Lokesvara

From Buddhist Encyclopedia

• Chinese :  观世音菩萨 guanshiyinpusa
• Tibetan :  སྤྱན་རས་གཟིགས spyan-ras-gzigs, chenrezig
• Thai :  พระอวโลกิเตศวรโพธิสัตว์
• Vietnamese :  Quán Thế Âm

Avalokiteśvara or Avalokiteshvara (Sanskrit, lit. "Lord who looks down") is the bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. He is the most widely revered bodhisattva in Buddhism. In East Asia, the bodhisattva is known as Kuan Yin or Kannon, both of which are female manifestations. In Tibetan Buddhism, Avalokiteśvara is known as Chenrezig, and also as Padmapāni ("Holder of the Lotus"). In Mongolia, he is Xongsim Bodisadv-a as well as Nidüber Üjegči. In the Theravada tradition of Southeast Asia, Avalokiteśvara is known as Lokeśvara (Lord of the World).

In the Hindu tradition Avalokiteśvara at Potala (普陀山 Mount Potalaka) sometimes take the form of īśvara (Śhiva) and sometimes take the form of a Pāśupta yogin. In fact Śhiva was metamorphosed into Avalokiteśvara. This is corroborated by the Nīlakanthaka and Nīlakantha Dhāranī where Nīlakantha Lokeśvara (Blue Necked Lord of the World) is an apotheosis of Śhiva and Visnu.

Four-armed Tibetan Chenrezig form of Avalokiteśvara
Names
Sanskrit:	अवलोकितेश्वर
IAST:	Avalokiteśvara
Tibetan script:	སྤྱན་རས་གཟིགས
Tibetan:	Chenrezig
Wylie:	spyan-ras-gzigs
(See also Kuan Yin)

Tibetan Buddhism also relates Chenrezig to the foremost mantra, the six-syllable Om Mani Padme Hum. Thus Chenrezig is also called Shadakshari ("Lord of the Six Syllables").

The Mahā Karuna Dhāranī, also known as the Great Compassion Mantra in the Mahayana text-Mahā Karuna Dhāranī Sutra, includes the 82 syllable mantra spoken by Avalokiteśvara to the assembly of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, and extols the merits of chanting the mantra. This mantra is popular in China, Japan and Taiwan.

Etymology

The name Avalokiteś(h)vara is made of four parts: the verbal prefix ava, which means "down"; the noun lok, which means "the world"; the suffix ita, which changes the verb avalok into a noun, "one who looks down upon the world"; and finally īśvara, "lord" or "master". In accordance with the rules of sound combination, iś(h)vara becomes eshvara. Combined, the four parts mean "Lord Who Gazes Downward". Śhvara does not mean sound in Sanskrit, Avalokiteśhvara does not and never meant "Look upon sound" in Hinduism. Śvara means sounds. Only in the Chinese buddhist tradition it is translated as "Look upon Sound 観音", then it would be "Avalokitaśvara" rather than "Avalokiteśhvara".

Origin

Western scholars

Western scholars have not reached a consensus on the origin of the reverence for Avalokiteśvara. Avalokiteśvara itself is a Sanskrit word, supporting a common origin in cultural Hinduism. The appellation Īśvara, "lord", is sometimes used to refer to Śhiva and Vishnu as well as Avalokiteśvara. However, other scholars suggest that since Vedas were orally preserved till 8th century, there is a good chance that Avalokiteśvara was originally a Buddhist deity who was later included within Hinduism.

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 Hindu deities, in particular Śhiva, Visnu, or combined bodies of Visnu(Hari) and Śhiva(Hara), namely, Hari-Hara Lokaśvarā. Nīlakantha (blue neck) is an epithet of Śhiva, he manifests as a blue-necked peacock, his throat turned bluish-black from swallowing the poison (Halahala) produced at the churning of the ocean in order to save humanity. Yogīśvara (Lord of the Yogis) is another epithet of Śhiva, Āvalokiteśvarā of Potala sometimes appears as a yogi smeared with ashes, while ashes is an attribute of Śhiva, he smears his body with cemetery ashes (Bhasma) points the philosophy of the life and death and the fact that death is the ultimate reality of the life. In all probability that Nīlakantha Lokeśvara and Potalaka Āvalokiteśvarā are identical.

Mahayana account

According to Mahayana doctrine, Avalokiteśvara is the bodhisattva who has made a great vow to listen to the prayers of all sentient beings in times of difficulty, and to postpone his own Buddhahood until he has assisted every being on earth in achieving nirvana. Mahayana sutras associated with Avalokiteśvara include the Heart Sutra (as disciple of the historical Buddha Shakyamuni) and the Lotus Sutra, particularly the 25th chapter which is sometimes referred to as the Avalokiteśvara Sutra.

Vajrayana account

In the Tibetan tradition, Avalokiteśvara is seen as arising from two sources. One is the relative source, where in a previous eon (kalpa) a devoted, compassionate Buddhist monk became a bodhisattva, transformed in the present kalpa into Avalokiteśvara. That is not in conflict, however, with the ultimate source, which is Avalokiteśvara as the universal manifestation of compassion. The bodhisattva is viewed as the anthropomorphised vehicle for the actual deity, serving to bring about a better understanding of Avalokiteśvara to humankind.

The thousand arms of Avalokiteśvara

Avalokiteśvara with 1,000 arms, part of the Dazu Rock Carvings at Mount Baoding, Dazu County, Chongqing, China.

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

Many Himalayan versions of the tale include eight arms with which Avalokiteśvara skilfully upholds the dharma, each possessing its own particular implement, while more Chinese-specific ones give varying accounts of this number.

Tibetan Buddhist beliefs concerning Chenrezig

Avalokiteśvara (known as Chenrezig in Tibetan) is an important deity in Tibetan Buddhism, and is regarded as a Buddha. The Dalai Lama is considered by the Gelugpa sect and many other Tibetan Buddhists to be the primary earthly manifestation of Chenrezig.

Other manifestations popular in Tibet include Sahasra-bhuja (a form with a thousand arms) and Ekādaśamukha (a form with eleven faces).

In Tibetan Buddhism, White Tara acts as the consort and energizer of Avalokiteśvara/Chenrezig. According to popular belief, Tara came into existence from a single tear shed by Chenrezig. When the tear fell to the ground it created a lake, and a lotus opening in the lake revealed Tara. In another version, Tara emerges from the heart of Chenrezig. In either version it is Chenrezig's outpouring of compassion which manifests Tara as a being.

Manifestations

Avalokiteśvara has an extraordinarily large number of manifestations in different forms. Some of the more commonly mentioned forms include:

External links

• The Origin of Avalokiteshvara of Potala
• Avalokiteshvara - The Buddha of Compassion
• An Explanation of the Name Avalokiteshvara
• The Bodhisattva Ideal - Buddhism and the Aesthetics of Selflessness
• The Bodhisattva of Compassion and Spiritual Emanation of Amitabha - from Buddhanature.com
• Avalokiteshvara - The Buddha of Compassion