Avalokiteśvara

Names
Sanskrit:	अवलोकितेश्वर
IAST:
Tibetan script:	སྤྱན་རས་གཟིགས
Tibetan:	Chenrezig
Wylie:	spyan-ras-gzigs
(See also Kuan Yin)

Avalokiteśvara or Avalokiteshvara (Sanskrit, lit. "Lord who looks down") is the bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. He is the most widely revered bodhisattva in Buddhism. In East Asia, the bodhisattva is known as Kuan Yin or Kannon, both of which are female manifestations. In Tibetan Buddhism, Avalokiteśvara is known as Chenrezig, and also as Padmapāni ("Holder of the Lotus"). In Mongolia, he is Xongsim Bodisadv-a as well as Nidüber Üjegči. In the Theravada tradition of Southeast Asia, Avalokiteśvara is known as Lokesvara ("Lord of the World").

Tibetan Buddhism also relates Chenrezig to the foremost mantra, the six-syllable Om Mani Padme Hum. Thus Chenrezig is also called Shadakshari ("Lord of the Six Syllables").

The Maha Karuna Dharani Sutra, also known as the Great Compassion Mantra, includes the 82 syllable mantra spoken by Avalokiteśvara to the assembly of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, and extols the merits of chanting the mantra. This mantra is popular in China, Japan and Taiwan.

Etymology

The name Avalokiteśvara is made of four parts: the verbal prefix ava, which means "down"; the verb lok, which means "to look"; the suffix ita, which changes the verb avalok into a noun, "one who looks down"; and finally īśvara, "lord" or "master". In accordance with the rules of sound combination, ishvara becomes eshvara. Combined, the four parts mean "Lord Who Gazes Downward". The name emphasizes the bodhisattva's primary characteristic, compassion.

Origin

Western scholarship

Western scholars have not reached a consensus on the origin of the reverence for Avalokiteśvara. Some have suggested that Avalokiteśvara, along with many other supernatural beings in Buddhism, was a borrowing or absorption by Mahayana Buddhism of one or more Hindu deities, in particular Shiva and Vishnu. The appellation 'Īśvara, "lord", is sometimes used to refer to Shiva and Vishnu as well as Avalokiteśvara. Avalokiteśvara'' itself is a Sanskrit word, supporting a common origin in cultural Hinduism. Representations of these deities may have been inspirations for some of Avalokiteśvara's depictions in art.

Mahayana account

According to Mahayana doctrine, Avalokiteśvara is the bodhisattva who has made a great vow to listen to the prayers of all sentient beings in times of difficulty, and to postpone his own Buddhahood until he has assisted every being on earth in achieving nirvana. Mahayana sutras associated with Avalokiteśvara include the Heart Sutra (as disciple of the historical Buddha Shakyamuni) and the Lotus Sutra, particularly the 25th chapter which is sometimes referred to as the Avalokiteśvara Sutra.

Vajrayana account

In the Tibetan tradition, Avalokiteśvara is seen as arising from two sources. One is the relative source, where in a previous eon (kalpa) a devoted, compassionate Buddhist monk became a bodhisattva, transformed in the present kalpa into Avalokiteśvara. That is not in conflict, however, with the ultimate source, which is Avalokiteśvara as the universal manifestation of compassion. The bodhisattva is viewed as the anthropomorphised vehicle for the actual deity, serving to bring about a better understanding of Avalokiteśvara to humankind.

The thousand arms of Avalokiteśvara

One prominent Buddhist story tells of Avalokiteśvara vowing to never rest until he had freed all sentient beings from samsara. Despite strenuous effort, he realizes that still many unhappy beings were yet to be saved. After struggling to comprehend the needs of so many, his head splits into eleven pieces. Amitabha Buddha, seeing his plight, gives him eleven heads with which to hear the cries of the suffering. Upon hearing these cries and comprehending them, Avalokiteśvara attempts to reach out to all those who needed aid, but found that his two arms shattered into pieces. Once more, Amitabha comes to his aid and invests him with a thousand arms with which to aid the suffering multitudes.

Many Himalayan versions of the tale include eight arms with which Avalokiteśvara skilfully upholds the dharma, each possessing its own particular implement, while more Chinese-specific ones give varying accounts of this number.

Tibetan Buddhist beliefs concerning Chenrezig

Avalokiteśvara (known as Chenrezig in Tibetan) is an important deity in Tibetan Buddhism, and is regarded as a Buddha. The Dalai Lama is considered by the Gelugpa sect and many other Tibetan Buddhists to be the primary earthly manifestation of Chenrezig.

Other manifestations popular in Tibet include Sahasra-bhuja (a form with a thousand arms) and Ekādaśamukha (a form with eleven faces).

In Tibetan Buddhism, White Tara acts as the consort and energizer of Avalokiteśvara/Chenrezig. According to popular belief, Tara came into existence from a single tear shed by Chenrezig. When the tear fell to the ground it created a lake, and a lotus opening in the lake revealed Tara. In another version, Tara emerges from the heart of Chenrezig. In either version it is Chenrezig's outpouring of compassion which manifests Tara as a being.

Manifestations

Avalokiteśvara has an extraordinarily large number of manifestations in different forms. Some of the more commonly mentioned forms include:

Sanskrit	Chinese	Japanese	Meaning	Description
Amoghapāśa	不空羂索	fukūkenjaku	Holder of the Infallible Lasso
Bhrkuti			Fierce-Eyed
Cintāmani-cakra	如意輪	nyoirin	Holding the Jewel and Wheel	Holds the jewel Cintamani
Ekādaśamukha	十一面	jūichimen	Eleven-Faced	Additional faces to teach all in 10 planes of existence
Hayagrīva	馬頭	bato	Horse-Headed	Wrathful form; simultaneously bodhisattva and a Wisdom King
Pāndaravāsinī	白衣	byakue	White and Pure	the direct forbear of Guan Yin
Parnaśabarī			Cloaked With Leaves
Rakta Shadaksharī			Six Red Syllables
Sahasra-bhuja Sahasra-netra	千手千眼	senjūsengan	Thousand-Armed, Thousand-Eyed	Very popular form: see and helps all
Śvetabhagavatī			White-Bodied
Udaka-śrī			Water Auspicious

External links

Avalokiteshvara - The Buddha of Compassion

Bodhisattvas

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