The legend of Goddess of Mercy Kwan Yin

Amber Larson, Wisdom Quarterly; Tecnica (t3cnica/Flickr, Facebook, Getty); HolyMtn

Linh Phuoc Pagoda ("Dragon Pagoda"), Da Lat, Vietnam

Golden Buddha in Dragon Pagoda

When first stepping into this area, one notices the cool atmosphere, which is in stark contrast to the blazing sun outside the compound. One can see the giant statue of Guan Yin Bodhisattva, the Buddhist "Goddess of Compassion." She is accompanied by many smaller statues and an interior of beautiful in-laid terracotta dragons (nagas) and porcelain mosaics.

THE LEGEND OF QUAN YIN

Goddess of Mercy

Kwan Yin figurine (Holy Mountain Trading Co.)

One of the "deities" most frequently seen on altars in China's temples is Kwan Yin (also Quan Yin, Kuanyin, Guanyin). In Sanskrit, her name is Padma-pâni, or "Born of the Lotus." Kwan Yin, alone among all Buddhist devas, is universally loved. She is the model of Chinese beauty.

 

Regarded by the Chinese as the "Goddess of Mercy," she was originally male until the early part of the 12th century and has evolved since that time from her prototype, Avalokiteshvara, "the merciful lord who looks down [from on high]," an Indian enlightenment-being (bodhisattva), who chose to remain on Earth to bring relief to those suffering rather than enjoying for himself the ecstasies of complete-liberation (nirvana).

 

One of the several stories surrounding Kwan Yin is that she was a human Buddhist who through great love and sacrifice during life had earned rebirth in [a paradise] after death.

 

Avalokiteshvara

However, like Avalokiteshvara, while standing before the gates of paradise, she hears a cry of anguish from the Earth below. Turning back, she renounces her reward of bliss but in its place finds immortality in the hearts of the suffering. In China she has many names; she is also known as "Great Mercy, Great Pity, Salvation from Misery, Salvation from Woe, Self-Abiding, Thousand Arms, Thousand Eyes," and so on. 

 

In addition, she is often referred to as the Goddess of the Southern Sea -- the Indian Archipelago -- and has been compared to the Virgin Mary. She is one of the San Ta Shih, or the "Three Great Beings," renowned for their power over the animal kingdom or the forces of nature. These three bodhisattvas or P'u Sa as they are known in China, are Manjusri (Sanskrit) or Wên Shu, Samantabhadra or P'u Hsien, and Avalokiteshvara or Kwan Yin. More

Mother's Day for Buddhists

Born to a standing mother, Maha Maya Devi, Siddhartha became the Buddha. Traditional stone carving, Zen You Mitsu temple, Tokyo (AssociatedContent.com).

Honoring Mothers in a Buddhist Way

As she went through the town, people gladly gave her a few seeds. But when she asked if anyone in the house had died, she was not so lucky. Not one house in the town had been untouched by death. By nightfall, she had learned the lesson that the Buddha had not had to speak [from the Buddhist story of the mother Kisagotami, who became an enlightened nun].

• Buddhist Resources for Anyone's Mother's Day

She was not the only person on earth who had lost a loved one. Love for the mother, in the context of the Buddhist belief in rebirth, extends to all living beings. According to the Lankavatara Sutra, in the endless cycles of time that are accounted for in Buddhist teachings, [nearly] every living being has at one time or another been your mother or father, your brother or sister, your son or daughter.

The Christian poet John Donne wrote, "Every man's death diminishes me." For a Buddhist, that is very limiting. Every death, according to Buddhist teaching, diminishes us all.

A bodhisattva [someone intent on full enlightenment] is [not quite yet] an enlightened being who vows not to leave the world of samsara -- that is, birth, death, and rebirth -- until all beings have attained enlightenment. There are many female bodhisattvas identified in different Buddhist traditions.

One of the most famous is Guan Yin. In different traditions and languages, her name may be spelled as Kuan Yin or Kwannon. Her name means "hearing the cries of the world." It is said that as she heard these cries, her two arms were not enough to reach out to all those who were suffering. She now has anywhere from eight to one thousand arms, and she is sometimes referred to as the Buddhist Madonna.... More>>