Kwan (Quan) Yin

[L. Love]

This beautiful gentle Goddess is one I call upon frequently.  Her energy is so strong and yet so gentle and loving.

I always associate pink with her.

For those unfamiliar, here is a little more information about her.

The name "Kwan Yin" is a derivation of a Chinese name for the goddess that is this energy of motherly compassion. This is really a description of her energy ("she who hears the cries of the
people") which has become accepted as her name on earth. Although there are variations, the
feeling is the same. She responds to the heartfelt needs and anguish of the people of earth
regardless of background or belief.

Being one of the "mother" goddesses, she is especially connected to those in need of any kind of help, be they sick, lost, frightened or simply in unfortunate circumstances. She is a great protector
and benefactor of the weak, the ill and especially the children and the babies. Many erect alters to
Kwan Yin, the "bestower of children" -- the one who hears the prayers of anyone wanting to
conceive a child -- to increase their fertility. There is a connection with the care of souls, both during
birth and after death. Taoists invoke her presence to free newly departed souls from the judgement
of the underworld. She guards the souls of the newborn and guides them to their new parents.
It is said in ancient writings that she was embodied as Miao Shan (whose name means "wonderfully kind one"), a Chinese princess who lived about 700 BC. This legendary Buddhist
saint is said to have spent nine years living on an island off the coast of China, healing, meditating
and saving sailors from shipwreck. This island became a place of worship and pilgrimage for
many, especially in one of the caves there, which was transformed into a shrine dedicated to Kwan
Yin.

In depictions she is shown with pearls of illumination in one hand; and with the other she pours out "sweet dew", the nectar of Wisdom and Compassion from a small vase, blessing all with
physical and spiritual peace. Her cupped hands are a symbol of the womb and the universal
feminine principal. She sometimes holds a sheaf of ripe rice, a metaphor for sustenance
supplied. The dragon is often seen with her, a symbol of wisdom, strength, and the power of divine
transformation. A Divine Mother, always there are children around her or being held by her. There
are two small attendants that show up periodically, a "young man of excellent capacities" and the
"daughter of the Dragon King," both related to the legendary Miao Shan. As reference to fishermen,
sailors and water, she can be seen on a boat or a lotus flower crossing the sea, rising from the
sea on the back of a dragon. Other things related to her are a dove, a scroll of prayers which are
the teachings of Buddha, a rosary of white crystal beads showing the rounds of rebirth, and a
willow spray with which she sprinkles the divine nectar of life.

[L. Love]

The Origin of Kwan Yin, or Miao Shan

There are many legends about the origin of Kuan Yin, but this in one of the most popular.

In 7th century China, a king had three daughters, the youngest named Miao-Shan. At the time of Miao-Shan's birth, the earth trembled and a wonderful fragrance and flower blossoms sprang up
around the land. Many of the local people said they saw the signs of a holy incarnation on her body.

While the king and queen were amazed by this blessing. Unfortunately, they were corrupt and saw little value in a child who appeared pure and kind. When Miao-Shan got older, the king wanted to
find a husband for her. She told her father she would only marry if by so doing she would be able to
help alleviate the suffering of all mankind.

The king became enraged when he heard of her devotion to helping others, and forced her to slave away at menial tasks. Her mother, the queen, and her two sisters admonished her, all to no avail.

In desperation, the king decided to let her pursue her religious calling at a monastery, but ordered the nuns there to treat her so badly she would change her mind. She was forced to collect wood
and water, and tend a garden for the kitchen. They thought this would be impossible, since the
land around the monastery was barren. To everyone's amazement, the garden flourished, even in
winter, and a spring welled up out of nowhere next to the kitchen.

When the king heard about these miracles, he decided that he was going to kill Miao-Shan. After all, the nuns who were supposed to have tormented her. But as his henchmen arrived at the
monastery, a spirit came out of a fog of clouds and carried her away to safety on a remote island.
She lived there on her own for many years, pursuing a life of religious dedication.

Several years later, her father became seriously ill. He was unable to sleep or eat; his doctors believed he would certainly die soon. As he was about to pass, a monk came to visit the king. The
monk told the king he could cure the monarch, but he would have to grind up the arms and eyes of
one free from hatred to make the medicine. The king thought this was impossible, but the monk
assured him that there was a Bodhisattva living in the king's domain who would gladly surrender
those items if asked.

The king sent an envoy to find this unknown bodhisattva. When the envoy made the request, Miao-Shan gladly cut out her eyes and severed her arms. The envoy returned and the monk made
the medicine. The king instantly recovered. When the king thanked the monk; he chastised the king
by saying, "You should thank the one who gave her eyes and arms." Suddenly, the monk
disappeared. The king believed this was divine intervention and after ordering a coach prepared
headed off with his family to find and thank the unknown bodhisattva.

When the royal family arrived they realized it is was their daughter, Miao-Shan, who had made the sacrifice. Miao-Shan spoke up, "Mindful of my father's love, I have repaid him with my eyes and
arms." With eyes full of tears and hearts full of shame, the family gathered to hug Miao-Shan. As
they did so auspicious clouds formed around Miao-Shan. The earth trembled, flowers rained
down, and a holy manifestation of the Thousand Eyes and Thousand Arms appeared hovering in
the air.

And then, the bodhisattva was gone. To honor Miao-Shan the royal family built a shrine on the spot, which is known as Fragrant Mountain.

[L. Love]

[Zephonith Serpent Woman]

WOW

Thank you, dear sister - this is amazing! My very good friend is a devotee, and she will just love it.

Here is a little something about the Goddess )O(

[L. Love]

Quan Yin, as a true Enlightened One, or Bodhisattva, vowed to remain in the earthly realms and not enter the heavenly worlds until all other living things have completed their own enlightenment and thus become liberated from the pain-filled cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.

There are numerous legends that recount the miracles which Quan Yin performs to help those who call on Her. Like Artemis, She is a virgin Goddess who protects women, offers them a religious life as an alternative to marriage, and grants children to those who desire them.

The Goddess of Mercy is unique among the heavenly hierarchy in that She is so utterly free from pride or vengefulness that She remains reluctant to punish even those to whom a severe lesson might be appropriate. Individuals who could be sentenced to dreadful penance in other systems can attain rebirth and renewal by simply calling upon Her graces with utter and absolute sincerity. It is said that, even for one kneeling beneath the executioner's sword already raised to strike, a single heartfelt cry to Bodhisattva Quan Yin will cause the blade to fall shattered to the ground.

The many stories and anecdotes featuring this Goddess serve to convey the idea of an enlightened being who embodies the attributes of an all pervasive, all consuming, unwavering loving compassion and who is accessible to everyone. Quan Yin counsels us by Her actions to cultivate within ourselves those particular refined qualities that all beings are said to naturally possess in some vestigial form.

Contemplating the Goddess of Mercy involves little dogma or ritual. The simplicity of this gentle being and Her standards tends to lead Her devotees towards becoming more compassionate and loving themselves. A deep sense of service to all fellow beings naturally follows any devotion to the Goddess.

The name Kuan Shih Yin, as she is often called, means literally "the one who regards, looks on, or hears the sounds of the world." According to legend, Quan Yin was about to enter heaven but paused on the threshold as the cries of the world reached her ears.


Scholars believe that the Buddhist monk and translator Kumarajiva was the first to refer to the female form of Quan Yin in his Chinese translation of the Lotus Sutra in 406 A.D. Of the thirty-three appearances of the bodhisattva referred to in his translation, seven are female. (Devoted Chinese and Japanese Buddhists have since come to associate the number thirty-three with Quan Yin.)

Although Quan Yin was still being portrayed as a male as late as the tenth century, with the introduction of Tantric Buddhism into China in the eighth century during the T'ang dynasty, the image of the celestial bodhisattva as a beautiful white-robed goddess was predominant and the devotional cult surrounding her became increasingly popular. By the ninth century there was a statue of Quan Yin in every Buddhist monastery in China.

Despite the controversy over the origins of Kuan Yin as a feminine being, the depiction of a bodhisattva as both 'god' and 'goddess' is not inconsistent with Buddhist doctrine. The scriptures explain that a bodhisattva has the power to embody in any form--male, female, child, even animal depending on the type of being he is seeking to save. As the Lotus Sutra relates, the bodhisattva Kuan Shih Yin, "by resort to a variety of shapes, travels in the world, conveying the beings to salvation."

The twelfth-century legend of the Buddhist saint Miao Shan, the Chinese princess who lived in about 700 B.C. and is widely believed to have been Quan Yin, reinforced the image of the bodhisattva as a female. During the twelfth century Buddhist monks settled on P'u-t'o Shan--the sacred island-mountain in the Chusan Archipelago off the coast of Chekiang where Miao Shan is said to have lived for nine years, healing and saving sailors from shipwreck--and devotion to Quan Yin spread throughout northern China.

This picturesque island became the chief center of worship of the compassionate Saviouress; crowds of pilgrims would journey from the remotest places in China and even from Manchuria, Mongolia and Tibet to attend stately services there. At one time there were more than a hundred temples on the island and over one thousand monks. The lore surrounding P'u-t'o island recounts numerous appearances and miracles performed by Quan Yin, who, it is believed, reveals herself to the faithful in a certain cave on the island.

In the Pure Land sect of Buddhism, Quan Yin forms part of a ruling triad that is often depicted in temples and is a popular theme in Buddhist art. In the center is the Buddha of Boundless Light, Amitabha (Chinese, A-mi-t'o Fo; Japanese, Amida). To his right is the bodhisattva of strength or power, Mahasthamaprapta, and to his left is Kuan Yin, personifying his endless mercy.

In Buddhist theology Quan Yin is sometimes depicted as the captain of the "Bark of Salvation," guiding souls to Amitabha's Western Paradise, or Pure Land--the land of bliss where souls may be reborn to receive continued instruction toward the goal of enlightenment and perfection. The journey to Pure Land is frequently represented in woodcuts showing boats full of Amitabha's followers under Kuan Yin's captainship.

Amitabha, a beloved figure in the eyes of Buddhists desiring to be reborn in his Western Paradise and to obtain freedom from the wheel of rebirth, is said to be, in a mystical or spiritual sense, the father of Quan Yin. Legends of the Mahayana School recount that Avalokitesvara was 'born' from a ray of white light which Amitabha emitted from his right eye as he was lost in ecstasy.

Thus Avalokitesvara, or Quan Yin, is regarded as the "reflex" of Amitabha'a further emanation or embodiment of "maha karuna (great compassion), the quality which Amitabha himself embodies in the highest sense. Many figures of Quan Yin can be identified by the presence of a small image of Amitabha in her crown. It is believed that as the merciful redemptress Quan Yin expresses Amitabha's compassion in a more direct and personal way and prayers to her are answered more quickly.

The iconography of Quan Yin depicts her in many forms, each one revealing a unique aspect of her merciful presence. As the sublime Goddess of Mercy whose beauty, grace and compassion have come to represent the ideal of womanhood in the East, she is frequently portrayed as a slender woman in flowing white robes who carries in her left hand a white lotus, symbol of purity. Ornaments may adorn her form, symbolizing her attainment as a bodhisattva, or she may be pictured without them as a sign of her great virtue.

Quan Yin's presence is widespread through her images as the "bestower of children" which are found in homes and temples. A great white veil covers her entire form and she may be seated on a lotus. She is often portrayed with a child in her arms, near her feet, or on her knees, or with several children about her. In this role, she is also referred to as the "white-robed honored one." Sometimes to her right and left are her two attendants, Shan-tsíai Tung-tsi, the "young man of excellent capacities," and Lung-wang Nu, the "daughter of the Dragon-king."

Kuan Yin is also known as patron bodhisattva of P'u-t'o Shan, mistress of the Southern Sea and patroness of fishermen. As such she is shown crossing the sea seated or standing on a lotus or with her feet on the head of a dragon.

Like Avalokitesvara she is also depicted with a thousand arms and varying numbers of eyes, hands and heads, sometimes with an eye in the palm of each hand, and is commonly called "the thousand-arms, thousand-eyes" bodhisattva. In this form she represents the omnipresent mother, looking in all directions simultaneously, sensing the afflictions of humanity and extending her many arms to alleviate them with infinite expressions of her mercy.

Symbols characteristically associated with Kuan Yin are a willow branch, with which she sprinkles the divine nectar of life; a precious vase symbolizing the nectar of compassion and wisdom, the hallmarks of a bodhisattva; a dove, representing fecundity; a book or scroll of prayers which she holds in her hand, representing the dharma (teaching) of the Buddha or the sutra (Buddhist text) which Miao Shan is said to have constantly recited; and a rosary adorning her neck with which she calls upon the Buddha's for succor.

Images of Avalokitesvara often show him holding a rosary; descriptions of his birth say he was born with a white crystal rosary in his right hand and a white lotus in his left. It is taught that the beads represent all living beings and the turning of the beads symbolizes that Avalokitesvara is leading them out of their state of misery and repeated rounds of rebirth into nirvana.

Today Quan Yin is worshipped by Taoists as well as Mahayana Buddhists--especially in Taiwan, Japan, Korea and once again in her homeland of China, where the practice of Buddhism had been suppressed by the Communists during the Cultural Revolution (1966-69). She is the protectress of women, sailors, merchants, craftsmen, and those under criminal prosecution, and is invoked particularly by those desiring progeny. Beloved as a mother figure and divine mediatrix who is very close to the daily affairs of her devotees, Kuan Yin's role as Buddhist Madonna has been compared to that of Mary the mother of Jesus in the West.

It is in truth the same soul.