THE NAMES OF QUANYIN

[Sisters Seminar]

This list is from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

NamesSimplified Chinese:观音,

观䞖音Traditional Chinese:觀音,
觀䞖音

Pinyin:Guānyīn, Guānshì Yīn

Wade-Giles:Kuan-yin, Kuan-shih Yin

Cantonese:Kwun Yum, Koon YamHakka:Kwan Yim

Taiwanese:Koan-im, Koan-sÚ-im

Shanghainese:Kuoe'in, Kuoezy'in

Japanese | Kanji:芳音,
芳䞖音Romaji:Kannon, Kanzeon

Korean | Hangul:ꎀ음, ꎀ섞음Korean
romanization:Gwan-eum, Gwan-se-eum

Vietnamese:Quan Âm, Quan Thế Âm(S

[If a person can find a sweet and haunting melody of seven syllables,
which can be repeated four or eight times, one can sing her hymn, as
follows:
Namu Guan Sher Yin, Pusa!
Namu Guan Sher Yin, Pusa!
Namu Guan Sher Yin, Pusa!
Namu Guan Sher Yin, Pusa!]

(In the past I have twice bought copies of "Kwan Yin with Smile", sung
by the angelic FAN Li-bin, and I play this CD once a day or night.)

Smiles,
Sister

[Sisters Seminar]

Who / what is Quanyin?

While devotion to Quanyin has followed Oriental people everywhere they
have gone, the identity of this "Entity" is differently defined in
multiple ways.

Furthermore, although for many the worship of Quanyin is a matter of
daily or even continuous practice, this worship is not categorized as a
religion, but rather as a cult. Given the sheer staggering numbers of
Oriental people in the world, the "cult" of Quanyin may be larger than
any of its constituent "religions".

If then you put it in the same definitional basket as the cults of the
Virgin Mary (Mother of Christ, Queen of Heaven), it will definitely
outnumber, in its adherents, the faith communities it stems from.

My interpretation of Quanyin is that "She" is the embodiment of Divine
Compassion -- not a physical embodiment, not a literal embodiment, but a
conceptual embodiment.

Here's a little more from Wikipedia:

"Guan Yin (Simplified Chinese: 观音; Traditional Chinese:
觀音; pinyin: Guānyīn) is the bodhisattva of
compassion as venerated by East Asian Buddhists, usually as a female.

"She is also known as the Chinese Goddess of Compassion by many.

"Guan Yin originated as the Sanskrit Avalokiteśvara,
[Avalokiteshvara] which is her male form.

"Commonly known in the West as the Goddess of Mercy, Guan Yin is also
revered by Chinese Taoists as an Immortal.

"The name Guan Yin, also spelt Kuan Yin, is short for Kuan-shih Yin
(Py.: Guānshì YÄ«n, 觀䞖音) which
means "Observing the Sounds of the World".

"In Japanese, Guan Yin is pronounced Kannon (芳音) or more
formally Kanzeon (芳䞖音); the spelling Kwannon,
based on a pre-modern pronunciation, is sometimes seen.

"In Korean, this incarnation of Buddha is called Gwan-eum or Gwanse-eum,
and in Vietnamese, the name is Quan Âm or Quan Thế Âm
Bá»" Tát."

[Sisters Seminar]

Depiction

Guan Yin is the Chinese name for the Bodhisattva Avalokitesh›vara.

However, folk traditions in China and other East Asian countries have
added many distinctive characteristics and legends.

Avalokitesh›vara was originally depicted as Buddha when he was still a
prince, and therefore wears chest-revealing clothing and may even sport
a moustache.

However, in China, Guan Yin is usually depicted as a woman.

Additionally, some people believe that Guan Yin is neither man nor
woman.

In China, Guan Yin is usually shown in a white flowing robe, and usually
wearing necklaces of Indian/Chinese royalty.

In the right hand is a water jar containing pure water, and in the left,
a willow branch.

The crown usually depicts the image of Amitabha Buddha, Guan Yin's
spiritual teacher before she became a Bodhisattva.

In some Buddhist temples and monasteries, Guan Yin images are
occasionally depicted as a young man dressed in Northern Song Buddhist
robes sitting gracefully.

He is usually depicted looking or glancing down, symbolising that Guan
Yin continues to watch over the world.

There are also regional variations of Guan Yin depictions.

In the Fukien region of China, for example, a popular depiction of Guan
Yin is as a maiden dressed in Tang dynasty style clothing carrying a
fish basket.

In Chinese art, Guan Yin is often depicted either alone, standing atop a
dragon, accompanied by a bird, flanked by two children, or flanked by
two warriors.

The two children are her acolytes who came to her when she was
meditating at Mount Putuo.

The girl is called Long Nash and the boy Shan Tsai.

The two warriors are the historical character Guan Yu who comes from the
Three Kingdoms period and the mythological character Wei Tuo who
features in the Chinese classic Canonisation of the Gods.

The Buddhist tradition also displays Guan Yin flanked with the two said
warriors, but as bodhisattvas who protect the temple and the faith
itself.

[Sisters Seminar]

Veneration

In Chinese Buddhist iconography, Guan Yin is often depicted as
meditating or sitting alongside one of the Buddhas and usually
accompanied by another bodhisattva.

Which buddha or bodhisattva usually depends upon which school it
represents.

In the Pure Land school, for example, Guan Yin is frequently depicted as
standing alongside Amitabha Buddha and bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta.

Temples that revere the bodhisattva Ksitigarbha usually depict him
meditating alongside the Buddha and Guan Yin.

Along with Buddhism, Guan Yin's veneration was introduced into China as
early as the 1st century CE, and reached Japan by way of Korea soon
after Buddhism was first introduced into the country in the mid-7th
century.

[Sisters Seminar]

REPRESENTATIONS

Representations of the bodhisattva in China prior to the Song Dynasty
(960-1279) were masculine in appearance.

Images which later displayed attributes of both genders are believed to
be in accordance with the Lotus Sutra, where Avalokitesvara has the
supernatural power of assuming any form required to relieve suffering,
and also has the power to grant children.

Because this bodhisattva is considered the personification of compassion
and kindness, a mother-goddess and patron of mothers and seamen, the
representation in China was further interpreted in an all-female form
around the 12th century.

In the modern period, Guan Yin is most often represented as a beautiful,
white-robed woman, a depiction which derives from the earlier
Pandaravasini form.