This week’s Goddess is in honor of Cindy Sheehan.
courtesy of Thalia Took (with permission):
“She Who Hears the Prayers of the World”
Kwan Yin (“She Who Hears the Prayers of the World”) was originally the mother goddess of China, who proved so popular She was adopted into the Buddhist pantheon as a bodhisattva. A bodhisattva is a person who has attained enlightenment but chooses to forgo Nirvana and remain in the world to help others attain enlightenment. Kwan Yin’s specialty is compassion, and She is known as the Goddess of Mercy. Before She became a bodhisattva, Kwan Yin was a princess named Miao Shan. As Miao Shan She endured many trials, especially from Her father, who wanted Her to marry. But She refused, and instead dedicated Her life to Buddhism.
As the still-popular mother goddess of China, Kwan Yin is known as a great healer who can cure all ills. She is also a goddess of fertility, and is often shown holding a child. In this aspect She is known as Sung-tzu niang-niang, “The Lady Who Brings Children”. She is shown holding a crystal vase, pouring out the waters of creation. Simply calling her name in time of crisis is believed to grant deliverance.
Kwan Yin is sometimes also depicted as male, especially in Japan, where She is called Kwannon, and equated with the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, Lord of Compassion.
This card in a reading indicates compassion and mercy are needed in a situation.You can cultivate compassion by meditating on this card, or the other goddesses of compassion, White Tara and Green Tara. Remember to first of all shine compassion on your own self.
Alternate names: Kwan Shih Yin, Kwannon, Kannon, Guan Yin, Kwanjin, Miao Shan (which would be a great name for a cat, maybe a Japanese bobtail).
cross posted from Our Word
with cindy sheehan in mind, because she exemplifies compassion and mercy for all our children serving in iraq.
:::thanks to Karen Trimble Alliaume:::
I”m glad you decided to share this week’s goddess, Kwan Yin, with everyone here at the frog pond. This is a weekly series at Our Word. For those of you who are interested, here are some of the past ones.
This Week in Goddess Worship: Aida-Wedo
This Week in Goddess Worship: Astarte
This Week in Goddess Worship: Sedna
This Week in Goddess Worship: Oshun
This Week in Goddess Worship: Yemaya
Thanks for the post to prior diaries…
I just discovered Our Word last week…I’ll check them out tonight at home.
Cindy and Tracy are in good company.
According to Tibetan Buddhism, the Dalai Lama is a reincarnation or manifestation of Avalokitesvara.
This is wonderful! One of my favorite aspects of Goddess, I will have to visit the complete series soon! A grand uplifting moment, thank you.
Great! I’m happy you decided to put the series over here too, artemisia. Or at least this one, which does seem to go perfectly with what has been happening the last week or so, with Cindy Sheehan.
I read an interesting paper about 15 years ago (?) that said Kwan Yin was brought into Chinese Buddhism from Chinese Christian theology and iconography of the Virgin Mary.
True? False? Beats me. It’s an interesting idea, tho’.
Here’s some more about Guanyin/Avalokitesvara:
Avalokitesvara=Regarder of the Cries of the World (Bunno,et al, trans.) or Perceiver of the World’s Sounds (Watson, trans.)
Chinese=Guanshiyin
Japanese=Kannon, Kanzeon
Korean=Kwanseum
This bodhisattva is the subject of Chapter 25 of the Lotus Sutra (Buddhist holy book).
A bodhisattva is a being who postpones enlightenment to help others until we can all go, even if it takes billions of lifetimes.
In the sutra, Guanyin is said to take any form that will liberate other beings; as an elder, a citizen, a non-human, etc.
The compassion he/she/it extends to living beings is completely universal-this is some radical stuff! This means you, me, Bush, that frog, my ex-husband, without exception. Let me repeat that since I don’t know how to underline things: without exception. There are usually some arguments at this point (“you mean like Hitler? Bugs? My abusive father?) or else people’s heads blow up.
The bodhisattvas can be seen as metaphors for parts of ourselves that we can’t quite envision or as human traits which are admirable and at least partly achievable. I think I have met Guanyin in the flesh at least once and also she (she’s always female to me) rescued me from the most frightening dream I ever had-I was screaming her name as I was being burned alive and she came. The Dalai Lama is supposed to be one of her incarnations and I think he is. And you may be one also.
Namu Kanzeon Bosatsu