Avalokiteśvara

The name Avalokiteśvara combines the verbal prefix ava "down", lokita, a past participle of the verb lok "to 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 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]

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.[15] 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

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]

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]

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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Thousand-armed, thousand-eyed Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva at the Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum in Kaohsiung, Taiwan

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:

• 
  Gandhāran statue of Avalokiteśvara, abhaya-mudrā. 3rd century CE.
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  Indian cave wall painting of Avalokiteśvara. Ajaṇṭā Caves, 6th century CE.
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  Avalokitesvara, ca 11th-12th Century CE, Pala Period
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  Avalokitesvara, Pala period
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  1000-armed Avalokiteśvara dated 13th - 15th century AD at Saspol cave (Gon-Nila-Phuk Cave Temples and Fort) in Ladakh, India
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  Torso of Avalokiteśvara from Sanchi in the Victoria and Albert Museum
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  Cambodian statue of Avalokiteśvara. Sandstone, 7th century CE.
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  Avalokiteśvara sandstone statue, late 7th century CE.
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  Padmapani holding a lotus. 8th-9th century Sailendran art, Plaosan temple, Java, Indonesia.
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  Eight-armed Avalokiteśvara, ca. 12th-13th century (Bàyon). The Walters Art Museum.
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  Avalokiteśvara from Bingin Jungut, Musi Rawas, South Sumatra. Srivijayan art (c. 8th-9th century CE)
• 
  The bronze torso Avalokiteshvara of Chaiya, 8th century CE Srivijayan art, Chaiya District, Surat Thani Province, Southern Thailand.
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  The Privy Seal of King Ananda Mahidol of Thailand show a picture of a Bodhisattva, based on a Srivijayan sculpture of Avalokiteśvara Padmapani which was found at Chaiya District, Surat Thani Province.
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  The stone head of Avalokiteśvara, discovered in Aceh. Srivijaya, estimated 9th century.
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  Malaysian statue of Avalokiteśvara. Bidor, 8th-9th century CE.
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  Chinese statue of Avalokiteśvara looking out over the sea, c. 1025 CE.
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  Chinese hanging scroll depicting Shancai, Avalokiteśvara and Longnü, Yuan Dynasty.
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  Standing Kannon Bosatsu (Avalokitesvara), 12th century, Heian period, Tokyo National Museum, Japan.
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  Senju Kannon by Tankei, 13th century, Sanjūsangen-dō, Japan.
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  Nyoirin Kannon, 1275, Tokyo National Museum, Japan
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  Korean painting of Avalokiteśvara. Kagami Jinjya, Japan, 1310 CE.
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  Nepalese statue of Avalokiteśvara with six arms. 14th century CE.
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  Avalokiteśvara of One Thousand Arms, lacquered and gilded wood. Restored in 1656 CE. Bút Tháp Temple, Bắc Ninh Province, Vietnam
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  Tibetan statue of Avalokiteśvara with eleven faces.
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  Japanese painting of Avalokiteśvara meditating. 16th century CE.
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  Tang dynasty (896 AD) carved stone statue of Qianshou Guanyin in Shengshui Temple (內江聖水寺) in Neijiang, Sichuan, China
• 
  The world tallest octagonal pavilion to shelter the Guanyin statue in Kek Lok Si in Air Itam, Penang, Malaysia.
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  Esoteric Cundī form of Avalokiteśvara with eighteen arms in Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.
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  Thousand-armed Avalokiteśvara bronze statue from Tibet, circa 1750. Birmingham Museum of Art
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  Mongolian statue of Avalokiteśvara (Migjid Janraisig). Tallest indoor statue in the world, 26.5-meter-high, 1996 rebuilt, (1913)
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  Statue of Ruyilun Guanyin (Cintamanicakra) in the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum in Chinatown, Singapore.
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  Guanyin, Chinese Ming Dynasty, Guimet Museum
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  Statue of Avalokitesvara (Guanyin) in Daan Park, Taipei, Taiwan
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  Statue of Avalokiteśvara, date unknown, bronze and gold
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  Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara from the Museum of Vietnamese History
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  Chinese Yuan/Ming dynasty wood carving of Avalokitesvara (Guanyin) seated in a relaxing position
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  Statue of Chenrezig, Pelling, Sikkim, India
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  Painting of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva. Sanskrit Astasahasrika Prajnaparamita Sutra manuscript written in the Ranjana script. Nalanda, Bihar, India. Circa 700-1100 CE
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  Qianshou Guanyin at Cham Shan Temple in Hong Kong, China
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  Qianshou Guanyin. Guanyin women's vihara, Anhui, China
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  Shrine to a statue of Shiyimian Guanyin in the Drum Tower of Qita Temple (七塔寺) in Yingzhou, Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, China
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  Statue of Shiyimian Guanyin flanked by two attendant bodhisattvas in Huayan Temple (華嚴寺); Datong, Shanxi, China
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  Statue of Shiyimian Guanyin in Bukenqu Guanyin Yard (不肯去觀音院) in Putuoshan, Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province, China
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  Statue of Shiyimian Guanyin in Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery (萬佛寺) in Pai Tau Village, Sha Tin, Hong Kong
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  The wooden statue of thousand-armed and thousand-eyed Guanyin at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas in Ukiah, California.
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  Thousand-armed, thousand-eyed Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva at the Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum in Kaohsiung, Taiwan

• Guanyin
• Ishvara
• Pure Land Buddhism
• Ushnishasitatapattra
• Vishnu
• Dalai Lama

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• Doniger, Wendy, ed. (1993), Purana Perennis: Reciprocity and Transformation in Hindu and Jaina Texts, State University of New York Press, ISBN 0-7914-1381-0
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• Holt, John (1991). Buddha in the Crown: Avalokitesvara in the Buddhist Traditions of Sri Lanka. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195064186.
• 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.
• Studholme, Alexander (2002). The Origins of Om Manipadme Hum. Albany NY: State University of New York Press. ISBN 0-7914-5389-8.
• Tsugunari, Kubo; Akira (tr.), Yuyama (2007). The Lotus Sutra (PDF) (Revised 2nd ed.). Berkeley, Calif.: Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research. ISBN 978-1-886439-39-9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-07-02.
• Yü, Chün-fang (2001). Kuan-Yin: The Chinese Transformation of Avalokitesvara. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-12029-6.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Avalokiteshvara.

• The Origin of Avalokiteshvara of Potala
• An Explanation of the Name Avalokiteshvara
• The Bodhisattva of Compassion and Spiritual Emanation of Amitabha - from Buddhanature.com
• Depictions at the Bayon in Cambodia of Avalokiteshvara as the Khmer King Jayavarman VII
• Mantra Avalokitesvara
• Avalokiteshvara at Britannica.com
• Chenrezig Tibetan Buddhist Center of Philadelphia