in Mahāyāna Buddhism, everyone can be a bodhisattva—all u need to become a bodhisattva is to want to be one. we can all be bodhisattvas and, in some ways of seeing, we already are
there are also “mahāsattvas,” great iconic symbolic bodhisattvas who figure prominently in the myths and teachings of Buddhism
Avalokiteśvara, also known as Lokeśvara and Chenrezig, is one such mahāsattva. Avalokiteśvara is the Sanskrit name for his male form; Guanyin or Quan Yin (my preferred spelling1As I understand it, “Quan” is a Vietnamese spelling but “Yin” points to Mandarin. This is an anglicization that is perhaps particularly heinous but sounds beautiful to my ears. Quan Yin is willing to have her name spelled in the format that benefits all beings.) is the name of her female form. the name Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin, which means “[The One Who] Perceives the Sounds of the World.” she is a bodhisattva of compassion that can manifest in any form to benefit you on your path. she radiates love and compassion constantly towards all beings in all places and times 💗
altar with statue of Quan Yin in a friend’s home
i am a devotee of Quan Yin as a mythic feminine facet of God, as a great Bodhisattva who loves all beings, as an icon of deep love within my own heart ❤️
this page is an altar to Quan Yin, her love and compassion ❤️
Statue of Guan Yin by Jpatokal, CC BY-SA 3.0
u can see everyone u meet as Quan Yin. u can see every situation as a manifestation of her compassion, as a lesson and gift from the school of the universe ❤️
for a time, i was holding an inquiry question— “who is Quan Yin? what is she? what is she, really? ontologically? phenomenologically?”
this sounds like a philosophical question, but it was an embodied, burning heart-question, an inquiry i needed to know the answer to
then i was staying with a friend, as i do on my pilgrimage. he is a fellow buddhist and an avid reader. we were hanging out in his couch, when he mentioned— “tasshin, would u like to hear this passage of the i’m reading?”
i said yes, and he read me this passage, on the reality of Quan Yin (Avalokiteśvara), from the book Civilized Shamans:
in other words (mine): an act of devotion to an external, symbolic deity such as Quan Yin is a spiritual act that reveals a frequency of love and compassion that already lies within. we intentionally project certain qualities or virtues onto an external personality because it allows us to psychologically access something that is intrinsically native to one’s own nature and the universe itself
i pray to Quan Yin. i often to pray to her before bed, or in times of needs. i ask her to protect my heart, to heal my heart, to bring love into it, to help me find new levels of love that i would not be able to access merely by myself ❤️
one night i went to bed with a lot of sadness. i had an extended dream just before waking, where i was very angry at someone in my life. i still felt angry on waking
it occurred to me to try dream return, a technique shared with me by my friend River. in the past, i’d had mixed results with it
i can’t really describe how this dream return was different exactly other than pointing to agency. what i got from river’s descriptions (which admittedly it’s been a while etc.) was to return and wait until something changed
in retrospect, i think i had some concepts about what it was supposed to look like (passivity?) and i kinda dropped those and found my way into it (agency?)
when i returned, i yelled at the person about what i was angry about and then they transmuted into like their highest self and/or Quan Yin who was able to receive my anger and apologize and explain some things to me. then Quan Yin reached into my heart with her hand, and gave me a healing balm that transmuted my stuck anger into simply energy
i was no longer sad or angry. i felt calm, happy, and energized. that feeling of energy and happy confidence persisted for several days thereafter
distinct flavor of divine love from Quan Yin wafting into my heart this morning ❤️
Practices Associated with Quan Yin:
- chanting Om Mani Padme Hum
- seeing everyone u meet as Quan Yin
- making food offerings to Quan Yin
- making devotional art to contemplate and manifest her qualities
- seeing urself as an embodiment of Quan Yin
- praying to her
- meditate upon Quan Yin and her mercy. realize that she gained it all from God, the source of her compassion and grace
- placing a statue of her in ur home
blessed quan yin, my sweet quan yin, my love, my guide, my teacher, my protector ❤️
may I find Quan Yin’s love in every moment, in every circumstance—may I feel her love fully and deeply ❤️
may i embody Quan Yin more and more. may i find her abundant wisdom, radiant love, boundless compassion, grounded strength within my own heart ❤️
may all beings be happy ❤️
may Quan Yin be happy ❤️
may God be happy ❤️
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