Kuan-yin

Kuan-yin

Author: Chün-fang Yü

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2001-03-22

Total Pages: 657

ISBN-13: 0231502753

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By far one of the most important objects of worship in the Buddhist traditions, the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara is regarded as the embodiment of compassion. He has been widely revered throughout the Buddhist countries of Asia since the early centuries of the Common Era. While he was closely identified with the royalty in South and Southeast Asia, and the Tibetans continue to this day to view the Dalai Lamas as his incarnations, in China he became a she—Kuan-yin, the "Goddess of Mercy"—and has a very different history. The causes and processes of this metamorphosis have perplexed Buddhist scholars for centuries. In this groundbreaking, comprehensive study, Chün-fang Yü discusses this dramatic transformation of the (male) Indian bodhisattva Avalokitesvara into the (female) Chinese Kuan-yin—from a relatively minor figure in the Buddha's retinue to a universal savior and one of the most popular deities in Chinese religion. Focusing on the various media through which the feminine Kuan-yin became constructed and domesticated in China, Yü thoroughly examines Buddhist scriptures, miracle stories, pilgrimages, popular literature, and monastic and local gazetteers—as well as the changing iconography reflected in Kuan-yin's images and artistic representations—to determine the role this material played in this amazing transformation. The book eloquently depicts the domestication of Kuan-yin as a case study of the indigenization of Buddhism in China and illuminates the ways this beloved deity has affected the lives of all Chinese people down the ages.


Book Synopsis Kuan-yin by : Chün-fang Yü

Download or read book Kuan-yin written by Chün-fang Yü and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2001-03-22 with total page 657 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By far one of the most important objects of worship in the Buddhist traditions, the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara is regarded as the embodiment of compassion. He has been widely revered throughout the Buddhist countries of Asia since the early centuries of the Common Era. While he was closely identified with the royalty in South and Southeast Asia, and the Tibetans continue to this day to view the Dalai Lamas as his incarnations, in China he became a she—Kuan-yin, the "Goddess of Mercy"—and has a very different history. The causes and processes of this metamorphosis have perplexed Buddhist scholars for centuries. In this groundbreaking, comprehensive study, Chün-fang Yü discusses this dramatic transformation of the (male) Indian bodhisattva Avalokitesvara into the (female) Chinese Kuan-yin—from a relatively minor figure in the Buddha's retinue to a universal savior and one of the most popular deities in Chinese religion. Focusing on the various media through which the feminine Kuan-yin became constructed and domesticated in China, Yü thoroughly examines Buddhist scriptures, miracle stories, pilgrimages, popular literature, and monastic and local gazetteers—as well as the changing iconography reflected in Kuan-yin's images and artistic representations—to determine the role this material played in this amazing transformation. The book eloquently depicts the domestication of Kuan-yin as a case study of the indigenization of Buddhism in China and illuminates the ways this beloved deity has affected the lives of all Chinese people down the ages.

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Author: Chün-fang Yü

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 660

ISBN-13: 9780231120296

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Yu presents a groundbreaking, comprehensive study of one of the most popular and important "deities" in the Buddhist pantheon--one who changed gender as he/she was imported into China from India. Yu explores this dramatic transformation of the (male) Indian bodhisattva Avalokitesvara into the (female) Chinese Kuan-yin--from a relatively minor figure in the Buddha's retinue to a universal savior and one of the most popular deities in Chinese religion.


Book Synopsis ?? by : Chün-fang Yü

Download or read book ?? written by Chün-fang Yü and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2001 with total page 660 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Yu presents a groundbreaking, comprehensive study of one of the most popular and important "deities" in the Buddhist pantheon--one who changed gender as he/she was imported into China from India. Yu explores this dramatic transformation of the (male) Indian bodhisattva Avalokitesvara into the (female) Chinese Kuan-yin--from a relatively minor figure in the Buddha's retinue to a universal savior and one of the most popular deities in Chinese religion.

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Author: Chün-fang Yü

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 657

ISBN-13: 023112029X

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Yu presents a groundbreaking, comprehensive study of one of the most popular and important "deities" in the Buddhist pantheon--one who changed gender as he/she was imported into China from India. Yu explores this dramatic transformation of the (male) Indian bodhisattva Avalokitesvara into the (female) Chinese Kuan-yin--from a relatively minor figure in the Buddha's retinue to a universal savior and one of the most popular deities in Chinese religion.


Book Synopsis ?? by : Chün-fang Yü

Download or read book ?? written by Chün-fang Yü and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2001 with total page 657 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Yu presents a groundbreaking, comprehensive study of one of the most popular and important "deities" in the Buddhist pantheon--one who changed gender as he/she was imported into China from India. Yu explores this dramatic transformation of the (male) Indian bodhisattva Avalokitesvara into the (female) Chinese Kuan-yin--from a relatively minor figure in the Buddha's retinue to a universal savior and one of the most popular deities in Chinese religion.

Becoming Guanyin

Becoming Guanyin

Author: Yuhang Li

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2020-02-18

Total Pages: 365

ISBN-13: 0231548737

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Winner, 2024 Geiss-Hsu Book Prize for Best First Book, Society for Ming Studies The goddess Guanyin began in India as the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, originally a male deity. He gradually became indigenized as a female deity in China over the span of nearly a millennium. By the Ming (1358–1644) and Qing (1644–1911) periods, Guanyin had become the most popular female deity in China. In Becoming Guanyin, Yuhang Li examines how lay Buddhist women in late imperial China forged a connection with the subject of their devotion, arguing that women used their own bodies to echo that of Guanyin. Li focuses on the power of material things to enable women to access religious experience and transcendence. In particular, she examines how secular Buddhist women expressed mimetic devotion and pursued religious salvation through creative depictions of Guanyin in different media such as painting and embroidery and through bodily portrayals of the deity using jewelry and dance. These material displays expressed a worldview that differed from yet fit within the Confucian patriarchal system. Attending to the fabrication and use of “women’s things” by secular women, Li offers new insight into the relationships between worshipped and worshipper in Buddhist practice. Combining empirical research with theoretical insights from both art history and Buddhist studies, Becoming Guanyin is a field-changing analysis that reveals the interplay between material culture, religion, and their gendered transformations.


Book Synopsis Becoming Guanyin by : Yuhang Li

Download or read book Becoming Guanyin written by Yuhang Li and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2020-02-18 with total page 365 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner, 2024 Geiss-Hsu Book Prize for Best First Book, Society for Ming Studies The goddess Guanyin began in India as the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, originally a male deity. He gradually became indigenized as a female deity in China over the span of nearly a millennium. By the Ming (1358–1644) and Qing (1644–1911) periods, Guanyin had become the most popular female deity in China. In Becoming Guanyin, Yuhang Li examines how lay Buddhist women in late imperial China forged a connection with the subject of their devotion, arguing that women used their own bodies to echo that of Guanyin. Li focuses on the power of material things to enable women to access religious experience and transcendence. In particular, she examines how secular Buddhist women expressed mimetic devotion and pursued religious salvation through creative depictions of Guanyin in different media such as painting and embroidery and through bodily portrayals of the deity using jewelry and dance. These material displays expressed a worldview that differed from yet fit within the Confucian patriarchal system. Attending to the fabrication and use of “women’s things” by secular women, Li offers new insight into the relationships between worshipped and worshipper in Buddhist practice. Combining empirical research with theoretical insights from both art history and Buddhist studies, Becoming Guanyin is a field-changing analysis that reveals the interplay between material culture, religion, and their gendered transformations.

Discovering Kwan Yin, Buddhist Goddess of Compassion

Discovering Kwan Yin, Buddhist Goddess of Compassion

Author: Sandy Boucher

Publisher: Beacon Press

Published: 2000-05-12

Total Pages: 141

ISBN-13: 0807013412

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Sandy Boucher, celebrated author of Opening the Lotus and Turning the Wheel, now offers North American readers their first opportunity to share in Kwan Yin's illuminating wisdom. Along with providing meditations, chants, and prayers this lovely, illustrated volume recounts the stories of this bodhisattva (one who delays her own full enlightenment to work for the liberation of all beings) and explains Kwan Yin's role in Buddhism. Discovering Kwan Yin is sure to become an important spiritual touchstone for those who seek to celebrate the goddess in their lives, to give and receive the loving power of her presence.


Book Synopsis Discovering Kwan Yin, Buddhist Goddess of Compassion by : Sandy Boucher

Download or read book Discovering Kwan Yin, Buddhist Goddess of Compassion written by Sandy Boucher and published by Beacon Press. This book was released on 2000-05-12 with total page 141 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sandy Boucher, celebrated author of Opening the Lotus and Turning the Wheel, now offers North American readers their first opportunity to share in Kwan Yin's illuminating wisdom. Along with providing meditations, chants, and prayers this lovely, illustrated volume recounts the stories of this bodhisattva (one who delays her own full enlightenment to work for the liberation of all beings) and explains Kwan Yin's role in Buddhism. Discovering Kwan Yin is sure to become an important spiritual touchstone for those who seek to celebrate the goddess in their lives, to give and receive the loving power of her presence.

The Promise of Kuan Yin

The Promise of Kuan Yin

Author: Martin Palmer

Publisher: Hampton Roads Publishing

Published: 2021-03-01

Total Pages: 215

ISBN-13: 1612834612

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The best and most comprehensive book on the most important and best-loved Chinese goddess. Walk down the streets of Chinatown in any American or western European city and look around. She is there. Walk through the downtown streets, look in a shop window. She is there. Go to any city in China and open your eyes. She is there, too. Kuan Yin is the most ubiquitous Chinese deity—and the most loved. She is the living expression of compassion whose gentle face and elegant figure form the center of devotion in most Chinese homes and workplaces. Until relatively recently, she was barely known in the West, and few studies had been made of her. Originally published as Kuan Yin by Harper Collins in 1995 (and republished as The Kuan Yin Chronicles by Hampton Roads in 2009), this seminal work explores the origins and evolution of the goddess in ancient China, early Buddhism, Taoism, and shamanism. Religious scholar Martin Palmer and Chinese divination expert Man-Ho Kwok discuss the Kuan Yin myths and stories, and Jay Ramsay provides fresh translations of 100 Kuan Yin poems that function both as literature and divination tools. “A compelling story that reads like a detective mystery . . . and shows the contemporary reassertion of the Goddess in the hearts and minds of men and women.” —Riane Eisler, author of The Chalice and the Blade. Previously published as The Kuan Yin Chronicles.


Book Synopsis The Promise of Kuan Yin by : Martin Palmer

Download or read book The Promise of Kuan Yin written by Martin Palmer and published by Hampton Roads Publishing. This book was released on 2021-03-01 with total page 215 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The best and most comprehensive book on the most important and best-loved Chinese goddess. Walk down the streets of Chinatown in any American or western European city and look around. She is there. Walk through the downtown streets, look in a shop window. She is there. Go to any city in China and open your eyes. She is there, too. Kuan Yin is the most ubiquitous Chinese deity—and the most loved. She is the living expression of compassion whose gentle face and elegant figure form the center of devotion in most Chinese homes and workplaces. Until relatively recently, she was barely known in the West, and few studies had been made of her. Originally published as Kuan Yin by Harper Collins in 1995 (and republished as The Kuan Yin Chronicles by Hampton Roads in 2009), this seminal work explores the origins and evolution of the goddess in ancient China, early Buddhism, Taoism, and shamanism. Religious scholar Martin Palmer and Chinese divination expert Man-Ho Kwok discuss the Kuan Yin myths and stories, and Jay Ramsay provides fresh translations of 100 Kuan Yin poems that function both as literature and divination tools. “A compelling story that reads like a detective mystery . . . and shows the contemporary reassertion of the Goddess in the hearts and minds of men and women.” —Riane Eisler, author of The Chalice and the Blade. Previously published as The Kuan Yin Chronicles.

Eleven-headed Avalokiteśvara

Eleven-headed Avalokiteśvara

Author: Tove E. Neville

Publisher:

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 200

ISBN-13:

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Illustrations: Numerous B/w Illustrations Description: The Eleven-Headed Avalokitesvara is a study of the many origins that may have played a part in arriving at this number of heads, based on forms and powers male and female forms, origins based on name, in scriptural evidence and images, as well as Hindu deities, and finally origin seen in Rock-cut litanies in caves of India. Manifold as the sources are, they led to consideration of this Bodhisattva as the highest form of compassion in the widest sense of the word, the savior for humanity of eight to ten dreads, which assail and defeat humankind, especially for exposed travelers, be they pilgrims going to visit and pray at Buddhist shrines, or monks seeking new temples or to find new masters to teach them. This essay weaves together a panorama in South Asia, moving up to Central Asia and Chinese cultures who contributed their own examples from caves in China (Tun Huang) that also held depositories of paintings brought back to modern cultures for study in Paris and London, long scrolls such as the Yunan Tali Kingdom's treasure from the late Sung period, all told tales of Buddhist iconography and styles that most often harked back to earlier Indian models. Korea found influence from China and Japan had the Eleven Headed in Metal and also of lacquer and wood in splendid examples from seventh and eight centuries on. Still, most astounding is a theory weaving the thread back to the Indian cave litanies, showing how the Bodhisattva as savior caused in practice of art to furnish the model for how the ten scenes of dreads plus the great Avalokitesvara's own face led to an eleven-headed giants seen in Indian Gupta styles.


Book Synopsis Eleven-headed Avalokiteśvara by : Tove E. Neville

Download or read book Eleven-headed Avalokiteśvara written by Tove E. Neville and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Illustrations: Numerous B/w Illustrations Description: The Eleven-Headed Avalokitesvara is a study of the many origins that may have played a part in arriving at this number of heads, based on forms and powers male and female forms, origins based on name, in scriptural evidence and images, as well as Hindu deities, and finally origin seen in Rock-cut litanies in caves of India. Manifold as the sources are, they led to consideration of this Bodhisattva as the highest form of compassion in the widest sense of the word, the savior for humanity of eight to ten dreads, which assail and defeat humankind, especially for exposed travelers, be they pilgrims going to visit and pray at Buddhist shrines, or monks seeking new temples or to find new masters to teach them. This essay weaves together a panorama in South Asia, moving up to Central Asia and Chinese cultures who contributed their own examples from caves in China (Tun Huang) that also held depositories of paintings brought back to modern cultures for study in Paris and London, long scrolls such as the Yunan Tali Kingdom's treasure from the late Sung period, all told tales of Buddhist iconography and styles that most often harked back to earlier Indian models. Korea found influence from China and Japan had the Eleven Headed in Metal and also of lacquer and wood in splendid examples from seventh and eight centuries on. Still, most astounding is a theory weaving the thread back to the Indian cave litanies, showing how the Bodhisattva as savior caused in practice of art to furnish the model for how the ten scenes of dreads plus the great Avalokitesvara's own face led to an eleven-headed giants seen in Indian Gupta styles.

This Isn't a Picture I'm Holding

This Isn't a Picture I'm Holding

Author: Kathy J. Phillips

Publisher: University of Hawaii Press

Published: 2004-06-30

Total Pages: 172

ISBN-13: 9780824827571

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The bodhisattva Kuan Yin remains one of the most popular figures in Buddhism, loved and worshiped throughout Asia for over a millennium. She arrived in Hawaii with the first Chinese plantation workers, each of whom would have kept a rice paper print of her over a small altar in his room. In this delightful book, Kathy Phillips and Joseph Singer celebrate Kuan Yin’s many incarnations in words and images that exhibit humor, poignancy, and the open-endedness of a koan. An introduction examines Kuan Yin and her place in religion, legend, art, changing social prescriptions for gender, and the everyday lives of Hawaii’s people.


Book Synopsis This Isn't a Picture I'm Holding by : Kathy J. Phillips

Download or read book This Isn't a Picture I'm Holding written by Kathy J. Phillips and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2004-06-30 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The bodhisattva Kuan Yin remains one of the most popular figures in Buddhism, loved and worshiped throughout Asia for over a millennium. She arrived in Hawaii with the first Chinese plantation workers, each of whom would have kept a rice paper print of her over a small altar in his room. In this delightful book, Kathy Phillips and Joseph Singer celebrate Kuan Yin’s many incarnations in words and images that exhibit humor, poignancy, and the open-endedness of a koan. An introduction examines Kuan Yin and her place in religion, legend, art, changing social prescriptions for gender, and the everyday lives of Hawaii’s people.

Bodhisattva of Compassion

Bodhisattva of Compassion

Author: John Blofeld

Publisher: National Geographic Books

Published: 2009-10-13

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 1590307356

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She is the embodiment of selfless love, the supreme symbol of radical compassion, and, for more than a millennium throughout Asia, she has been revered as “The One Who Hearkens to the Cries of the World.” Kuan Yin is both a Buddhist symbol and a beloved deity of Chinese folk religion. John Blofeld’s classic study traces the history of this most famous of all the bodhisattvas from her origins in India (as the male figure Avalokiteshvara) to Tibet, China, and beyond, along the way highlighting her close connection to other figures such as Tara and Amitabha. The account is full of charming stories of Blofeld’s encounters with Kuan Yin’s devotees during his journeys in China. The book also contains meditation and visualization techniques associated with the Bodhisattva of Compassion, and translations of poems and yogic texts devoted to her.


Book Synopsis Bodhisattva of Compassion by : John Blofeld

Download or read book Bodhisattva of Compassion written by John Blofeld and published by National Geographic Books. This book was released on 2009-10-13 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: She is the embodiment of selfless love, the supreme symbol of radical compassion, and, for more than a millennium throughout Asia, she has been revered as “The One Who Hearkens to the Cries of the World.” Kuan Yin is both a Buddhist symbol and a beloved deity of Chinese folk religion. John Blofeld’s classic study traces the history of this most famous of all the bodhisattvas from her origins in India (as the male figure Avalokiteshvara) to Tibet, China, and beyond, along the way highlighting her close connection to other figures such as Tara and Amitabha. The account is full of charming stories of Blofeld’s encounters with Kuan Yin’s devotees during his journeys in China. The book also contains meditation and visualization techniques associated with the Bodhisattva of Compassion, and translations of poems and yogic texts devoted to her.

The Kuan Yin Oracle

The Kuan Yin Oracle

Author: Stephen Karcher

Publisher: Sphere

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 308

ISBN-13: 9780751535310

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Kuan Yin, the ancient Chinese goddess of Compassion, is the principal goddess in the Eastern firmament. Wherever there are Chinese or Japanese speaking people in the world - in homes, restaurants, workplaces, small urban temples and shrines - Kuan Yin's image can be found. The ritual of consulting her has brought solace, hope and insight to countless people and it continues to be an integral part of the lives of tens of millions of people throughout the East today. Stephen Karcher's interpretation of this ancient text presents 'The 100 Poems of the Goddess', as relevant today as they were 1000 years ago, in an extremely easy to use and amazingly insightful form. Simply ask the oracle a question. By opening your heart to the answer, you allow yourself to be 're-arranged' by the symbol or figure Kuan Yin gives you. Then turn to the relevant page for that symbol in the book, where you will find directions to help you focus your energy and choose the right path to find an answer.


Book Synopsis The Kuan Yin Oracle by : Stephen Karcher

Download or read book The Kuan Yin Oracle written by Stephen Karcher and published by Sphere. This book was released on 2003 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Kuan Yin, the ancient Chinese goddess of Compassion, is the principal goddess in the Eastern firmament. Wherever there are Chinese or Japanese speaking people in the world - in homes, restaurants, workplaces, small urban temples and shrines - Kuan Yin's image can be found. The ritual of consulting her has brought solace, hope and insight to countless people and it continues to be an integral part of the lives of tens of millions of people throughout the East today. Stephen Karcher's interpretation of this ancient text presents 'The 100 Poems of the Goddess', as relevant today as they were 1000 years ago, in an extremely easy to use and amazingly insightful form. Simply ask the oracle a question. By opening your heart to the answer, you allow yourself to be 're-arranged' by the symbol or figure Kuan Yin gives you. Then turn to the relevant page for that symbol in the book, where you will find directions to help you focus your energy and choose the right path to find an answer.