觀世音

Readings

Pinyin: Guānshìyīn

Wade-Giles: Kuan-shih-yin

Hangul: 관세음

Korean MC: Gwanseeum

Korean MR: Kwanseŭm

Katakana: カンゼオン

Hepburn: Kanzeon

Avalokitêśvara

• A prominent bodhisattva in the Mahāyāna tradition. Interpreted as "The One who Observes the Sounds of the World." This particular Chinese rendering is that done by Kumārajīva, most importantly in his translation of the Lotus Sutra 〔法華經 T 262.9.2a8〕. Dharmapāla translated the name as 光世音, while Xuanzang translated as 觀自在. Also commonly written as 觀音 and 觀世自在.

  Avalokitêśvara is considered to be the embodiment of the Buddhist virtue of compassion. He/she is interpreted to be the power of the Buddha Amitâbha manifested as a bodhisattva, and is therefore often depicted as the helper of the Buddha of the Pure Land 淨土. Since Avalokitêśvara is capable of manifesting thirty-three forms of incarnation 三十三身 to save people according to their capacities, he/she is depicted iconographically in thirty-three different ways 三十三觀音, which are distinguished by the number of heads and arms as well as by the attributes held in the hands. One of the most important locus classicus for the description of Avalokitêśvara is the chapter on the Universal Gate of Avalokitêśvara Bodhisattva 觀世音菩薩普門品 in the Lotus Sutra 法華經, where the rationale for his/her naming is given. 〔法華經, T 262.9.56a1〕.

  Regarding the difference in the Chinese renderings: When Xuánzàng rendered the name as 觀自在, he was reading the original Sanskrit as avalokita ("observe") + iśvara ("unimpeded"), which accords with the Tibetan rendering of sPyan ras gzigs dbaṅ phyug. Kumārajīva's rendering interprets the original name to be Avalokitêśvara, meaning a compassionate buddha or bodhisattva who is sensitive to, and responds to the suffering of sentient beings. Cf. 觀音信仰.

  (Tib. sPyan ras gzigs). Also transliterated with 阿縛盧枳帝濕伐邏, 阿縛盧枳多伊濕伐邏, 阿婆盧吉帝舍婆羅; 阿那婆婁吉低輸; 阿梨耶婆樓吉弓稅; also translated as 光世音 "Regarder (or Observer) of the world"'s sounds, or "Sounds that enlighten the world," and 觀自在. [resp. Charles Muller; source(s): Nakamura, YBh-Ind, JEBD, YBh-Ind, Hirakawa]
• Originally represented as a male, the images are now generally those of a female figure. The meaning of the term is in doubt; it is interpreted as above, but the term 觀自在 (觀世自在) accords with the idea of Sovereign Regarder and is not associated with sounds or cries. Avalokitêśvara is one of the triad of Amitâbha, is represented on his left, and is also represented as crowned with Amitâbha, but there are as many as thirty-three different forms of Avalokitêśvara , sometimes with a bird, a vase, a willow wand, a pearl, a "thousand" eyes and hands, etc. and, when as bestower of children, carrying a child. The island of Potala is the chief center of Avalokitêśvara worship, where she is the protector of all in distress, especially of those who go to sea. There are many sūtras, etc. devoted to the cult, but its provenance and the date of its introduction to China are still in doubt. Chapter 25 of the Lotus Sutra is devoted to Avalokitêśvara, and is the principal scripture of the cult; its date is uncertain. Avalokitêśvara is sometimes confounded with Amitâbha and Maitreya. She is said to be the daughter of king Śubhavyūha 妙莊王, who had her killed by "stifling because the sword of the executioner broke without hurting her. Her spirit went to hell; but hell changed into paradise. Yama sent her back to life to save his hell, when she was miraculously transported on a Lotus flower to the island of Poo-too." (Eitel). [resp. Charles Muller; source(s): Soothill]
• Avalokitêśvara. Literally, "the Lord who looks down" with infinite pity on all living beings. Avalokitêśvara is the deity of the Pure Land school 淨土宗 of the Mahāyāna Buddhism. He is a Bodhisattva, one amongst the three Pure Land sages, the other two being Buddha Amitâbha, and the Bodhisattva Mahāsthāmaprāpta. Avalokitêśvara arose from the spirit of the Ādi-Buddha, that is, the first Buddha. He is a cosmic-being. All gods have come out of his body. Avalokitêśvara attained enlightenment through the faculty of hearing.

  In the early iconography Avalokitêśvara is represented in the male form. He bears the head of a horse, sometimes a horse-head crown, eleven heads, a thousand eyes and a thousand arms. He dwells on a mountain of small white flowers—the symbol of purity. He holds the Cintāmaṇi—the gem with which he removes the sorrows of the sentient beings and saves them from saṃsāra. All beings are his own innermost nature and hence all sufferings are his sufferings. The prominent feature of Avalokitêśvara is compassion. He personifies compassion. He attends to the cries of the distressed. He is the protector of the afflicted. He assumes thirty forms, all being manifestations of the transformed body except the first, that is, the Buddha.

  [resp. Charles Muller; source(s): buddhanusmrti]

Dictionary References:

Bukkyō jiten (Ui), 156

Bulgyo sajeon, 59a

Zengaku daijiten (Komazawa U.), 183c

A Glossary of Zen Terms (Inagaki), 175

Japanese-English Buddhist Dictionary (Daitō shuppansha), 164a/181

Bukkyōgo daijiten (Nakamura), 197b

Ding Fubao

Buddhist Chinese-Sanskrit Dictionary (Hirakawa), 1064

Bukkyō daijiten (Oda), 30-1-25*30-1-22*346-1

Copyright © 2010 -- Charles Muller

generated: 2014-01-10