeles

Dharmachari Seven, CC Liu, PFC Sandoval (Wisdom Quarterly)

The Virg Yin, Guan Yin, Goddess of Mercy, who hears the cries of the world from on high, Hidden Hills Buddhist monastery, Escondido, California (Emeraldsrain/Flickr).

Guan Yin, or Virgin Guadalupe, refers to a fascinating goddess figure who appears all over the world. In Asia this embodiment of mercy and compassion is called Kwan Yin. Her origin story is that she is the incarnation (avatar) of the Heart Sutra's Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, or "one who hears the cries of the world" from on high. Los Angeles is Spanish for "the angels"; Guan Yin is the "Queen of the Angels."

Los Angeles spiritual leadership changes
Spanish 101: City of LA or El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles del Río de Porciúncula ("The town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels of the river Porciuncula")

In Chinese Guanshiyin (Guan Yin) means "Observing the Sounds (Cries) of the World."

She is the most famous figure in Buddhism, rivaling the popularity of the historical Buddha and the many make believe buddhas that came into vogue as bodhisattvas (beings vowing to delay their salvation to save others). In India (Avalokiteshvara, अवलोकितेश्वर, or "one who looks down"), as in Japan (Kannon), this figure began as a male and herself morphed, was reborn, or was transformed in the popular imagination into a beautiful divine feminine figure embodying kind compassion over cool wisdom.

Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva (savior) of Compassion, while moving in the deep course of the wisdom which has gone beyond, looked down from on high and beheld but five heaps [of being], seeing that in and of themselves they were impersonal [empty]. Here, O wise Sariputra, form [body] is impersonal [emptiness], and the impersonal itself is form...

In the West, she miraculously retained her name: She is most often referred to simply as the Virg Yin. Yin, of course, is the polar passive, receptive, moon-like energy in the yin yang symbol. In formerly Mayan/Aztec Mesoamerican Mexico, she is most warmly regarded and celebrated as la Virgen de Guadalupe. Guan Yin is prayed to daily but celebrated on December 12, her ancient feast day.

The Catholic Church that swept the world by forced conversion and colonization, along with the "Holy" Roman Empire, could not eradicate her worship. Instead it was forced to give in to the will of the people in both Europe and the "New" World. She outshines Jesus in popularity as his Jewish mother, the glorious and Blessed Maryam (Miriam, Mother Mary).

Post-Mayan Aztec dancer in Los Angeles honors Virg Yin, the Queen of Angels, who is seen on mural at left (Spencer Weiner/LATimes.com).

Virgin Feast Day, Los Angeles
LATimesblogs.latimes.com

Thousands of Catholics in Los Angeles [formerly a small pueblo in Mexico before it was annexed in an American war of conquest] began their celebration of the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe before the crack of dawn.

Worshipers celebrated the 480th anniversary of the Virgin's appearance to an indigenous [pagan] peasant named Juan Diego near Mexico City.

The festivities began in downtown Los Angeles at 4:30 am with a procession through Cathedral Plaza, followed by a Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels on Temple Street.

Aztec dancers and mariachis performed in the plaza, where dancers will continue to perform throughout the day, said Carolina Guevara, a spokeswoman for the [Catholic] archdiocese of Los Angeles.

Guevara said about 3,000 people arrived for the first Mass of the morning at 4:45 am, with thousands more expected to arrive for services throughout the day. She described the atmosphere as festive and joyful....

The cathedral also has on display a piece of the tilma [relic] of St. Juan Diego, the cloth on which Catholics believe the Virgin's image appeared 480 years ago. More