Bodhisattvas are gods in heaven, everyone knows this. But who is Bodhisattva? Is the Bodhisattva the Guanyin Bodhisattva in the impression of Chinese people? Most people, including many older people, don't know about this. In fact, the two are not the same thing at all. Whether in the West or the East, Bodhisattvas refer to a collective name, which includes many individual Bodhisattvas and gods. Guanyin Bodhisattva is just one of the many Bodhisattvas.
1. Bodhisattva is a collective symbol
Bodhisattva is the transliteration of ancient Indian in Buddhism, meaning a master, which means a person who makes great wishes. The main responsibility of the Bodhisattva is to assist the Buddha in teaching sentient beings, spreading the Dharma, and saving sentient beings. In the thousands of years of history of China, since the introduction of Buddhism in the Tang Dynasty, it has long been sinicized and has become an important part of Chinese culture.
Why does Bodhisattva refer to a collective name? We can clearly understand the Buddhist "Three Saints" and "Three Holy Ones" and the form of the Buddha statues placed. Mahayana Buddhism believes that each Tathagata has a large number of Bodhisattvas (Buddhist term, meaning assisting) in order to save sentient beings. Most of the time when creating statues, two Bodhisattvas will be set up to represent it. Such as the Three Saints of the Western Pure Land in the Western Pure Land, the Three Saints of the Eastern Pure Glazed World, etc.
The Three Saints of the West are also known as the Three Saints of Amitabha, which consists of Amitabha Buddha, Guanyin Bodhisattva, and Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva . In the middle is Amitabha Buddha, on the right is Guanyin Bodhisattva, and on the left is Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva. Amitabha Buddha represents infinite light, lifespan and merits; Guanyin Bodhisattva represents the great compassion of the universe; and Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta represents the joy and giving of the universe.
Western Three Holy Picture
Eastern Three Holy Saints is also known as the Three Pharmacist, and is composed of Medicine Master Glazed Light Buddha, Sunlight Bodhisattva , and Moonlight Bodhisattva . The full name of Medicine Buddha is Medicine Buddha Lvli Light Tathagata , also known as the Great Doctor King Buddha, the Doctor King Shandai or the Medicine Buddha Eliminates Disaster and Prolongs Life. It is the leader of the Eastern Glazed World. Medicine Buddha was originally used to describe a doctor who could cure greed, anger and ignorance in sentient beings. In Chinese Buddhism, it is generally used to pray for eliminating disasters and prolonging life.
"Three Saints of Huayan", also known as " Sakyamuni Buddha, Manjushri Bodhisattva ", is composed of Sakyamuni Buddha, Manjushri Bodhisattva , and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva . Sakyamuni Buddha, who teaches sentient beings in the Saha world, is Manjushri Bodhisattva known for his wisdom on the left, and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva known for his great deeds on the right. The three are collectively called Sakyamuni Bodhisattva.
The Three Saints of Shakyamuni Buddha, Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, and Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva . "The Great Thousand World" is also called " Three Thousand Worlds " and "Saha World" in Buddhism. Sakyamuni Buddha, Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva and Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva often save sentient beings here, and they have a deep connection with this land, so they are called , the Three Sahas in the world. The leader of the Saha world is Sakyamuni Buddha. On the left is the Great Vow Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, and on the right is the Great Compassionate Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva.
The seven Bodhisattvas mentioned in the four types of "Three Saints" and "Three Venerables" mentioned above are the seven Bodhisattvas of Guanyin Bodhisattva, Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva, Sunshine Bodhisattva, Moonlight Bodhisattva, Manjushri Bodhisattva, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva and Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, are representatives of the many Bodhisattvas of the Buddha in Buddhism. Among them, the four Manjushri Bodhisattvas, Guanyin Bodhisattvas, Samantabhadra Bodhisattvas, and Ksitigarbha Bodhisattvas are called " Four Great Bodhisattvas " in Chinese Buddhism .
Manjushri Bodhisattva is a symbol of wisdom. His body is purple and golden, and his shape is like a boy, with five buns on his neck. Holding a Vajra Sword in the right hand can kill all demons and eliminate all troubles; holding a blue lotus in the left hand, there are Vajra Prajna Sutra on the flower, symbolizing the supreme wisdom it possesses. Guanyin Bodhisattva takes great compassion and salvation as his main virtue. The most popular " Prajna Heart Sutra " in Chinese Buddhism was preached by Guanyin Bodhisattva. Samantabhadra Bodhisattva is the representative of Mahayana Bodhisattva, symbolizing the spirit of Mahayana Buddhism, and the essence of all Bodhisattvas’ practices. Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva is also known as " Ksitigarbha " and "the leader of the Netherworld Sect". According to legend, he led the Ten Palaces of Yama Kings, who specializes in saving sentient beings in hell.
Huayan Three Holy Picture
From this we can see that Bodhisattva is a general symbol for many Bodhisattvas who serve the Buddha, and does not refer to a certain Bodhisattva, and it cannot equate Bodhisattva with Guanyin Bodhisattva.The reason why Chinese people mistakenly regard Bodhisattvas as Guanyin Bodhisattva is mainly because Chinese people don’t know much about other Bodhisattvas or even have never heard of them at all. The influence of Guanyin Bodhisattva in the minds of Chinese people is deeper than that of other gods such as Jade Emperor , Taishang Laojun , etc.
2. The origin of the name of Guanyin Bodhisattva
Guanyin Bodhisattva is also called Guanyin Bodhisattva , Guangshiyin Bodhisattva, etc., which is literally interpreted as "the Bodhisattva who "observes the voice of (the people of the world)" and is one of the four great Bodhisattvas in Chinese Buddhism. In Buddhism, he is the upper Bodhisattva under the seat of Amitabha Buddha, the leader of the Western Past Pure Land . Together with the Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta, he is the servant Bodhisattva beside Amitabha Buddha and is also called the "Three Saints of the West". According to the saying, Guanyin Bodhisattva turned out to be the eldest son of Amitabha Buddha when he was Wheel King Wuzheng Nian. He was named Buxu. He followed Sakyamuni to become a monk and practice Taoism with his father, and made a vow: "If sentient beings suffer all kinds of suffering, as long as he can recite my name with all his heart, I can observe his voice immediately and help him escape from the sea of suffering." Therefore, Treasure Buddha gave him a prophecy and named him Guanyin .
After Buddhism was introduced to China, it wanted to avoid the taboo of Taizong Li Shimin , and the word "Shi" was removed, and it was abbreviated as "Guanyin". Therefore, Guanyin Bodhisattva is also abbreviated as Guanyin Bodhisattva, and is abbreviated as "Guanyin".
Folk legend says that Guanyin Bodhisattva is the heavenly Cihang Master descending to the earth. In ancient times, the king and queen of Miaozhuang were both kind and the queen was 18 months pregnant. The reincarnation ranking of the third princess , , was named Miaoshan. She suffered a lot since she was a child and was raised by a nurse in Daxiangshan. When she grew up, she studied Buddhist scriptures hard, promoted evil and good for the people of Miaozhuang Kingdom and Daxiangshan, and was very compassionate and refined in Purple Bamboo Forest to become Guanyin Bodhisattva.
Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva said that there are three birthdays, namely the 19th day of the second lunar month, the 19th day of the sixth lunar month, and the 19th day of the nineteenth day of the lunar month, which also represents three different meanings. The 19th day of the lunar month represents the birth date and indicates the date of the Bodhisattva's birth; the 19th day of the sixth lunar month represents the enlightenment, indicating the day when the Bodhisattva attains the fruit position; the 19th day of the lunar month represents the monk, indicating the day when the Bodhisattva becomes a monk. On these anniversary days, the temple gate will be opened early to welcome the believers and Buddhist believers who come in to incense and pray for blessings, commemorate Guanyin, and jointly hold a large-scale Guanyin Bodhisattva commemoration event to promote Buddhism.
Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva
Asiasvara Bodhisattva always wears a crown on top of his head, and there is a statue of Amitabha Buddha on it. What is the reason? It turns out that Guanyin Bodhisattva is not only a servant of Amitabha Buddha, but also a student of Amitabha Buddha. In the past countless kalpas, Amitabha Buddha has enlightened and saved Amitabha Bodhisattva, who regarded Amitabha as his teacher. Putting the statue of Amitabha Buddha on your head is to be grateful to the teacher's kindness, and to remind yourself to always not forget the teacher's teachings, to save the suffering and the suffering and never slack off, and never regress in the Bodhicitta.
3. The belief in Guanyin has a profound influence in China
Guanyin is one of the four great Bodhisattvas of Chinese Buddhism. Because its reputation is far higher than that of the other three Bodhisattvas, people think of Guanyin Bodhisattva when they mention Bodhisattvas. In many countries in China and even East Asia and Southeast Asia, many temples have Guanyin Halls, and many rural areas have Guanyin Temples, which are important manifestations of the great influence of Guanyin Bodhisattva on the earth. The Chinese people's belief in Guanyin Bodhisattva is far higher than other Buddhist gods.
Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva is a symbol of compassion and wisdom in Buddhism, and plays an extremely important role in folk beliefs. He is the first person in the " family hall five gods " that is believed in folk beliefs. In China's Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangzhou, Taiwan and Southeast Asian overseas Chinese, the belief in Guanyin is extremely popular. The so-called "Amitabha in every family and every household is Guanyin", a common saying that has been passed down from ancient times to the present, fully demonstrates the grand occasion of the Chinese people's respect for Guanyin Bodhisattva, and the profound influence of Guanyin Bodhisattva in the Chinese people.
It is precisely because the belief in Guanyin has had a profound influence in China that there are various legends about Guanyin Bodhisattva among the people. As mentioned above, the widely circulated statement that Guanyin is the third princess of Princess Miaoshan, the King of Miaozhuang, Xinglin Kingdom.This kind of female Guanyin legend can be seen in the Song Dynasty , Zhubian "Quwu Old News". Later, the "Biography of Guanyin Bodhisattva" written by Guandaosheng in the late Song and early Yuan dynasties became a complete biography. Based on this, a large number of Guanyin story books such as "Fragrant Mountain Treasure Scroll", " The Complete Biography of Guanyin in the South China Sea ", and "Guanyin attains the Tao" have appeared one after another.
Thousand-handed Thousand-eyed Guanyin Bodhisattva
Guanyin Bodhisattva has great compassion and vows of equality and selflessness. When sentient beings encounter any difficulties and pains, if they can sincerely recite Guanyin Bodhisattva, they will be rescued by the Bodhisattva. Moreover, Guanyin Bodhisattva is best able to adapt to the requirements of sentient beings, and to different sentient beings, they will manifest different bodies and teach different methods. Therefore, there are many names and images of Guanyin Bodhisattva in the folk. Such as Six Guanyin, Seven Guanyin and Thousand Hands Thousand Eyes Guanyin, eleven-sided Guanyin , Thirty-three Guanyin (called Thirty-Three Bodies), etc. This has a lot to do with the history, time, region and customs of various places. It is a product of the people's beliefs.
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