Showing posts with label kwan yin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kwan yin. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 1, 2026

Worship the Goddess of Youth for Juice?


Hebe giving drink to Jupiter's eagle (Gavin Hamilton, 1767)

First, what is "Juice"? - That is explained below as the sort of nectar that gives the goddess her power to bestow youth on those whom she serves or those who win her favor. So we ask...

QUESTION: How shall we worship Youth?
ANSWER: Maybe the ancient Greek way? First, what is "worship"? We need to petition her for more youth of our own. Oh, please, Great Goddess, make us young! Make us healthy! Make us pretty and long-lived!

Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity or God. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recognition of a God. An act of worship may be performed individually, in an informal or formal group, or by a designated leader. Such acts may involve honoring [1, 2, 3].

ETYMOLOGY: The word is derived from the Old English weorþscipe, meaning to venerate "worship, honor shown to an object or deity [4]," which has been etymologized as "worthiness" or "worth-ship" — at its simplest, to give worth to something.

The Eastern ideal of devas (gods, lit. "shining ones")


I'm the Western version of Sakka/Indra: Zeus
Hebe, the daughter of Zeus [deus] and Hera, served ambrosia (amrita) and nectar to the gods of the Olympian pantheon. She later married Heracles, with whom she had two children, Alexiares and Anicetus.

Her name comes from the Greek word for youth because it she has the power to restore youth (by serving someone ambrosia).

Iolaus (left), the Love God Eros (center), Heracles (right), 4th century Etruscan ritual vessel
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"Juice"? What is this deathless drink of the gods?
Hebe on garuda mount (Carolus-Duran)
Sanskrit amrita (Hindi amrit, Pali amata, "deathless," also sudha, amiy, and ami) is the word for "immortality," a central concept in Dharmic religions, often referred to in ancient Indian texts as an elixir [1]. Its first occurrence is in the Rig Veda, where it is considered one of several synonyms for soma, the drink of the celestial devas [2]. Amrita plays a significant role in the Samudra Manthana and is the cause of the conflict between devas (gods) and asuras (anti-gods), each competing for it to obtain longevity or immortality [3]. It has varying significance in different Indian religions. In Buddhism, it is a synonym for nirvana ("the deathless").

The Goddess of Justice Themis
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The masculine word Amrit, feminine Amritā, is also a common first name for Hindus and Sikhs [4]. It is cognate to and shares many similarities with Greek ambrosia, both originating from a common Proto-Indo-European source [5, 6].

Hebe by Jean Coulon, circa 1886 (David Monniaux)
ETYMOLOGY: Amrita is composed of the negative prefix a- (अ, Sanskrit for "not") + mṛtyu (Sanskrit for "death"), therefore "not death," "deathless," or "immortal." The concept of a drink for immortality is attested in at least two Indo-European languages, Ancient Greek and Sanskrit. The Greek ἀμβροσία (ambrosia, from ἀ- “not” + βροτός “mortal”) is semantically linked to the Sanskrit अमृत (amṛta), both denoting a drink or food that "gods" (devas) use to achieve longevity and immortality. The two words appear to be derived from the same Indo-European form *ṇ-mṛ-tós, "un-dying" [7] (n-: negative prefix from which the prefix a- in both Greek and Sanskrit are derived + mṛ: zero grade of *mer-, "to die" + -to-: adjectival suffix). A semantically similar etymology exists for Greek (νέκταρ, néktar) "nectar," the beverage of the gods, a compound of the PIE roots *nek-, "death," and -*tar, "overcoming." More

Alabaster Shiva in white marble, triune God of India

Heracles, father of Hebe
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Hebe in Dijon (Francois Rude)
When Heracles' nephew and charioteer Iolaus was about to fight Eurystheus, he asked Hebe to make him young again for one day.

Hebe was initially reluctant, but the Goddess of Justice Themis told her it was a fair and just thing to do. Hebe granted Iolaus' wish, and he emerged victorious in battle.

Eventually Hebe lost her job as a cupbearer of the gods (a nectar server) when she tripped and her dress came undone, exposing her breasts.

Apollo dismissed her, and she was replaced by Prince Ganymede, Zeus' pederastic homosexual lover and protege (sugar baby).

The Buddhist Goddess of Youth: Kwan Yin

Avalokita transformed into a female
If Early (pre-sectarian) Buddhism had gods and goddesses (personifications) for everything, there would surely be one for youth, vitality, health, and beauty. The Buddha was not out to found a "religion" and therefore had no need to personify and mythologize everything like a pantheistic or polytheistic tradition might. But so powerful was the influence of Hinduism (Vedic Brahmanism) on Chinese Mahayana and Tibetan Vajrayana that these later Buddhist traditions did just that, with the all-lovable Goddess of Compassion Guanyin (Chenrezig) Bodhisattva becoming the ever youthful, ever-beautiful, ever delightful "Mother Mary" and "Mary Magdalene" of Buddhism. Theravada loves her, too, as ancient Sri Lankan statuary reveals that she was venerated far and wide.

Youthful Buddhist fairy Kwan Yin rides a dragon

Prajnaparamita of Java
Of course, we at Wisdom Quarterly prefer the personification of Perfect Wisdom (Prajnaparamita of Java), but that's just our silliness. The historical Buddha could not turn the attention of the monastics of his day from lovable Ananda to wise Sariputra, try as he might. Ananda just had that sort of Scythian (Indo-Sakan) charm, friendliness (metta), and warm, nonjudgmental nature. What is the root of "friendship," of agape given to others? Is it loving-kindness, compassion, happiness in the happiness of others, or unbiased looking on (the Four Divine Abidings)? Or is the core of the kalayana-mitta ideal, the ability to announce the path-of-practice that leads to spiritual liberation, the Dhamma? What is so great about wisdom (panna, prajna) anyway, and why isn't this publication called Compassion Quarterly?

What is the ideal of beauty?
That's a good question. Karuna is great. We love it and need more of it. But all the compassion in the world would not lead one to vimutti, moksha, liberation-by-wisdom. What a friend can do for one in the utmost is share the Dharma, the Dhamma, that which the historical Buddha himself taught to a benighted world hungry for light and the alleviation of suffering, disappointment, and samsara.

The Bhutanese, Nepalese, Tibetans, Russians, and Mongolians have many Vajrayana goddesses, like the multihued Taras and personifications for all kinds of popular desires -- riches, powers, magic...love and lust deities.
SOURCES
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Saturday, August 29, 2026

The Dali Parton: Dolly Bodhisattva?

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The Backwoods Barbie Doll Dolly 
At dollypartonsamerica.com, thanks to Jad Abumrad of Radio Lab, there is a 9-part series of interviews on America's favorite bra owner, The Dali Parton, Goddess of Kindness, a kind of cultural icon and bodhisattva (a "being destined for enlightenment/awakening" by the marriage of compassion and wisdom) for the benefit of us all. Feminist, activist, Buddhist Rebecca Solnit says it quite well:
Who cares about this American singer? She's just a singer! Or was she much more? (FB)
In praise of Dolly Parton, 1946-2026, our Goddess of Kindness (Rebecca Solnit)
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Dolly Parton, the "unicorn of unicorns"
How many authors can capitalize?
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Wednesday, August 19, 2026

Who is the Buddhist Goddess Cundi?



Goddess Cundi in Buddhism
Cundī (Sanskrit, Chinese 準提, Pinyin Zhǔntí, Japanese Juntei, Tibetan ལྷ་མོ་སྐུལ་བྱེད་མ།, Wylie lha mo skul byed ma, THL lha-mo kül-jé-ma) or Cundā (Chinese 羅馬化) is a female Indian Buddhist deity who remains popular in East Asian Buddhism.

In Chinese Mahayana Buddhism, she is associated with the practice of the well-known Cundī dharani, which is performed along with a specific mudra (hand gesture), as well as the use of a circular mirror [1, 2].

She is considered to be able to purify negative karma, provide protection, support spiritual practice that allows one to quickly attain Buddhahood [3].


This deity is also called by various other names and epithets, including:
Cundi in the China monumentis 1667
Some depictions of Cundī share many iconographic and symbolic elements with another female Buddhist deity, Prajñāpāramitā Devi [Buddhism's Sophia, the anthropomorphic representation of the "Perfection of Wisdom" as a female deva].

As such, some images of these goddesses are difficult to identify [4, 5]. In Tibetan Buddhism she is known by the name Lhamo Cunda, Chunde, or Cundi ("Lhamo" in Tibetan is devi in Sanskrit, a term of veneration meaning "goddess") [6, 7]. More
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Friday, July 31, 2026

Avalokitesvara Enlightenment Day (8/1)


Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva
This weekend (either Saturday or Sunday), Hsi Lai Temple will be conducting a noontime offering to the great Kwan Yin Pusa (Guanyin Bodhisattva), who began as the male deva Avalokita (Avalokitesvara).

It is unknown which day it will be because it is officially posted as "Sunday, 8/1, at 10:00 am, but Sunday is 8/2, Aug. 2, 2026. So maybe it starts on Saturday at 10 and culminates with noontime offerings at 12 the next day? Call the temple for proper details.
It will be located in the Hsi Lai Temple main shrine at the top of the steps near the giant incense cauldron that looks like the Liberty Bell. Fortunately, for the Fo Guang Shan (lit. "Buddha's* Light Mountain") Movement Buddhists of the world and others, there will be a Livestream (live from Los Angeles):


Buddha's Light Mountain
Fo Guang Shan (FGS, Chinese 佛光山, Pinyin Fó guāng shān, lit. "Buddha's Light Mountain") is an international Chinese Mahāyāna Buddhist organization and monastic order. It is based in Taiwan and practices Humanistic Buddhism, whose roots are traced to the Linji School of Chan Buddhism.

The headquarters, Fo Guang Shan Monastery, is located in Dashu District, Kaohsiung, Buddhist Taiwan, and is the largest Buddhist monastery in the island country .

[Of course, mainland China lays claim to Taiwan as an integral part of the PRC (People's Republic of China) just as it insists that Bon/Vajrayana Buddhist Tibet and similarly oppressed Muslim Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the northwest are part and parcel of the nominally communist actively capitalist post-kingdom].
The organization is also one of the largest charity organizations in Taiwan. Its counterpart for laypeople is known as the Buddha's Light International Association. Founded in 1967 by Hsing Yun, the order promotes Humanistic Buddhism and is known for its efforts in the modernization of Chinese Buddhism.

The modernist order is famous for its use of technology, and its temples are often furnished with the latest equipment [1, 2]. Hsing Yun's stated position for Fo Guang Shan is that it is an "amalgam of all Eight Schools of Chinese Buddhism." More
  • (*Sadly, while it sounds like one big, united Buddhist family, in fact the Buddha in the title refers to the "Cosmic Buddha" Amitabha, as in Amitofu, not the historical one from Earth, who is lovingly called the Sage of Scythian Shakya/Saka Clan, Shakyamuni, Siddhartha Gautama) 
  • Hsi Lai Temple, Los Angeles; CC Liu, Crystal Q. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly Wiki edit FGS
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Tuesday, July 21, 2026

Dalai Lama says he's reincarnated Goddess

Dalai Lama: Not trans, I'll reincarnate as a Western woman, a hot one, so people will listen.

Manjushri, Chenrezig, Vajrapani
It's like we always say at Wisdom Quarterly, Who needs the historical Buddha's instructions when you can have magic and mystery in Tibet and lots of political mumbo jumbo from a corrupt lapsed empire and its pope-king? The Himalayas were like that until Mao's Army crashed in and crushed Lhasa, the Oracle told the leader to get out quick, and ruling elite made a deal with the devils (CIA). Tibet still wields disproportionate influence in the region, now annexed and part of the PRC. Who has time for a tradition akin to American hippies turning their backs on their parents' Christianity to become dirty hippie "Jesus Freaks"? Of course they would want to because who wouldn't want to get back-to-basics and away from corrupt institutions and an out-of-control clergy? If faced with organized religion, do what seekers like Siddhartha have always done: become a shaman (shraman) on a quest for a personally verified experience of ultimate truth. If one has to do it at all, do it right, spiritual exploration over religion rules. Who could possibly choose the holy Roman Empire's version of Catholicism ("Universalism") instead of the direct teachings of an entheogen-consuming, just-back-from-India, dirty, Jewish, Essene, vegetarian Nazarene adept who spent time in a Buddhist monastery and in ashrams and secret initiation site training and preparing for 18 years?
But many will choose the institution, as most of Tibet (a massive region a quarter to half the size of China) did in centuries past. But the real practice of Buddhism involves moving beyond comfortable institutions, rituals, and dogma and onto the mat for purification of heart/mind and view. That's when the real progress begins. Few are probably ready for that, so let's get back to Tibetan politics with the pope-king who is now just "pope" of one Tibetan school or sect, the Gelug Yellow Hats.

Dalai Lama said he wants to be a hot woman?
Chenrezig thangka | Avalokiteshvara

Chenrezig on throne
Art for indoor practice: This Chenrezig (Avalokiteśvara) Bodhisattva thangka has been hand-painted in the traditional Karma Gadri style (IG, Tsering Art School, like Situ Panchen).

With a peaceful expression, the Tibetan deity is depicted seated on a moon disc lotus seat which is encircled by beautiful flowers. This thangka was exquisitely painted by Enlightenment artists utilizing genuine 24K gold and acrylic paints. More: artofit.org
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Wednesday, June 24, 2026

Heart Sutra: Buddha's Mother: Perfect Wisdom

Perfection of Insight, Prajnaparamita (LACMA)
All hail the Goddess (Devi) Prajna Paramita (of Java), the Mother of the Perfection of Wisdom, the most tremendous, the most excellent of the Ten Perfections (paramitas) which the historical Buddha cultivated for aeons as the Bodhisatta (the "being bent on supreme enlightenment").

The Heart Sutra is the world's most popular Buddhist sutra. Sadly, from a young age, even I recognized something in its magical wording (Edward Conze translation). It had a small tract of it in English and Chinese, and I would approach Chinese friends to translate some of the incomprehensible parts -- one line in particular: "until we come to."

Sveta Sofia (Wisdom) of Bulgaria
What in the world? It turns out that was just Conze's way of saying "...". And other parts were explained to me as having been written in an archaic form of Old (liturgical) Chinese few people spoke, which they were very embarrassed to admit. The Berkeley Zen Center was even more forthcoming, suggesting it was just something to chant, not something one could hope to make sense of, like a Sanskrit seed-mantra. So they just chanted it, on the one hand, rote, mindlessly, thoughtlessly, with no investigation that it might actually mean something sensible. I, on the other hand, was tenacious, spending years making sense of it. And every year it made more and more sense.

The lost meaning has been recovered. 
My Theravada study of it revealed exactly what it was all about after a few years due to some key phrases that do not make sense on their own but make perfect sense as references to ancient Buddhist texts, such as lists of the BASES (ayatanas). The final crowning explanation came from Alan Watts* making sense of the strange wording, which might trip one up for years. I attribute this to a flexible way of translating any Sanskrit or Pali word, all of which have much wider valence, admitting to a range of translations, not one fixed English word to serve all situations.
  • A bodhisattva helping living beings
    The key secret is to realize that Śūnyatā ("Emptiness," void) is synonymous with the Pali suññatā ("impersonal" = anatta). Then everything else falls into place.
  • This is because what the Heart Sutra (Prajñā-pāramitā-hṛdaya Discourse) is talking about are the Five Aggregates clung to as self, pointing out that every "heap" -- each one of the Five Aggregates -- is actually devoid of self. It is impersonal and is in that sense "empty." It has no "independent existence." What kind of existence does it have? It has a dependently-originated one. It is foolish to think there is nothing there at all as if all things were the void: There is no thing there, but there is something, some stuff, something is appearing. In the ultimate sense, "things" (dhammas, dharmas, phenomena) have an existence and so are called "things." The one thing that is not a thing is nirvana (the deathless, amata/amrita, the unconditioned element). Nirvana, being free of conditions, does not bear the (three universal) marks of "things." This "self" we cling to is just such a "thing," a conglomeration of other "things" (aggregates, groups, heaps), bearing the universal marks of being impermanent, unsatisfactory, and impersonal.
  • Avalokitesvara (in basalt)
    "Self" arises in this way, not as a real entity but an illusion brought about by the presence of the aggregates. When one grasps that all there has ever been are phenomenal aggregates -- impermanent, disappointing, and impersonal -- then the heart naturally lets go with no prompting and becomes free of all clinging and all further suffering.
  • It is called the "Heart" (hṛdaya) Sutra not because of emotions or sweetness but because it comes as the culmination, the brief summary, the pith, the essence of 100,000 lines or verses of detailed explanation. It is the essence of perfected wisdom. It is the key to stream entry, that which when not grasped keeps us as ordinary worldling but when grasped causes a "change of lineage" (gotrabhu) to the noble ones. The Buddha himself said it. There are not enlightened disciples to be found in other traditions, at least not in the Buddhist sense of the term bodhi ("awakened," "enlightened," "liberated") because nowhere else is this Doctrine of No-Self ever taught, ever revealed, ever explained, although all popular religions seem to have an innate understanding that being egoless is far wiser than being full of ego. For example, in popular Christianity, in the eyes of God, what is the worst sin? Pride.
Beloved Kwan Yin (Guanyin)
Better than [the Goddess of Compassion] Kwan Yin (the feminine form of Avalokiteshvara)? More beloved than [the Cosmic Buddha of Light] Amitabha? No, probably not, but what is higher and more exalted than wisdom?

The Buddha himself noted how popular and beloved Ananda was, whereas the monastics did not seem to realize the kalyana-mitta (noble/enlightening friendship) potential of Ven. Sariputta, the male monastic he declared foremost in wisdom. One can easily imagine the same thing must have happened among the females with the Buddha highlighting the value of the great bhikkhuni Ven. Khema, the nun he declared foremost in wisdom.

Sariputta and MM become disciples
Now, one may ask, Why is Avalokiteśvara -- who is later transformed into the Goddess or Personification of Compassion (Kwan Yin/Guanyin) -- addressing Ven. Sariputra of all people in this most famous of all apocryphal "discourses"?

UCLA Prof. Robert E. Buswell Jr. (who ordained as a monk in Korean Zen then Sri Lankan Theravada before becoming a Western academic) explained the reason to us in class. Brahminical/Chinese Mahayana is holding up the monk disciple (shravaka) the Buddha declared "foremost in wisdom" as a scarecrow, stick figure, or punching bag to mock his supposed "wisdom," as if he were a mere intellect, a clueless egghead, a Brahmin nerd, a clueless dork compared to their god (deva, deity) Avalokita, whom they declare an "enlightenment being" (bodhi-sattva) and "great being" (maha-sattva, a Mahayana maha-sthamaprapta).
How to make the Heart Sutra simpler?
Rewrite it in modern English so readers get it

Holding lotus, symbol of blossoming
Wow, this perfection of wisdom is cool! It's eye-opening!

Avi, awake and wanting to awaken others, was reviewing the wisdom that has gone beyond. He looked down from on high and saw just five heaps, saw that in and of themselves they are impersonal, NOT A SELF, empty.

Herein, Sali, form implies emptiness, and emptiness implies form. Emptiness is not different than form, and form is not different than emptiness. They are mutually dependent. Anything that is empty, impersonal, and not-self is form.
  • The Zen ensō (zero, circle)
    [Conze translates these famous line as: "Form is emptiness, and the very emptiness is form; emptiness does not differ from form; form does not differ from emptiness; whatever is emptiness, that is form; [whatever is form, that is emptiness;] the same is true of feelings, perceptions, impulses (cetana, volitions), and consciousness."
  • What in the world does it mean? "Form" (Rūpa) and "Emptiness" (Pali Suññatā, Sanskrit Śūnyatā), Alan Watts explains in the video below, go together, are inseparable, are relational, one revealing the other, making no sense without the other. The instant one comes into being (arises), the other necessarily comes into being at the same time, for one cannot be without the other, just as opposite pairs depend on one another: being/nonbeing, birth/death, origin/cessation, yin/yang, figure/background. One would be meaningless without the other, for the other provides contrast and give it its definition.
  • So it would, in fact, be more sensible (better for meaning) to translate this line as, "Form (shape, color) reveals (exactly is, is inseparable from, always goes with, is inseparably related to) emptiness..." or "Form (solidity, density, tangibility) is not (designated, defined, found) without emptiness (a hollow or void) because they co-arise mutually. "One (exhibits) brings out the fact of the other.]
  • What is an Enso? (Lion’s Roar)
And the same is true of [of the other four heaps/aggregates] sensations, perceptions, formations, and consciousnesses.
Herein [here within this Doctrine], Sali, all phenomena are impersonal. They bear the mark of being impersonal, empty: They are not produced and not stopped, not dirty and not clean, not missing something and not full.

So you see, Sali, in the impersonal, there is no form (no body composed of the Four Elements), nor sensations, nor perceptions, nor formations, nor consciousnesses.

Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva as "Avi"
There are no bases for these things [that are all dependently originated]: no eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind, nor the things that impinge on them: forms, sounds, smells, tastes, tangibles, or objects of mind, nor the things these sense depend on for their sensitivity: no element (sensitive tissue) of sight, and so forth, until we come to: no element (sensitive tissue) at the heart of consciousness.

[Why? It is because, after all, all things are impersonal, empty, not a self, so a bunch of them together don't make a self either).]

Devi Prajnaparamita of Java
Likewise, really, there is no ignorance, so there is no end of ignorance [since it doesn't really exist except as an illusion), and so forth, until we come to: There is no aging and death, no end of aging and death. There is no disappointment, no coming into being, no extinction, and no path to the extinction of disappointment. There is no knowing, no attainment, and there is no non-attainment of this realization.

And so, Sali, because of one's not-attaining anything that a being-bent-on-enlightenment, perfecting this wisdom that has gone beyond, dwells free of discursive thoughts. In their absence, one is free of trembling. One has overcome all that can upset and so realized nirvana.

Sophia (Library of Celsus)
All those who appear as supremely awakened teachers the three periods of time -- past, present, and future -- fully awake to this utmost realization, right and perfect awakening because they have perfected the wisdom that has gone beyond.

So, Sali, everyone should know this perfection of wisdom as a kind of mantra, the mantra of great knowing, the utmost mantra, the unequalled mantra, the allayer of all disappointment and ill. It's true; I mean, what could really go wrong except that it be an illusion?

By perfecting the wisdom that has gone beyond, this mantra becomes clear, and it runs like this:

Gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha!
("Gone, gone, gone beyond, gone altogether beyond, oh what an awakening, it's true!")

This is indeed the pith of perfect wisdom.

Self, in the ultimate analysis, does not exist
(Khenpo Sodargye's Teachings) If there is no self, who reincarnates? | National Taiwan U Q&A

*Alan Watts: "Form is emptiness, AND emptiness is form." Why?

We were happy just to CHANT it
Is enlightenment possible for everyone?
 
Icon of Holy Wisdom (Vologda)
(Dalai Lama) Can everyone be enlightened? Moksha ("liberation," vimutti, "freedom" from samsara and suffering, "deliverance," salvation) is of two kinds, two levels, a happy life here and now [with possibly a heavenly rebirth for moral behavior hereafter] or attaining liberating-insight and final emancipation here and now in this very life through moral behavior, stillness (samadhi, settled calm, concentration), and vipassana (comprehending and cultivating Dependent Origination sufficient in theory and complete in practice).
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