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Kuan Yin: Difference between revisions
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[[File:0001092 Kuan-Yin-willow-branch-poster-4345 600.jpeg|thumb|left|upright|alt=Old | [[File:0001092 Kuan-Yin-willow-branch-poster-4345 600.jpeg|thumb|left|upright|alt=Old Korean painting of Kuan Yin|''Avalokitesvara with Willow Branch'', hanging Silk Scroll, c. 1310, Goryeo Dynasty (Korea)]] | ||
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One of Kuan Yin’s principal emblems is the willow branch. According to Buddhist belief, she uses the willow branch to drive away illness and to sprinkle the nectar of wisdom and compassion upon all who invoke her assistance. In some Asian traditions prayers to cure disease were given while stroking the afflicted person with a willow branch. | One of Kuan Yin’s principal emblems is the willow branch. According to Buddhist belief, she uses the willow branch to drive away illness and to sprinkle the nectar of wisdom and compassion upon all who invoke her assistance. In some Asian traditions prayers to cure disease were given while stroking the afflicted person with a willow branch. | ||
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[[File:0000214 kuan-yin-on-a-dragon-2331AX 600.jpeg|thumb|upright|alt=Painting of Kuan Yin in Chinese style, riding a dragon in the midst of a turbulent sea|<translate><!--T:32--> Kuan Yin riding a dragon. This image also represents Kuan Yin’s mastery of the water element, in the same way that Mother Mary’s mastery of the water element is depicted in images of her with the moon beneath her feet.</translate>]] | |||
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One of Kuan Yin’s principal emblems is the willow branch. According to Buddhist belief, she uses the willow branch to drive away illness and to sprinkle the nectar of wisdom and compassion upon all who invoke her assistance. In some Asian traditions prayers to cure disease were given while stroking the afflicted person with a willow branch. | One of Kuan Yin’s principal emblems is the willow branch. According to Buddhist belief, she uses the willow branch to drive away illness and to sprinkle the nectar of wisdom and compassion upon all who invoke her assistance. In some Asian traditions prayers to cure disease were given while stroking the afflicted person with a willow branch. | ||
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In Chinese lore the dragon and the [[phoenix]] bird together represent the yang and yin of the whirling T’ai Chi. So the image of Kuan Yin riding a dragon shows her having dominion over that dragon in the sense of being the master of it. | In Chinese lore the dragon and the [[phoenix]] bird together represent the yang and yin of the whirling T’ai Chi. So the image of Kuan Yin riding a dragon shows her having dominion over that dragon in the sense of being the master of it. | ||
== Miao Shan == <!--T:9--> | |||
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[[File:The Tiger Carries Off Miao Shan.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Painting in Chinese style of Miao Shan | [[File:The Tiger Carries Off Miao Shan.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Painting in Chinese style of Miao Shan on the back of a tiger|<translate><!--T:57--> Miao Shan being carried off by a tiger</translate>]] | ||
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It is widely believed that Kuan Yin took embodiment as the third daughter of Miao Chuang Wang, identified with the Chou dynasty, a ruler of a northern Chinese kingdom about 700 <small>B</small>.<small>C</small>. The king had seized his throne by force of arms, and he desperately desired a male heir to succeed him. Instead he had three daughters. The youngest, Miao Shan, was a devout child who “scrupulously observed all of the tenets of the Buddhist doctrines. Virtuous living seemed, indeed, to be to her a second nature.”<ref>This account is taken from Edward T. C. Werner, ''Myths and Legends of China'' (London: Harrap, 1922), chapter X.</ref> | |||
She recognized the impermanence of riches and glory and desired nothing more than “a peaceful retreat on a lone mountain.” She told her sisters that “If some day I can reach a high degree of goodness.... I will rescue my father and mother, and bring them to Heaven; I will save the miserable and afflicted on earth; I will convert the spirits which do evil, and cause them to do good.” | |||
Miao Shan’s father determined to find a husband for her who would be capable of ruling the kingdom. The king explained his plans and told her that all his hopes rested on her. Miao Shan said that she did not wish to marry because she desired to attain perfection and Buddhahood. | |||
The king was angry. “Has anyone known the daughter of a king to become a nun?” he asked. Then he demanded that she marry an academician or a military man at once. Recognizing that she could not openly disobey her father’s orders, Miao Shan said that she would immediately marry a physician since she could then still become a Buddha. Outraged, the king ordered his officer to take her to the Queen’s garden “and let her perish there of cold.” | |||
Miao Shan retired to the garden glad to exchange the pleasures of the palace for the sweetness of solitude. Her parents, sisters and the ladies of the court tried in vain to dissuade Miao Shan from her purpose. Instead she asked her father’s permission to live at the Nunnery of the White Bird. The king consented but sent strict orders to the nunnery that the nuns should do all in their power to persuade Miao Shan to leave. | |||
The nuns tried but failed. They then decided to put Miao Shan in charge of the kitchen where, if she failed, they could dismiss her. Miao Shan so joyously agreed that she touched the heart of the Master of Heaven who ordered the spirits of heaven to assist her in her duties. | |||
The Superior of the nunnery then asked the King to recall his daughter. The king sent five thousand soldiers to surround the Nunnery of the White Bird and burn it to the ground along with the nuns. The nuns invoked the aid of Heaven but said to Miao Shan: “It is you who have brought upon us this terrible disaster.” | |||
Miao Shan agreed that it was so. She knelt and prayed to Heaven and then pricked the roof of her mouth with her bamboo hairpin and spat the flowing blood toward heaven. Great clouds immediately gathered and showers put out the fire threatening the nunnery. The nuns threw themselves on their knees and thanked Miao Shan for saving their lives. | |||
The king, informed of this miracle, was enraged and ordered the chief of the guard to immediately behead Miao Shan. As the execution was to begin, the sky became overcast, but a bright light surrounded Miao Shan. When the executioner’s sword fell upon her neck, it broke. A spear thrust at her fell to pieces. | |||
The king ordered that she be strangled with a silken cord. But a tiger leaped into the execution grounds, dispersed the executioners, put the inanimate body of Miao Shan on his back and disappeared into the pine forest. | |||
Miao Shan’s soul, which was not hurt, was taken to the lower world, hell. She prayed and hell was transformed into a paradise. She was sent back to earth to resume her life there. Carried on a lotus flower to the island of P’ootoo, near Nimpo, she lived for nine years healing the diseased and saving mariners from shipwreck. | |||
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