Avalokitesvara

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Avalokiteśvara in the form of Padmapāṇi. The right hand is in a gesture of generosity (varadamudrā) and the left holds the stem of a lotus (padma). Sculpture, Nālandā, Bihar, India, 9th century CE.

Avalokiteśvara ("Lord who looks down [with compassion]"), also known as Lokeśvara ("Lord of the world"). The most widely worshipped bodhisattva in the Mahayana tradition and the embodiment of compassion (karuṇā).[1][2]

Since first appearing in Buddhist literature and art at the beginning of the Common Era, Avalokiteśvara has appeared in a variety of forms and styles across Buddhist traditions of different cultures. Early forms such as Padmapāṇi Lokeśvara show the bodhisattva standing with one head and two arms and holding a lotus (padma). Later forms show the bodhisattva standing or seated, with two, four, six, eight, twelve, or one-thousand arms, and up to eleven heads. In East Asia, the bodhisattva also appears in a female form.

Yet in whatever form the bodhisattva appears, the most characteristic quality of Avalokiteśvara is infinite compassion for all beings; so much so that Avalokiteśvara has postponed his (or her) own liberation to remain in this world until all beings have attained liberation from samsara.[2]

The connection with Avalokiteśvara is especially strong in Tibet, where the bodhisattva is regarded as the protector deity of the Tibetan people, and the six-syllable mantra of Avalokiteśvara (Oṃ maṇi padme hūṃ) is the most popular mantra within Tibetan Buddhism.[3] Avalokiteśvara is also worshipped in a variety of forms in East Asian Buddhism and the Newar Buddhist tradition of Nepal.

Name variations and etymology

The bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara is been known by a variety of names in Sanskrit and other languages.

Sanskrit names

The most common Sanskrit names for the deity in general and those found in Vajrayana Buddhism are Avalokiteshvara, Lokeshvara, Avalokita, Lokanata and Mahakarunika.[4]

Avalokiteśvara

The Sanskrit name Avalokiteśvara combines the following elements:

  • ava, a verbal prefix meaning "down",
  • lokita, a past participle of the verb lok "to look, notice, behold, observe", here used in an active sense, and
  • īśvara, "lord", "powerful one", "sovereign", etc.

In accordance with Sanskrit rules of sound combination (sandhi), a+īśvara becomes eśvara.

Hence, the name is translated as "lord who looks down (with compassion)", "lord who looks down (in empathy)",[1] "lord who gazes down (at the world)",[5] etc.

Lokeśvara

Avalokiteśvara is also referred to as Lokeśvara. This name has two elements:

  • loka, "world" or "universe", and
  • īśvara, "lord", "sovereign", etc.

Combining the two elements gives Lokeśvara ("Lord of the World").

Avalokitasvara

Avalokitasvara is an early Sanskrit name for the bodhisattva which is attested in some early Sanskrit manuscripts of the Lotus Sutra.[6] Though the name fell out of use in Sanskrit texts (and was replaced by Avalokiteśvara), it was the basis for Kumārajīva's early translation of the bodhisattva's name into Chinese as "Guanshiyin".[6]

This name has the following components:[6]

  • avalokita, “gazing” (C. guan)
  • svara, “sounds” (C. yin)

It can be translated as "one who percieves the sounds (of the world)".

Chinese names

Guanshiyin

The name Guanshiyin (觀世音) has three components:

  • guan 觀, "to observe", "to perceive", etc.
  • shi 世, "world" (Skt. loka)
  • yin 音, "sound", "that which is heard", etc.

The combined meaning is "one who perceives sounds of the world".[6]

The name Guanshiyin was popularized by the translator Kumarajiva, who translated the Lotus Sutra and other texts.[6] Kumarajiva's translation derives from an earlier form of this bodhisattva’s name, Avalokitasvara, which is attested in some Sanskrit manuscripts of the Lotus Sutra.[6] "Kumārajīva interprets this name as “gazing” (avalokita; C. guan) on the “sounds” (svara; C. yin) [of this wailing “world” (C. shi) of suffering]."[6]

Guanyin

The name Guanyin (觀音) is short for Guanshiyin.[6] This name has two components:

  • guan 觀, "to observe", "to perceive", etc.
  • yin 音, "sound", "that which is heard", etc.

Hence, the meaning is "one who perceives sounds (of the world)".

Guanzizai

During the seventh century, the Sanskrit name Avalokitasvara was supplanted by the name Avalokiteśvara.[6] The Chinese translator Xuanzang translated the later name as Guanzizai (觀自在).[6] This name has three components:

  • guan 觀, "to observe", "to perceive", etc.
  • zi 自, "self; oneself; by oneself, of itself, naturally"
  • zai 在, "to exist"

The combined meaning is "to observe all of existence".[7]

Tibetan name

The Tibetan name for Avalokiteśvara is Chenrézig (spyan ras gzig སྤྱན་རས་གཟིགས་). This name has the following components:

  • chen (spyan) "eye",
  • ré (ras) "continuity", and
  • zig (gzig) "to look".

This gives the meaning of "one who always looks upon all beings (with the eye of compassion)".[8]

Origin

Avalokiteśvara is one of the first bodhisattvas to appear in Buddhist literature and art.[1][2]

Avalokiteśvara's name "dates back to the beginning of the Common Era, when he replaced the Vedic god brahmā as the attendant to Shakyamuni Buddha, inheriting in turn Brahmā’s attribute of the lotus (padma)."[1]

Images of Avalokiteśvara as Padmapāṇi Lokeśvara (“Lord with a Lotus in his Hand”), an early name, are numerous.[1]

From the very beginning of his career he was regarded as a powerful saviour and, at the same time, the very personification of the principle of Universal Compassion which characterizes Mahayana Buddhism.[2]

Accounts of Chinese pilgrims in India

When the Chinese monk Faxian traveled to Mathura in India around 400 CE, he wrote about monks presenting offerings to Avalokiteśvara.[9] When Xuanzang traveled to India in the 7th century, he provided eyewitness accounts of Avalokiteśvara statues being venerated by devotees from all walks of life, from kings to monks to laypeople.[9]

Textual sources

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Avalokiteśvara painting from a Sanskrit palm-leaf manuscript. Nalanda, India, 12th century.

Avalokiteśvara appears as a central figure in a number of important Mahayana sutras.[1]

Heart Sutra

Main article: Heart Sutra

Avalokiteśvara plays a central role in the Heart Sutra, in which he teaches the essential meaning of the prajnaparamita teachings, under the authority of Buddha Shakyamuni.

He is also mentioned briefly in the Aṣṭadaśasāhasrikā prajñāpāramitā, as one of the great beings in attendence.

Avalokiteśvara Sūtra

See also: Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra

The Avalokiteśvara Sūtra (Guanyin jing) is the popular Chinese name for an influential early text on Avalokiteśvara.[10] This text circulates as an independent text in East Asia,[10] and it is also included as a chapter in the Lotus Sutra, entitled, "Facing Everywhere: The Teaching of the Miracles of Avalokiteśvara".[11]

This text explains the meaning of the name of the bodhisattva, and states that Avalokiteśvara is capable of manifesting himself in thirty-three different forms 三十三身 according to the various states of sentient beings in order to save those in distress. The chapter explains how Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva can be relied upon to save people from every kind of disaster and life-threatening situation (mentioning specifically shipwreck, fire, or moral impurity), if they but fix their minds on him and call for help.[10]

This text describes Avalokiteśvara as a compassionate bodhisattva who hears the cries of sentient beings and who works tirelessly to help those who call upon his name.

According to Baroni (2002), this text is commonly recited or chanted at Buddhist temples in East Asia.[12]

Kāraṇḍavyūha

Main article: Kāraṇḍavyūha

Peter Alan Roberts states:

The Basket’s Display (Kāraṇḍavyūha) is the source of the most prevalent mantra of Tibetan Buddhism: oṁ maṇi padme hūṁ. It marks a significant stage in the growing importance of Avalokiteśvara within Indian Buddhism in the early centuries of the first millennium. In a series of narratives within narratives, the sūtra describes Avalokiteśvara’s activities in various realms and the realms contained within the pores of his skin. It culminates in a description of the extreme rarity of his mantra, which, on the Buddha’s instructions, Bodhisattva Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin obtains from someone in Vārāṇasī who has broken his monastic vows. This sūtra provided a basis and source of quotations for the teachings and practices of the eleventh-century Maṇi Kabum, which itself served as a foundation for the rich tradition of Tibetan Avalokiteśvara practice.[13]

Qianshou jing

Main article: Qianshou jing

The Qianshou jing (aka. Nīlakaṇṭhaka Sūtra) provides the scriptural foundation for the practice of "Thousand-Armed and Thousand-Eyed Avalokiteśvara" (Sāhasrabhuja-sāhasranetra Avalokiteśvara).

This text teaches the Qianshou tuoluoni ("thousand-armed dhāraṇī"; aka. Nīlakaṇṭha Dhāraṇī), a popular dhāraṇī in East Asia that is used for the practice of "Thousand-Armed and Thousand-Eyed Avalokiteśvara".

In this text, Gautama Buddha tells his disciple Ānanda that Avalokiteśvara had become a Buddha countless eons ago. Out of great compassion, with the intention to bring happiness and peacefulness to all sentient beings, he appears as a Bodhisattva, taking the name Avalokiteśvara, and often abides in the Sahā world.[14]

Śūraṅgama Sūtra

Main article: Śūraṅgama Sūtra

In the Śūraṅgama Sūtra, Avalokiteśvara appears as one of twenty-five great bodhisattvas and arhats who present a method of practicing samadhi.

In this sutra, Avalokiteśvara declares that he has achieved perfect mastery of Buddhist Dharma and hence can manifest countless forms with different numbers of heads, arms, eyes and so on.[15]

Mani Kabum

Main article: Mani Kabum

The Maṇi Kabum is a collection of "treasure texts" (terma) in Tibetan Buddhism that are based on the Kāraṇḍavyūha. The texts in this collection serve as a foundation for the tradition of Tibetan Avalokiteśvara practice.[13]

In these texts, Avalokiteśvara is promoted as the patron deity of Tibet.[16]

Manifestations

Avalokiteśvara has appeared in a variety of forms and styles across Buddhist traditions of different cultures. Some of the more commonly known forms are listed below.

Padmapāṇi

Cintāmaṇi Lokeśvara (Nepal)

Caturbhuja Avalokiteśvara

Eleven-faced Avalokitesvara

Thousand-Armed Thousand-Eyed Avalokitesvara

Amoghapāśa

Cintāmaṇicakra Avalokiteśvara

Water-Moon Guanyin

White-robed Guanyin

Hayagrīva

Sṛṣṭikartā Avalokitesvara

Other forms

Other forms of Avalokiteśvara include:

  • Siṃhanāda Lokeśvara
    “Lion's Roar Lokeśvara”. Appears seated on the back of a lion. He removes sickness and disease.
  • Nilakanta Lokeshvara
    "Blue-throated Lokeshvara" or "Blue-necked Avalokitesvara". Depicted with a blue neck.

Mantras and dharanis

There are various mantras and dharanis associated with Avalokiteśvara.

Six-syllable mantra

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The om mani padme hum mantra in Tibetan script.

The "six-syllable mantra" Oṃ maṇi padme hūṃ, also called the "mani mantra", is the most popular mantra in Tibetan Buddhism, and is also popular in East Asian Buddhism.

Due to his association with this mantra, one form of Avalokiteśvara is called Ṣaḍākṣarī ("Lord of the Six Syllables") in Sanskrit.

The connection between this mantra and Avalokiteśvara is documented for the first time in the Kāraṇḍavyūha (circa 5th century CE).[19] In this sūtra, the Buddha states that recitation of this mantra can lead to the attainment of eight hundred samādhis.[20]

Ārolik mantra

Main article: Ārolik mantra

The Ārolik mantra (oṃ ārolik svāha) is a lesser known mantra of Avalokiteśvara commonly recited in East Asian Buddhism. This mantra is found (in many forms and variations like ārolika, arulika, etc.) in numerous pre-tenth-century Indian texts, including the 7th century Chinese translation of the Dhāraṇīsaṁgraha, as well as the Susiddhikarasūtra, the Mañjuśriyamūlakalpa, and the Guhyasamājatantra.[21]

Dharanis

Dhāraṇīs associated with Avalokiteśvara include:

By region

East Asia

Avalokiteśvara is worshipped in a variety of forms in East Asian Buddhism, where he is known as Guanyin in Chinese, Kannon in Japanese, and Gwaneum in Korean. The various forms known in East Asia include: Caturbhuja Avalokiteśvara, Eleven-faced Avalokitesvara, Thousand-Armed Avalokitesvara, Amoghapāśa and other forms.

A female form of Avalokiteśvara in white robes became popular in China in the 10th or 11th centuries.[22] For example, see White-Robed Water-Moon Guanyin.

The Tiantai school identifies a group of six forms of Avalokiteśvara known as the Six Guanyin. A variation on this group is known as the Six Kannon in Japan. Each member of this group is regarded as a saviour for one of the six realms of existence.

In the Lotus Sutra, Avalokiteśvara is counted amount the four great bodhisattvas, along with Maitreya, Mañjuśrī, and Samantabhadra.[23] In the Pure Land tradition, Avalokiteśvara is also presented as an attendant to Amitabha, along with Mahāsthāmaprāpta (collective known as jingtu sansheng, "the Pure Land trinity").[24]

Some traditions in East Asia also classify the deity Cundī as a manifestation of Avalokiteśvara.[25]

Tibet and the Himalayas

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Tibetan painting of Avalokiteśvara (T. Chenrezig) in the form of Caturbhuja Avalokiteśvara.

In Tibet, Avalokiteśvara is regarded as the protector deity of the Tibetan people and the Tibetan nation. The six-syllable mantra of Avalokiteśvara (Oṃ maṇi padme hūṃ) is the most popular mantra within Tibetan Buddhism.[3]

Many forms of Avalokiteśvara are known in Tibet, including Caturbhuja Avalokiteśvara, Eleven-faced Avalokitesvara, Thousand-Armed Avalokitesvara, Amoghapāśa and other forms.

In the Tibetan Buddhism, Avalokitesvara is counted among of the eight great bodhisattvas, among whom he particularly embodies compassion and the essence of the speech of all the buddhas.[26]

Also in the Tibetan tradition, Tara is regarded as an emanation of Avalokiteśvara. According to legend, Tara came into existence from a single tear shed by Avalokiteśvara.[27] When the tear fell to the ground it created a lake, and a lotus opening in the lake revealed Tara. In another version of this story, Tara emerges from the heart of Avalokiteśvara. In either version, it is Avalokiteśvara's outpouring of compassion which manifests Tãrã as a being.[28][29][30]

Certain living tulku lineages, including the Dalai Lamas and the Karmapas, are considered to be manifestations of Avalokiteśvara.[31]

Nepal

Avalokiteśvara is worshipped in a variety of forms in the Newar Buddhist tradition of Nepal. Some forms of the bodhisattva that are primarily found in the Newar tradition include: Cintāmaṇi Lokeśvara ("Wish-Fulfilling Lokeśvara"), Sṛṣṭikartā Lokeśvara ("Creator Avalokitesvara") and Hari Hari Hari Lokeshvara. Statues of Padmapāṇi are also common in Nepal.

Southeast Asia

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Bronze statue of Avalokiteśvara from Sri Lanka, c. 750 CE

The Princeton Dictionary states:

Avalokiteśvara was once worshipped widely in Southeast Asia as well, beginning at the end of the first millennium CE. Although the Mahāyāna tradition eventually faded from the region, images of Avalokiteśvara remain.[1][32]

Image galleries

See:

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Buswell & Lopez 2014, s.v. Avalokiteśvara.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Chutiwongs 1995, p. 98.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Studholme 2002, p. 2.
  4. ↑ Avalokiteshvara Main Page, Himalayan Art Resources
  5. ↑ Studholme 2002, pp. 52-54, 57.
  6. ↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 Buswell & Lopez 2014, s.v. Guanyin.
  7. ↑ 觀自在, Digital Dictionary of Buddhism (to sign in, see DDB sign-in)
  8. ↑ Bokar Rinpoche 1991, p. 15.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Ko Kok Kiang. Guan Yin: Goddess of Compassion. 2004. p. 10
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 觀世音菩薩普門品, Digital Dictionary of Buddhism (to sign in, see DDB sign-in)
  11. ↑ C. Guanshiyin Pusa pumen pin 觀世音菩薩普門品; Chapter 25 in Kumarajiva's translation of the Lotus Sutra, and Chapter 24 in Peter Roberts translation of the Tibetan text. The translation of the title cited here is from Roberts translation.
  12. ↑ Baroni 2002, p. 15.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Roberts, Peter Alan (2023), The Basket’s Display, "Summary" , 84000 Collection
  14. ↑ Great Compassion Dharani Sutra - English translation of Nīlakaṇṭha Dhāraṇī Sūtra
  15. ↑ Śūraṅgama Sūtra, Chapter 6
  16. ↑ Schaik, Sam van (2007-07-19). "Avalokitesvara in Early Tibet III: Om mani padme hum". early Tibet. Retrieved 2022-07-18. 
  17. ↑ Buswell & Lopez 2014, s.v. Ekādaśamukhāvalokiteśvara.
  18. ↑ Srishtikarta Lokeshvara, Virtual Vinodh
  19. ↑ Studholme 2002, p. 17.
  20. ↑ Studholme 2002, p. 106.
  21. ↑ Nicolas Revire, Rajat Sanyal, Rolf Giebel. Avalokiteśvara of the “Three and a Half Syllables”: A Note on the Heart-Mantra Ārolik in India. Arts Asiatiques, 2021, Arts Asiatiques, 76, pp.5–30. ⟨10.3406/arasi.2021.2095⟩. ⟨halshs-04142356⟩
  22. ↑ Leighton 1998, p. 173.
  23. ↑ 四大菩薩 sì dà púsà, Digital Dictionary of Buddhism (to sign in, see DDB sign-in)
  24. ↑ Buswell & Lopez 2014, s.v. Amitabha.
  25. ↑ Fowler 2016; There is some disagreement between various schools and lineages about Cundī's nature: although sometimes classified as a manifestation of Avalokiteśvara, other interpretations see her as a distinct bodhisattva while still others interpret her as a Buddhamātṛ (佛母, Fómǔ; Jp. 仏母, Butsumo, lit. "mother of buddhas"), a deified aspect of the knowledge that give birth to the buddhas and bodhisattvas.
  26. ↑ Patrul Rinpoche 1998, Glossary, sv. Avalokitesvara.
  27. ↑ Leighton 1998.
  28. ↑ Dampa Sonam Gyaltsen 1996, p. 21.
  29. ↑ Shaw, Miranda (2006). Buddhist Goddesses of IndiaFree registration required. Princeton University Press. p. 307. 
  30. ↑ Bokar Rinpoche 1991, p. 14.
  31. ↑ "From Birth to Exile". The Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Archived from the original on 20 October 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-17.  Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  32. ↑ See, for example, Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara sculpture, Sri Lanka

Sources

Further reading

  • Chutiwongs, Nandana (1984). The iconography of Avalokiteśvara in mainland South East Asia. Rijksuniversiteit te Leiden.  . Book details (NTU Digital Library)
  • Getty, Alice (1914). The gods of northern Buddhism: their history, iconography and progressive evolution through the northern Buddhist countries. Oxford: Clarendon Press. . Archive version
  • Holt, John (1991). Buddha in the Crown: Avalokitesvara in the Buddhist Traditions of Sri Lanka. New York: Oxford University Press. 
  • McDermott, James P. (1999). "Buddha in the Crown: Avalokitesvara in the Buddhist Traditions of Sri Lanka". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 119 (1): 195–196. doi:10.2307/605604. JSTOR 605604. 
  • Orzech, Charles D. (2011). Esoteric buddhism and the tantras in East Asia, p. 215. Brill. OCLC 716806704.
  • Yü, Chün-fang (2001), Kuan-yin: The Chinese Transformation of Avalokitesvara, Columbia University Press, JSTOR 10.7312/yu--12028 . Publisher's page

External links

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