Kuan Yin

From Barbelith

This is the Chinese deity seen as an incarnation of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara in female form, as the goddess of mercy, the one who hears all the world's cries.

Here's a legend linking her to the peacock (http://www.geocities.com/isisdownunder/KuanYinLegend.html), whose thousand eyes remind us that she's always watching. It comes from this comprehensive collection of Kuan Yin lore (http://www.geocities.com/isisdownunder/index.html).

There's also a nice, more compact overview of Kuan Yin lore and history here (http://ignca.nic.in/ks_41028.htm), and Yogi Chen (with help from Dr. Lin Yutang) has collected some sadhanas and rituals dedicated to Guanyin (http://yogilin.net//elist03.html) (and related figures).


Two Attendants

She's sometimes said (http://www.mykwanyin.com/kwgoddess.html) to have two attendants, Shan-ts’ai Tung-tsi (young man of excellent capacities, also called Ji-tong or Shan Cai) and Lung-wang nu (daughter of the dragon king, also called Yu-nu or Longnu). These two figures (http://www.18k.ca/product_info.php?products_id=342&c18k=877fc86bd0fad852b360cf9d3e9aee34&c18k=877fc86bd0fad852b360cf9d3e9aee34) are linked to acolytes of Avalokiteshvara and to Miao Shan ("wonderfully kind one"), a princess regarded as an incarnation of Kuan Yin who may have lived on Putuoshan Island (http://www.geocities.com/isisdownunder3/PutuoshanIsland.html) in 700 BC.

  • More on the Dragon King's Daughter here (http://www.gakkaionline.net/mandala/devaDKD.html) and here (http://www.sgi-usa.org/buddhism/library/sgdb/lexicon.cgi?tid=1576).
  • More on Shan Cai Tong Zi here (http://www.chibs.edu.tw/publication/chbs/10/chbs1011.htm) and here (http://www.putuoshan.net/English/Seeings/guanyin2.php), and here, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudhana) as the bodhisattva Sudhana (http://www.borobudur.tv/avadana_05.htm). You can find likenesses by doing a Google Image search on "shan cai tong zi" or "Shancai Tongzi."

Also Known As

The White Goddess' name is also spelled Quan Yin, Kwan Yin and Guanyin in Chinese, and in Japan she's known as Kannon, the Many Armed One (and is a man).


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