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Gentle Mother

Kwan Yin is probably the most popular figure of devotion among the Buddhists of East Asia, and her image is to be found everywhere in countries like China, Vietnam, Japan and Korea, as well as among the vast Chinese diaspora. Kwan Yin is the most important Bodhisattva in the Mahayana Buddhist pantheon – a Bodhisattva is a being who has renounced enlightenment in order to help and save suffering beings in this sentient world. In the West she has been commonly known as the Goddess of Mercy, a name given to her by Jesuit missionaries in China in the 17th century – the missionaries recognised the ubiquity of images of the Goddess and learned from the people the special qualities that she embodies.

Kwan Yin is the sinific form of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, and her presence is felt all around the world. It is worth noting that, according to Tibetan Buddhist belief, the Dalai Lama himself is a manifestation of Avalokitesvara, and so it is not a stretch to say that the Dalai Lama is a living incarnation of Kwan Yin. e name “Kwan Yin” means “Hearer of the cries of the world.” Kwan Yin hears all who pray to her, and attempts to help them. e iconography that identifies images of the Goddess is rich with the meaning of her name and qualities. She is often depicted, for example, with 1,000 arms and eyes, all of them capable of helping people and answering their prayers. She is also depicted carrying a vase, variously said to contain the healing balm of her compassionate mercy, or the tears she has cried at witnessing the suffering of the world. In her crown she normally bears an image of Amitabha Buddha, Lord of the Western Paradise. is is to indicate that Kwan Yin always acts in service of the idea of wisdom, transcendence and spiritual truth.

K

The Spirituality

of Kwan Yin

by Walter Mason

Talk presented at Sydney Unitarian C

hurch, 11 May 2008.

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Kwan Yin is traditionally seen as a female deity. She is represented usually in the female aspect, but according to the sutras Kwan Yin

is in fact male. is gradual shift of gender happened over centuries in the practice of popular Buddhism in China, and in

part was due to the Buddhist annexation of other popular religious beliefs that told stories of goddesses and mythical princesses. In fact,

Kwan Yin could be seen as a creature of indeterminate gender, and by eclipsing standard notions of gender she becomes a quintessentially

modern figure. All of the earliest images of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara – the prototype, if you like, of Kwan Yin – represent him

with a moustache. Like most of the other Bodhisattvas, he was represented as an absolutely male figure, though the

standard belief of Mahayana Buddhism was that all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas were beyond

concepts of gender.

e Lotus Sutra tells us that Kwan Yin is capable of changing into any form in order

to effectively convey the Dharma, the teaching of wisdom. And so while she is

normally seen in her feminine aspect, many people don’t realise that she is also manifest as the

wrathful deities that protect the Dharma, and whose terrifying, red-faced images can always be seen at Buddhist temples. She is also manifest as

Brahma, the Four-Faced Hindu Creator God revered throughout South-East Asia. Kwan Yin

is a shape-shifter, an ultimately elusive figure who can appear in our lives

wherever there is kindness and

gentleness and

expression of goodwill.

In the 25th Chapter of the Lotus Sutra, the “Universal Door” chapter, the particular traits and great graces of Kwan Yin are expounded. e Buddha says that those who call on the name of the Bodhisattva (i.e. chant her name “Nam Mo Kwan Shi Yin Pu Sa”) can expect her protection. She is the special protector of those facing danger at sea (hence her popularity among the sea-faring people of Hong Kong and Southern Vietnam). She also extends her protection to those facing physical danger – thus becoming a champion of the oppressed. is “Universal Door” Chapter of the Lotus Sutra is one of the most commonly known scriptures in the Mahayana Buddhist world. It is frequently printed as a booklet on its own, and distributed freely at Buddhist temples, carrying the image of Kwan Yin on its cover. ese booklets are ubiquitous, and are printed by lay-people as a way of acquiring merit. ey also frequently contain other popular religious lore, including Kwan Yin’s Great Compassion Mantra (a long mantra said to contain many mystical powers), and the Heart Sutra, the shortest Sutra of the Buddhist Canon, spoken by the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. ese booklets may also contain apocryphal stories of the miracles of Kwan Yin, as well as other popular, superstitious esoterica.

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I know that Unitarians must be bewildered at all this talk of Goddesses, at statues and images of deities and the thought of worship of a particular being. But it is important to keep in mind the distinctive Buddhist conception of deities, and the place of images in the Buddhist spiritual life. e Venerable Master Chin Kung, a prominent monk in Taiwan and the world’s leading exponent of traditional Pure Land Buddhism, reminds us that: “All the facilities, images of Buddha and any offerings made are teaching tools designed to remind us of the importance of being enlightened instead of deluded, virtuous instead of deviated, pure instead of polluted.” And so we must look at Kwan Yin not as a Goddess, but as a reminder of the qualities of mercy and compassion and universal love – distinctly Unitarian values, I’d suggest. A standard porcelain statue is, at its simplest, nothing but painted mud. And yet the qualities it represents are indeed sacred. So each time I bow to this image, or offer it flowers and incense, I am honouring the importance of the qualities it embodies. More than that, I am recognising the presence within me of those same qualities, and reminding myself of the importance of their cultivation.

It has been too easy for the Western mind, ever conscious as it is of the Golden calf and the biblical condemnations of idolatry, to totally misunderstand the nature and meaning of religious images, and their effectiveness as teaching tools. Each image of Kwan Yin is a moral lesson, and to be surrounded by such images is to be constantly reminded of the importance of compassion and mercy. ere are no Gods or Goddesses in the Buddhist tradition, it being, doctrinally at least, a thoroughly atheistic and humanistic belief.

Kwan Yin began to influence Western culture and art as early as the Renaissance, and by the Victorian era figures such as Madame Blavatsky were conscious of the importance of this “Buddhist Goddess” and were impressed by her embodiment of such wonderful virtues. e Vietnamese frequently call Kwan Yin Me Hien, the Gentle Mother. is appellation reminds us that traditionally Kwan Yin is associated with motherhood. e Lotus Sutra tells us that by calling on the name of the Bodhisattva, a mother can be sure of delivering healthy baby boys and girls. Kwan Yin is frequently depicted carrying a baby, or flanked by two small children who act as her celestial attendants. is mother is a universal one, associated with the moon and the ocean, and mirrors Western devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. e popular worship of Kwan Yin is one of the most common spiritual expressions in Buddhist East Asia. Her shrines normally house an oracle, which people consult for guidance in their lives. In times of stress and trouble people recite the name of Kwan Yin and this eases the hearts and minds of lay people.

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ere are many ways that we, in the 21st Century West, can draw on the energy of the Gentle Mother to enhance our own spiritual lives. We can:

Practise Recitation – use our own meaningful mantra, or the name of Kwan Yin, as a form of meditation, and to help us maintain a one-pointedness of mind. We can employ a mala or rosary to help us in this. Keep her name – and thus her qualities – always in mind

Keep a merit journal – traditionally, illiterate lay-people in China kept a piece of paper on which they recorded with a red dot the good deeds they did. ese pieces of paper normally carried images of Kwan Yin, and are still distributed at temples in Hong Kong. Once a sheet was filled with red dots, you brought it back to the temple to exchange for a new merit sheet. ose of us fortunate enough to know how to read and write might like to keep an up-dated version of this merit sheet by maintaining a special journal in which we record our meritorious actions. We might like to endeavour to fill one journal a year with reflections on the good deeds we have done.

Make spiritual pledges and follow through on them – at shrines to Kwan Yin, people traditionally ask for special favours and pledge to make certain sacrifices if these favours are granted. is may seem a little like spiritual bargaining, but it could be viewed as a way to formally acknowledge one’s gratitude for the good things that happen in life. So, if we ask for a High Distinction in an exam, or for our chest-cold to be healed, we should perhaps promise to celebrate the achievement of these goals by marking a period of sacrifice – observing vegetarianism for a week, say – or enhanced spiritual practise – meditating each morning for a fortnight, for example.

© 2008 Walter Mason Designed and produced by Zade Publications, 2008.

You may be surprised to know that Kwan Yin is now firmly ensconced in Sydney – her image appears in temples and front gardens throughout our suburbs, particularly in Sydney’s South West. Her unequalled blessings help to unify us and remind us of those more angelic qualities that put us in a more truly spiritual place. May you all be showered with the nectar of Kwan Yin, may she hear your prayers and grant you comfort and peace. Blessings of the Gentle Mother upon you all!