Kuan Yin/en: Difference between revisions
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<languages /> | <languages /> | ||
[[File:0000210 kuan-yin-from-nelson-atkins-museum-2295AX 600.jpeg|thumb]] | [[File:0000210 kuan-yin-from-nelson-atkins-museum-2295AX 600.jpeg|thumb|alt=Statue of Kuan Yin, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri|Statue of Kuan Yin, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri]] | ||
'''Kuan Yin''' is revered in Buddhism as the compassionate Saviouress, the Bodhisattva of Mercy. Beloved as a mother figure and divine mediatrix who is close to the daily affairs of her devotees, Kuan Yin’s role as Buddhist Madonna has been compared to that of [[Mother Mary|Mary the mother of Jesus]] in the West. Throughout the Far East, devotees seek her guidance and succor in every area of life. Altars dedicated to Kuan Yin can be found in temples, homes and wayside grottoes. | '''Kuan Yin''' is revered in Buddhism as the compassionate Saviouress, the Bodhisattva of Mercy. Beloved as a mother figure and divine mediatrix who is close to the daily affairs of her devotees, Kuan Yin’s role as Buddhist Madonna has been compared to that of [[Mother Mary|Mary the mother of Jesus]] in the West. Throughout the Far East, devotees seek her guidance and succor in every area of life. Altars dedicated to Kuan Yin can be found in temples, homes and wayside grottoes. | ||
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== Traditions in the East == | == Traditions in the East == | ||
[[File:0001092 Kuan-Yin-willow-branch-poster-4345 600.jpeg|thumb|upright]] | [[File:0001092 Kuan-Yin-willow-branch-poster-4345 600.jpeg|thumb|left|upright|alt=Old Chinese painting of Kuan Yin]] | ||
For centuries, Kuan Yin has epitomized the great ideal of Mahayana Buddhism in her role as [[bodhisattva]]—literally “a being of bodhi, or enlightenment,” who is destined to become a [[Buddha]] but has foregone the bliss of [[nirvana]] with a vow to save all children of God. Kuan Yin has taken the bodhisattva vow to work with the evolutions of this planet and this solar system to show them the way of the teachings of the ascended masters. | For centuries, Kuan Yin has epitomized the great ideal of Mahayana Buddhism in her role as [[bodhisattva]]—literally “a being of bodhi, or enlightenment,” who is destined to become a [[Buddha]] but has foregone the bliss of [[nirvana]] with a vow to save all children of God. Kuan Yin has taken the bodhisattva vow to work with the evolutions of this planet and this solar system to show them the way of the teachings of the ascended masters. | ||
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In Buddhist tradition, Kuan Yin is sometimes depicted as the captain of the “Bark of Salvation,” ferrying souls across the rough sea of their karma 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. | In Buddhist tradition, Kuan Yin is sometimes depicted as the captain of the “Bark of Salvation,” ferrying souls across the rough sea of their karma 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. | ||
[[File:The Tiger Carries Off Miao Shan.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Painting in Chinese style of Miao Shan riding on the back of a tiger|In some of the legends of Miao Shan, she was carried by a supernatural tiger to Fragrant Mountain]] | |||
== Miao Shan == | == Miao Shan == | ||
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<blockquote>For when aeons pass and men are not moved by the flame that you hold, remember that you might wish that you had chosen another easier or more gratifying way. As the centuries pass, the thousands of years and the cycles, and the same individuals whom you have nourished by the power of your heart flame are involved in the same involvements in the world, you find that you cry out to God and say, “O L<small>ORD</small>, how long, how long will this wayward generation be in coming to the knowledge of their divinity and of the love of the sacred fire that we have held for so long?”<ref>Kuan Yin, “The Quality of Mercy for the Regeneration of the Youth of the World,” ''Pearls of Wisdom'', 1982, Book II, pp. ''120–21''.</ref></blockquote> | <blockquote>For when aeons pass and men are not moved by the flame that you hold, remember that you might wish that you had chosen another easier or more gratifying way. As the centuries pass, the thousands of years and the cycles, and the same individuals whom you have nourished by the power of your heart flame are involved in the same involvements in the world, you find that you cry out to God and say, “O L<small>ORD</small>, how long, how long will this wayward generation be in coming to the knowledge of their divinity and of the love of the sacred fire that we have held for so long?”<ref>Kuan Yin, “The Quality of Mercy for the Regeneration of the Youth of the World,” ''Pearls of Wisdom'', 1982, Book II, pp. ''120–21''.</ref></blockquote> | ||
[[File:100598M-medres.jpg|thumb|Kuan Yin]] | [[File:100598M-medres.jpg|thumb|alt=Kuan Yin, seated|Kuan Yin]] | ||
== The mercy flame == | == The mercy flame == | ||
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Kuan Yin reminds us, “When you feel the need of greater strength, of illumination, of greater purity and healing, remember that all of these qualities come to you from the heart of God by the power of the flame of mercy itself. For in forgiveness there comes renewed opportunity to fulfill the Law, and without forgiveness little progress can be made.”<ref>Kuan Yin, “Karma, Mercy, and the Law,” ''Pearls of Wisdom'', 1982, Book II, p. ''106''.</ref> Therefore, in order to reenter the walk with God, we need forgiveness. | Kuan Yin reminds us, “When you feel the need of greater strength, of illumination, of greater purity and healing, remember that all of these qualities come to you from the heart of God by the power of the flame of mercy itself. For in forgiveness there comes renewed opportunity to fulfill the Law, and without forgiveness little progress can be made.”<ref>Kuan Yin, “Karma, Mercy, and the Law,” ''Pearls of Wisdom'', 1982, Book II, p. ''106''.</ref> Therefore, in order to reenter the walk with God, we need forgiveness. | ||
[[File:0000165_kuan-yin-by-ruth-hawkins-2108AX_600.jpeg|thumb|Kuan Yin, by Ruth Hawkins]] | [[File:0000165_kuan-yin-by-ruth-hawkins-2108AX_600.jpeg|thumb|alt=Painting of Kuan Yin by Ruth Hawkins|Kuan Yin, by Ruth Hawkins]] | ||
== The need for forgiveness == | == The need for forgiveness == | ||
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== The need to forgive == | == The need to forgive == | ||
[[File:0000214 kuan-yin-on-a-dragon-2331AX 600.jpeg|thumb|Kuan Yin riding a dragon]] | [[File:0000214 kuan-yin-on-a-dragon-2331AX 600.jpeg|thumb|alt=Painting of Kuan Yin in Chinese style, riding a dragon in the midst of a turbulent sea|Kuan Yin riding a dragon]] | ||
If you expect forgiveness, then you must be ready to forgive seventy times seven, as the Master Jesus taught. “In small ways and in great ways, mankind are tested,” Kuan Yin says, “And the bigotry that remains in the consciousness of some is also a lack of forgiveness. Those who cannot forgive their fellowmen because they do not think or worship as they do—these have the hardness of heart that encases the flame of love and also prevents the flow of wisdom.”<ref>Kuan Yin, “Mercy: The Fire that Tries Every Man’s Works,” ''Pearls of Wisdom'', 1982, Book II, p. ''95''.</ref> | If you expect forgiveness, then you must be ready to forgive seventy times seven, as the Master Jesus taught. “In small ways and in great ways, mankind are tested,” Kuan Yin says, “And the bigotry that remains in the consciousness of some is also a lack of forgiveness. Those who cannot forgive their fellowmen because they do not think or worship as they do—these have the hardness of heart that encases the flame of love and also prevents the flow of wisdom.”<ref>Kuan Yin, “Mercy: The Fire that Tries Every Man’s Works,” ''Pearls of Wisdom'', 1982, Book II, p. ''95''.</ref> | ||