Legend Of Guan-Yin Goddess Of Mercy In China
Posted: Fri Nov 30, 2012 11:37 am
Hi all,
Today I read a story about Guan-Yin the goddess of metta that so new to me (there are so many Guanyin stories indeed), so amazing that I would like to share with you all.
Guan Yin's Prayer : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=123dn_UgJTE" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
*****************
Chinese Celadon Jade Carved Figure of Guanyin
Story of Guan-yin The Goddess Of Mercy-佛門網 :開啟佛教大門 ...
[www.absolutechinatours.com/...of-Guanyin-in-China.html - Cached]
In Chinese folk legend, Guanyin(Chinese: 观音; pinyin: Guānyīn) literally means "observing the sounds" (Guanyin, commonly known in English as the Goddess of Mercy, would always observe all the sounds of the earth; boast great mercy and compassion to the ordinary persons; help the needy and relieve the distressed), who was born on the nineteenth of the second lunar month, achieved enlightenment on the nineteenth of the sixth lunar month and achieved nirvana on the nineteenth of the ninth lunar month.
It is generally accepted that Guanyin originated as the Sanskrit Avalokiteśvara from India, which is her male form, whose image has remolded according to people’s own understanding and wishes around China. Guanyin was originally male and dwelled on an Indian Mountain. When he came to China, he gradually became a female and was called “Goddess Guanyin”. In Buddhist scriptures, Guanyin has vast magic powers and is capable of saving people by listening to their voices and liberating them from sufferings. As a result, people contribute their piety to Guanyin. However, most of them are concerned with their practical benefits and expect Guanyin, whose image precisely meets such psychology, to assist solving their present problems instead of waiting to get salvation after death, which can be considered as the common characteristics of religious beliefs among the Chinese.
Representation of Guanyin in China
The images of Guanyin are diversified in different regions of China. She has been often depicted as a beautiful lady, including Thousand Armed Guanyin(千手观音), Children-Sending Guanyin(送子观音Guanyin appears as an image of holding a child on one of her arms), and so on. Another frequent image of Guanyin is that she usually holds a lotus blossom or a willow twig.
CHINESE CARVED JADE GUANYIN FIGURE
Famous Guanyin in China
Guanyin is enshrined from the Potala Palace (布达拉宫, Budala Gong) of Tibet in the West to Putuo Mountain(普陀山, Pu Tuo Shan) of Zhejiang Province in the East Sea (Potala and Putuo are all named after the pronunciation of the dwelling of Guanyin).
Guanyin Statue in Potala Palace, Lhasa, Tibet
One famous story about the show-up of Guanyin(观音现身)dates back to Tang
Dynasty during the reign of Emperor Wenzong(唐文宗, 827~840A.D.). It is
known that the capital of Tang Dynasty is Chang’an(Xi’an nowadays), a
great city in the west of China, a city that turns its face to the
empires of Inner Asia. Emperor Wenzong has a special hobby of eating
clams, ordered clams for three of his five meals, each and every day.
However, based on the geographic position of Xian, it was a great
barrier to bring clams from the sea to the imperial palace. Such a
delicacy the emperor ate was through the bitter labors of thousands.
To ensure the freshness of the clams, every day in the dim light
before dawn, clams would be gathered by the ocean fishermen of
Zhejiang and then packed by porters in cold seaweed, wet sand and ice,
then rapidly loaded on relay mounts that sped the Imperial highway.
Obviously, it is a great sacrifice of the labors only to please the
emperor’s eating preference.
Day after day, the laborers suffered a lot from the process of hard
work; many of them are living in misery, until one incident shocked
the entire palace. One day, the Royal chef discovered an unusual clam
in grand size. The clam was enormous-twenty times the usual shell,-
surely an imperial clam meant for the Imperial Palate. As the Clam
Shell Opener stepped up to pry the shell apart, however, he found the
shell sealed like iron; the clam was as tight as a rock crevice on the
slope of Mount Tai.
Emperor Wenzong heard about this and commanded the opener to let him
take a closer look. All of a sudden, as if by signal, the clam began
to open automatically. The emperor gasped at what he saw. There,
standing inside, was a finely detailed, miniature, astonishingly sweet
statue of the Goddess of Mercy, the Bodhisattva Guanyin, exquisitely
carved. What surprised him most is what Guanyin said by her lovely
expression, “The laborers have to make great efforts for your own
pleasure; both harass the people and waste money”. Then the Emperor
realized that Guanyin –the Buddhist Goddess-who hears even the
smallest call for mercy from even the tiniest voice in the empire-had
taken pity on the boat men, the fisher folk, the portage men and relay
riders, even the royal cooks-all who served his royal taste and royal
whim. He realized that the purpose that Guanyin show up in the grand
clam is to warn him; she would watch over mankind in times of fear and
danger. (Partly Refer to "In the Realm of the Gods: Lands, Myths, and
Legends of China").
************
Today I read a story about Guan-Yin the goddess of metta that so new to me (there are so many Guanyin stories indeed), so amazing that I would like to share with you all.
Guan Yin's Prayer : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=123dn_UgJTE" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
*****************
Chinese Celadon Jade Carved Figure of Guanyin
Story of Guan-yin The Goddess Of Mercy-佛門網 :開啟佛教大門 ...
[www.absolutechinatours.com/...of-Guanyin-in-China.html - Cached]
In Chinese folk legend, Guanyin(Chinese: 观音; pinyin: Guānyīn) literally means "observing the sounds" (Guanyin, commonly known in English as the Goddess of Mercy, would always observe all the sounds of the earth; boast great mercy and compassion to the ordinary persons; help the needy and relieve the distressed), who was born on the nineteenth of the second lunar month, achieved enlightenment on the nineteenth of the sixth lunar month and achieved nirvana on the nineteenth of the ninth lunar month.
It is generally accepted that Guanyin originated as the Sanskrit Avalokiteśvara from India, which is her male form, whose image has remolded according to people’s own understanding and wishes around China. Guanyin was originally male and dwelled on an Indian Mountain. When he came to China, he gradually became a female and was called “Goddess Guanyin”. In Buddhist scriptures, Guanyin has vast magic powers and is capable of saving people by listening to their voices and liberating them from sufferings. As a result, people contribute their piety to Guanyin. However, most of them are concerned with their practical benefits and expect Guanyin, whose image precisely meets such psychology, to assist solving their present problems instead of waiting to get salvation after death, which can be considered as the common characteristics of religious beliefs among the Chinese.
Representation of Guanyin in China
The images of Guanyin are diversified in different regions of China. She has been often depicted as a beautiful lady, including Thousand Armed Guanyin(千手观音), Children-Sending Guanyin(送子观音Guanyin appears as an image of holding a child on one of her arms), and so on. Another frequent image of Guanyin is that she usually holds a lotus blossom or a willow twig.
CHINESE CARVED JADE GUANYIN FIGURE
Famous Guanyin in China
Guanyin is enshrined from the Potala Palace (布达拉宫, Budala Gong) of Tibet in the West to Putuo Mountain(普陀山, Pu Tuo Shan) of Zhejiang Province in the East Sea (Potala and Putuo are all named after the pronunciation of the dwelling of Guanyin).
Guanyin Statue in Potala Palace, Lhasa, Tibet
One famous story about the show-up of Guanyin(观音现身)dates back to Tang
Dynasty during the reign of Emperor Wenzong(唐文宗, 827~840A.D.). It is
known that the capital of Tang Dynasty is Chang’an(Xi’an nowadays), a
great city in the west of China, a city that turns its face to the
empires of Inner Asia. Emperor Wenzong has a special hobby of eating
clams, ordered clams for three of his five meals, each and every day.
However, based on the geographic position of Xian, it was a great
barrier to bring clams from the sea to the imperial palace. Such a
delicacy the emperor ate was through the bitter labors of thousands.
To ensure the freshness of the clams, every day in the dim light
before dawn, clams would be gathered by the ocean fishermen of
Zhejiang and then packed by porters in cold seaweed, wet sand and ice,
then rapidly loaded on relay mounts that sped the Imperial highway.
Obviously, it is a great sacrifice of the labors only to please the
emperor’s eating preference.
Day after day, the laborers suffered a lot from the process of hard
work; many of them are living in misery, until one incident shocked
the entire palace. One day, the Royal chef discovered an unusual clam
in grand size. The clam was enormous-twenty times the usual shell,-
surely an imperial clam meant for the Imperial Palate. As the Clam
Shell Opener stepped up to pry the shell apart, however, he found the
shell sealed like iron; the clam was as tight as a rock crevice on the
slope of Mount Tai.
Emperor Wenzong heard about this and commanded the opener to let him
take a closer look. All of a sudden, as if by signal, the clam began
to open automatically. The emperor gasped at what he saw. There,
standing inside, was a finely detailed, miniature, astonishingly sweet
statue of the Goddess of Mercy, the Bodhisattva Guanyin, exquisitely
carved. What surprised him most is what Guanyin said by her lovely
expression, “The laborers have to make great efforts for your own
pleasure; both harass the people and waste money”. Then the Emperor
realized that Guanyin –the Buddhist Goddess-who hears even the
smallest call for mercy from even the tiniest voice in the empire-had
taken pity on the boat men, the fisher folk, the portage men and relay
riders, even the royal cooks-all who served his royal taste and royal
whim. He realized that the purpose that Guanyin show up in the grand
clam is to warn him; she would watch over mankind in times of fear and
danger. (Partly Refer to "In the Realm of the Gods: Lands, Myths, and
Legends of China").
************