Avalokiteśvara

In Buddhism, Avalokiteśvara (Sanskrit: अवलोकितेश्वर, IPA: /ˌʌvəloʊkɪˈteɪʃvərə/[1]), also known as Avalokitasvara, is a bodhisattva in the Mahayana tradition who contains the compassion of all Buddhas and is the principal attendant of Amitabha Buddha on the right. He has 108 avatars, the most notable of which is Padmapāṇi (the lotus bearer). He is variably represented as either male or female in different cultures.[2] Guanyin is one of the female depictions of Avalokiteśvara usually seen in East Asia. In the Vajrayana tradition Avalokiteshvara is the Buddha of compassion.

This article is about the bodhisattva. For the film, see Avalokitesvara (film).
Avalokiteśvara
Sculpture of Avalokiteśvara holding a padma (lotus). Nālandā, Bihar, India, 9th century CE.
Sanskrit
  • अवलोकितस्वर
    IAST: Avalokitasvara
  • अवलोकितेश्वर
    IAST: Avalokiteśvara (Avalokiteshvara)
Burmeseကွမ်ယင်
IPA: [kwàɴ jɪ̀ɴ]
Chinese
  • 观世音, 觀世音
    Pinyin: Guānshìyīn
  • 观音, 觀音
    Pinyin: Guānyīn
  • 观自在, 觀自在
    Pinyin: Guānzìzài
CyrillicАвалокитешвара
Japanese
  • かんじざい
    Romaji: Kanjizai
  • かんのん
    Romaji: Kannon
  • かんぜおん
    Romaji: Kanzeon
Khmer
  • អវលោកេស្វរៈ
    GD: Avalokesvarak
  • អវលោកិតេស្វរៈ
    GD: Avalokitesvarak
  • លោកេស្វរៈ
    GD: Lokesvarak
Korean
  • 관음
    RR: Gwaneum
  • 관자재
    RR: Gwanjajae
  • 관세음
    RR: Gwanseeum
Thai
  • อวโลกิเตศวร
    RTGS: Avalokitesuan
  • กวนอิม
    RTGS: Kuan Im
Tibetanསྤྱན་རས་གཟིགས
THL: Chenrézik
Vietnamese
  • Quan Âm
  • Quán Thế Âm
  • Quán Tự Tại
Information
Venerated by
AttributesCompassion
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Etymology

The name Avalokiteśvara combines the verbal prefix ava "down", lokita, a past participle of the verb lok "to look, notice, behold, observe", here used in an active sense; and finally īśvara, "lord", "ruler", "sovereign" or "master". In accordance with sandhi (Sanskrit rules of sound combination), a+īśvara becomes eśvara. Combined, the parts mean "lord who gazes down (at the world)". The word loka ("world") is absent from the name, but the phrase is implied.[3] It does appear in the Cambodian form of the name, Lokesvarak.

The earliest translation of the name Avalokiteśvara into Chinese by authors such as Xuanzang was as Guānzìzài (Chinese: 觀自在), not the form used in East Asian Buddhism today, Guanyin (Chinese: 觀音). It was initially thought that this was due to a lack of fluency, as Guanyin indicates the original Sanskrit form was instead Avalokitasvara, "who looked down upon sound", i.e., the cries of sentient beings who need help.[4] It is now understood that Avalokitasvara was the original form[5][6] and is also the origin of Guanyin "perceiving sound, cries". This translation was favored by the tendency of some Chinese translators, notably Kumārajīva, to use the variant 觀世音 Guānshìyīn "who perceives the world's lamentations"—wherein lok was read as simultaneously meaning both "to look" and "world" (Sanskrit loka; Chinese: 世; pinyin: shì).[4] The original form Avalokitasvara appears in Sanskrit fragments of the fifth century.[7]

This earlier Sanskrit name was supplanted by the form containing the ending -īśvara "lord"; but Avalokiteśvara does not occur in Sanskrit before the seventh century.

The original meaning of the name fits the Buddhist understanding of the role of a bodhisattva. The reinterpretation presenting him as an īśvara shows a strong influence of Hinduism, as the term īśvara was usually connected to the Hindu notion of Vishnu (in Vaishnavism) or Shiva (in Shaivism) as the Supreme Lord, Creator and Ruler of the world. Some attributes of such a god were transmitted to the bodhisattva, but the mainstream of those who venerated Avalokiteśvara upheld the Buddhist rejection of the doctrine of any creator god.[8]

In Sanskrit, Avalokiteśvara is also referred to as Lokeśvara ("Lord of the World"). In Tibetan, Avalokiteśvara is Chenrézig, (Tibetan: སྤྱན་རས་གཟིགས་) and is said to emanate as the Dalai Lama,[9] the Karmapa[10][11] and other high lamas. An etymology of the Tibetan name Chenrézik is spyan "eye", ras "continuity" and gzig "to look". This gives the meaning of one who always looks upon all beings (with the eye of compassion).[12]

Origin

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

The name Avalokiteśvara was first seen in the Avatamsaka Sutra, a Mahayana scripture that precedes the Lotus Sutra.[13] On account of its popularity in Japan and as a result of the works of the earliest Western translators of Buddhist Scriptures, the Lotus Sutra, however, has long been accepted as the earliest literature teaching about the doctrines of Avalokiteśvara. These are found in Chapter 25 of the Lotus Sutra: The Universal Gate of Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara (Chinese: 觀世音菩薩普門品). This chapter is devoted to Avalokiteśvara, describing him as a compassionate bodhisattva who hears the cries of sentient beings and who works tirelessly to help those who call upon his name. A total of 33 different manifestations of Avalokiteśvara are described, including female manifestations, all to suit the minds of various beings. The chapter consists of both a prose and a verse section. This earliest source often circulates separately as its own sutra, called the Avalokiteśvara Sūtra (Chinese: 觀世音經; pinyin: Guānshìyīn jīng), and is commonly recited or chanted at Buddhist temples in East Asia.[14]

Four-armed Tibetan form of Avalokiteśvara.

When the Chinese monk Faxian traveled to Mathura in India around 400 CE, he wrote about monks presenting offerings to Avalokiteśvara.[15] 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.[15]

Avalokiteśvara / Padmapani, Ajanta Caves, India

In Chinese Buddhism and East Asia, Tangmi practices for the 18-armed form of Avalokiteśvara called Cundī are very popular. The popularity of Cundī is attested by the three extant translations of the Cundī Dhāraṇī Sūtra from Sanskrit to Chinese, made from the end of the seventh century to the beginning of the eighth century.[16] In late imperial China, these early esoteric traditions still thrived in Buddhist communities. Robert Gimello has also observed that in these communities, the esoteric practices of Cundī were extremely popular among both the populace and the elite.[17]

In the Tiantai school, six forms of Avalokiteśvara are defined. Each of the bodhisattva's six qualities is said to break the hindrances in one of the six realms of existence: hell-beings, pretas, animals, humans, asuras, and devas.

According to the prologue of Nīlakaṇṭha Dhāraṇī Sūtra, Gautama Buddha told his disciple Ānanda that Avalokiteśvara had become a Buddha from countless previous incarnations ago, alias "Wisdom of the Right Dharma Tathāgata." Because of his great compassion and because he wanted to create proper conditions for all the Bodhisattva ranks and bring happiness and peacefulness to sentient beings, he became a Bodhisattva, taking the name of Avalokiteshvara and often abiding in the Sahā world. At the same time, Avalokiteśvara is also the attendant of Amitabha Buddha, assisting Amitabha Buddha to teach the Dharma in his Pure Land.

Theravāda account
Bronze statue of Avalokiteśvara from Sri Lanka, ca. 750 CE

Veneration of Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva has continued to the present day in Sri Lanka.

In times past, both Tantrayana and Mahayana have been found in some of the Theravada countries, but today the Buddhism of Sri Lanka (formerly, Ceylon), Myanmar (formerly, Burma), Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia is almost exclusively Theravada, based on the Pali Canon. The only Mahayana deity that has entered the worship of ordinary Buddhists in Theravada Buddhism is Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. In Sri Lanka, he is known as Natha-deva and is mistaken by the majority for the Buddha yet to come, Bodhisattva Maitreya. The figure of Avalokitesvara is usually found in the shrine room near the Buddha image.[18]

In more recent times, some western-educated Theravādins have attempted to identify Nātha with Maitreya Bodhisattva; however, traditions and basic iconography (including an image of Amitābha Buddha on the front of the crown) identify Nātha as Avalokiteśvara.[19] Andrew Skilton writes:[20]

... It is clear from sculptural evidence alone that the Mahāyāna was fairly widespread throughout Sri Lanka, although the modern account of the history of Buddhism on the island presents an unbroken and pure lineage of Theravāda. (One can only assume that similar trends were transmitted to other parts of Southeast Asia with Sri Lankan ordination lineages.) Relics of an extensive cult of Avalokiteśvara can be seen in the present-day figure of Nātha.

Avalokiteśvara is popularly worshipped in Myanmar, where he is called Lokanat or lokabyuharnat, and Thailand, where he is called Lokesvara. The bodhisattva goes by many other names. In Indochina and Thailand, he is Lokesvara, "The Lord of the World." In Tibet, he is Chenrezig, also spelled Spyan-ras gzigs, "With a Pitying Look." In China, the bodhisattva takes a female form and is called Guanyin (also spelled Kwan Yin, Kuanyin, or Kwun Yum), "Hearing the Sounds of the World." In Japan, Guanyin is Kannon or Kanzeon; in Korea, Gwaneum; and in Vietnam, Quan Am.[21]

Wood carving of Lokanat at Shwenandaw Monastery, Mandalay, Burma

Modern scholarship

Avalokiteśvara is worshipped as Nātha in Sri Lanka. The Tamil Buddhist tradition developed in Chola literature, such as Buddamitra's Virasoliyam, states that the Vedic sage Agastya learned Tamil from Avalokiteśvara. The earlier Chinese traveler Xuanzang recorded a temple dedicated to Avalokitesvara in the south Indian Mount Potalaka, a Sanskritization of Pothigai, where Tamil Hindu tradition places Agastya as having learned the Tamil language from Shiva.[22][23][24] Avalokitesvara worship gained popularity with the growth of the Abhayagiri vihāra's Tamraparniyan Mahayana sect.

Pothigai Malai in Tamil Nadu is proposed as the original Mount Potalaka in India.

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 deities from Hinduism, in particular Shiva or Vishnu. This seems to be based on the name Avalokiteśvara.[7]

On the basis of study of Buddhist scriptures, ancient Tamil literary sources, as well as a field survey, the Japanese scholar Shu Hikosaka proposes the hypothesis that the ancient Mount Potalaka, the residence of Avalokiteśvara described in the Gaṇḍavyūha Sūtra and Xuanzang’s Great Tang Records on the Western Regions, is the Pothigai Hills in Ambasamudram, Tirunelveli, at the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border.[25] Shu also says that Mount Potalaka has been a sacred place for the people of South India from time immemorial. It is the traditional residence of Siddhar Agastya, at Agastya Mala. With the spread of Buddhism in the region beginning at the time of the great king Aśoka in the third century BCE, it became a holy place also for Buddhists, who gradually became dominant as a number of their hermits settled there. The local people, though, mainly remained followers of the Tamil Animist religion. The mixed Tamil-Buddhist cult culminated in the formation of the figure of Avalokiteśvara.[26]

The name Lokeśvara should not be confused with that of Lokeśvararāja, the Buddha under whom Dharmakara became a monk and made forty-eight vows before becoming Amitābha.

Mantras and Dharanis
OṂ MAŅI PADME HǕṂ. The six syllable mantra of Avalokiteśvara written in the Tibetan alphabet.

Mahāyāna Buddhism relates Avalokiteśvara to the six-syllable mantra oṃ maṇi padme hūṃ. In Tibetan Buddhism, due to his association with this mantra, one form of Avalokiteśvara is called Ṣaḍākṣarī ("Lord of the Six Syllables") in Sanskrit. Recitation of this mantra while using prayer beads is the most popular religious practice in Tibetan Buddhism. Another popular religious practice associated with om mani padme hum is the spinning of prayer wheels clockwise which contains numerous repetitions of this mantra which effectively benefits everyone within the vicinity of the practitioner.[27] The connection between this famous mantra and Avalokiteśvara is documented for the first time in the Kāraṇḍavyūhasūtra. This text is dated to around the late 4th century CE to the early 5th century CE.[28] In this sūtra, a bodhisattva is told by the Buddha that recitation of this mantra while focusing on the sound can lead to the attainment of eight hundred samādhis.[29] The Kāraṇḍavyūha Sūtra also features the first appearance of the dhāraṇī of Cundī, which occurs at the end of the sūtra text.[16] After the bodhisattva finally attains samādhi with the mantra "oṃ maṇipadme hūṃ", he is able to observe 77 koṭīs of fully enlightened buddhas replying to him in one voice with the Cundī Dhāraṇī: namaḥ saptānāṃ samyaksaṃbuddha koṭīnāṃ tadyathā, oṃ cale cule cunde svāhā.[30]

Another mantra for Avalokiteśvara commonly recited in East Asian Buddhism is Om Arolik Svaha. In Chinese, it is pronounced Ǎn ālǔlēi jì suōpóhē (唵 阿嚕勒繼 娑婆訶). In Korean, it is pronounced Om aroreuk Ge Sabaha (옴 아로늑계 사바하). In Japanese, it is pronounced On arori kya sowa ka (おん あろりきゃ そわか).

The Nīlakaṇṭha Dhāraṇī is an 82-syllable dhāraṇī for Avalokiteśvara.

Shrine to the Thousand-Hand Guanyin (Qianshou Guanyin) and Eleven-Headed Guanyin (Shiyimian Guanyin) on Mount Putuo Guanyin Dharma Realm in Zhejiang, China
Shrine to the Thousand-Hand Guanyin (Qianshou Guanyin) and Eleven-Headed Guanyin (Shiyimian Guanyin) on Mount Putuo Guanyin Dharma Realm in Zhejiang, China

Thousand-armed Avalokiteśvara
The thousand-armed Avalokiteśvara was carved in the Lê - Nguyễn dynasties, currently on display at the French Guimet museum.

One prominent Buddhist story tells of Avalokiteśvara vowing never to rest until he had freed all sentient beings from saṃsāra. Despite strenuous effort, he realizes that many unhappy beings were yet to be saved. After struggling to comprehend the needs of so many, his head splits into eleven pieces. Amitābha, seeing his plight, gives him eleven heads with which to hear the cries of the suffering. Upon hearing these cries and comprehending them, Avalokiteśvara tries to reach out to all those who needed aid, but found that his two arms shattered into pieces. Once more, Amitābha comes to his aid and invests him with a thousand arms with which to aid the suffering multitudes.[31]

The Bao'en Temple located in northwestern Sichuan has an outstanding wooden image of the Thousand-Armed Avalokiteśvara, an example of Ming dynasty decorative sculpture.[32][33]

Tibetan Buddhist beliefs

Avalokiteśvara is an important deity in Tibetan Buddhism. He is regarded in the Vajrayana teachings as a Buddha.[34]

In Tibetan Buddhism, Tãrã came into existence from a single tear shed by Avalokiteśvara.[2] 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.[35][36][37]

Manifestations
Magnificent clay images of Amoghpasha Lokesvara flanked by Arya Tara and Bhrikuti Tara enshrined at the side wing of Vasuccha Shil Mahavihar, Guita Bahi, Patan : This set of images is popular in traditional monasteries of Kathmandu Valley, Nepal.
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Avalokiteśvara has an extraordinarily large number of manifestations in different forms (including wisdom goddesses (vidyaas) directly associated with him in images and texts). Some of the more commonly mentioned forms include:

SanskritMeaningDescription
Āryāvalokiteśvara Sacred Avalokitesvara The root form of the Bodhisattva
Ekādaśamukha Eleven Faced Additional faces to teach all in 10 planes of existence
Sahasrabhuja Sahasranetra Thousand-Armed, Thousand-Eyed Avalokitesvara Very popular form: sees and helps all
Cintāmaṇicakra Wish Fulfilling Avalokitesvara Holds the wish-fulfilling jewel (cintamani) and the wheel (Chakra)
Hayagrīva Horse-necked one Wrathful form; simultaneously bodhisattva and a Wisdom King
Cundī Extreme purity Portrayed with many arms
Amoghapāśa Unfailing noose Avalokitesvara with rope and net
Bhṛkuti Fierce-Eyed
Pāndaravāsinī White and Pure
Parṇaśavarī Parṇaśabarī Cloaked With Leaves
Raktaṣadakṣarī Six Red Syllables
Śvetabhagavatī White Lord
Udakaśrī Auspicious Water
Siṃhanādalokeśvara Lord with the voice of a lion Seated on a roaring lion

See also

References
  1. "Avalokitesvara". Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.
  2. Leighton, Taigen Dan (1998). Bodhisattva Archetypes: Classic Buddhist Guides to Awakening and Their Modern Expression. New York: Penguin Arkana. pp. 158–205. ISBN 0140195564. OCLC 37211178.
  3. Studholme p. 52-54, 57.
  4. Pine, Red. The Heart Sutra: The Womb of the Buddhas (2004) Shoemaker 7 Hoard. ISBN 1-59376-009-4 pg 44-45
  5. Lokesh Chandra (1984). "The Origin of Avalokitesvara" (PDF). Indologica Taurinensia. International Association of Sanskrit Studies. XIII (1985-1986): 189–190. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 6, 2014. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  6. Mironov, N. D. (1927). "Buddhist Miscellanea". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. 59 (2): 241–252. doi:10.1017/S0035869X00057440. JSTOR 25221116. S2CID 250344585.
  7. Studholme p. 52-57.
  8. Studholme p. 30-31, 37-52.
  9. "From Birth to Exile". The Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Archived from the original on 20 October 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
  10. Martin, Michele (2003). "His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa". Music in the Sky: The Life, Art, and Teachings of the 17th Karmapa. Karma Triyana Dharmachakra. Archived from the original on 14 October 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
  11. "Glossary". Dhagpo Kundreul Ling. Archived from the original on 2007-08-08. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
  12. Bokar Rinpoche (1991). Chenrezig Lord of Love - Principles and Methods of Deity Meditation. San Francisco, California: Clearpoint Press. p. 15. ISBN 0-9630371-0-2.
  13. Huntington, John (2003). The Circle of Bliss: Buddhist Meditational Art: p. 188
  14. Baroni, Helen (2002). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Zen Buddhism: p. 15
  15. Ko Kok Kiang. Guan Yin: Goddess of Compassion. 2004. p. 10
  16. Studholme, Alexander (2002). The Origins of Oṃ Maṇipadme Hūṃ: A Study of the Kāraṇḍavyūha Sūtra: p. 175
  17. Jiang, Wu (2008). Enlightenment in Dispute: The Reinvention of Chan Buddhism in Seventeenth-Century China: p. 146
  18. Baruah, Bibhuti. Buddhist Sects and Sectarianism. 2008. p. 137
  19. "Art & Archaeology - Sri Lanka - Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara".
  20. Skilton, Andrew. A Concise History of Buddhism. 2004. p. 151
  21. "Meet Avalokiteshvara, Buddhism's Bodhisattva of Infinite Compassion".
  22. Iravatham Mahadevan (2003), EARLY TAMIL EPIGRAPHY, Volume 62. pp. 169
  23. Kallidaikurichi Aiyah Nilakanta Sastri (1963) Development of Religion in South India - Page 15
  24. Layne Ross Little (2006) Bowl Full of Sky: Story-making and the Many Lives of the Siddha Bhōgar, pp. 28
  25. Hirosaka, Shu. The Potiyil Mountain in Tamil Nadu and the origin of the Avalokiteśvara cult
  26. Läänemets, Märt (2006). "Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara in the Gandavyuha Sutra". Chung-Hwa Buddhist Studies 10, 295-339. Retrieved 2009-09-12.
  27. Studholme, Alexander (2002). The Origins of Oṃ Maṇipadme Hūṃ: A Study of the Kāraṇḍavyūha Sūtra: p. 2
  28. Studholme, Alexander (2002) The Origins of Oṃ Maṇipadme Hūṃ: A Study of the Kāraṇḍavyūha sūtra: p. 17
  29. Studholme, Alexander (2002). The Origins of Oṃ Maṇipadme Hūṃ: A Study of the Kāraṇḍavyūha Sūtra: p. 106
  30. "Saptakoṭibuddhamātṛ Cundī Dhāraṇī Sūtra". Lapis Lazuli Texts. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
  31. Venerable Shangpa Rinpoche. "Arya Avalokitesvara and the Six Syllable Mantra". Dhagpo Kagyu Ling. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
  32. Guxi, Pan (2002). Chinese Architecture -- The Yuan and Ming Dynasties (English ed.). Yale University Press. pp. 245–246. ISBN 0-300-09559-7.
  33. Bao Ern Temple, Pingwu, Sichuan Province Archived 2012-10-15 at the Wayback Machine
  34. Еше-Лодой Рипоче. Краткое объяснение сущности Ламрима. Спб.-Улан-Удэ, 2002. С. 19 (in Russian)
  35. Dampa Sonam Gyaltsen (1996). The Clear Mirror: A Traditional Account of Tibet's Golden Age. Shambhala. p. 21. ISBN 978-1-55939-932-6.
  36. Shaw, Miranda (2006). Buddhist Goddesses of India. Princeton University Press. p. 307. ISBN 0-691-12758-1.
  37. Bokar Tulku Rinpoche (1991). Chenrezig, Lord of Love: Principles and Methods of Deity Meditation. ClearPoint Press. ISBN 978-0-9630371-0-7.

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