Level 1 Final Project: Kwan Yin
By Penelope Hearthwoman
May the peace of God be upon this household.
May the love of God be in your hearts.
May the light of God be in your souls.
May the wisdom of God be in your minds.
May the virtue and purity of God be in your feelings.
May the strength and vitality of God be among the members of your household.
May the health and well being of God be manifest through the bodies, the garments which you wear.
May the grace of God be in your worship.
May the talents and genius of God be manifest through your senses.
May the fullness of the victory of your own God plan be manifest through your souls and the close of your earth life!
(As said by Kuan Yin)
Blessing of Kwan Yin http://www.geocities.com/isisdownunder1/BlessingofKuanYin.html
Not a real deity but a bodhisatva (a “buddha in the making”), Kwan
Yin, “She Who Hears the Weeping World,” is the most beloved of the Buddhist
pantheon. According to “The Goddess Oracle” by Amy Sophia Marashinsky,
she is known in Japan as Kwannon but as Kwan Yin in China.
Patricia Monaghan tells us in “The New Book of Goddesses and Heroines” that
Kwan Yin was so concerned for humanity that “upon receiving enlightenment,
she chose to retain human form rather than transform into pure energy” until
every creature on earth attained enlightenment.
One story says Kwan Yin lived on earth as a virtuous woman, Miao Shan,
whose father wished her to marry. Miao Shan instead chose to live her
life in prayer, which angered her father and he arranged to have her killed.
He had the monastery where she was staying at burned and a rainbow carried
her innocent soul to heaven.
Another story, according to Monaghan, is that she was born from Buddha’s
own tears, which is similar to the Indian bodhisatva, Avalokita, and Kwan
Yin is often compared to the Tibetan star goddess Tara.
Monaghan tells another story in “The Goddess Path” that Miao Shan’s
father ordered his soldiers to kill his daughter, but before they could,
she was rescued by a large tiger and taken to a magickal cave where the Buddha
himself offered her a peach and instructed her to eat it. This peach
would keep her from thirst and hunger until she reached her goal of enlightenment.
Sandy Boucher recounts the Vietnamese version in “Discovering Kwan Yin.”
The story is told of Thi Kinh, a young woman who didn't produce the necessary
male heir for her husband. She was falsely accused of trying to kill
her husband and coincidentally cast out of her home. She later assumed
a male identity and joined a monastery. A young woman developed a “crush”
on Thi Kinh, thinking she was a man, and when the woman got pregnant she
accused Thi Kinh of fathering the child. Thi Kinh didn't want to shame the
girl and kept quiet. It wasn't until after Thi Kinh was beaten to death
and her body prepared for burial was it discovered she was a woman and it
was then she became a spirit, Kwan Yin.
In “Kuan Yin: Myths and Prophecies of the Chinese Goddess of Compassion,”
the island Pu To Shan, off the coast of China, is said to be Potolaka, Kwan
Yin’s mystical island, where it’s said her footprint can be seen. She sits
on her island and addresses every prayer sent her way. This island
is described in the Buddhist Hua Yen Ching, or Flower Ornament Sutra.
In Japan Kwan Yin is called Kannon, and sometimes pictured as male.
“Myths and Prophecies” describes how Kwan Yin likely began as a male
Buddhist deity. In Buddhism all deities were male. By the eighth century,
Taoism had several female deities; among them, the Queen Mother of the West.
And so Buddhism needed a female deity to compete with Taoism, according to
“Myths and Prophecies.”
Water is Kwan Yin’s element, although she is assigned to the Heart Chakra,
which corresponds to the element of Air. She is often depicted standing on
a lotus, holding a kind of vase, said to hold the Waters of Compassion, Monaghan
says. Jade is her stone, which corresponds nicely to the
“green” chakra.
The most significant chant to Kwan Yin, according to Monaghan, is the Dharani
of Great Compassion, known in Chinese as Ta Pei Chou. Monaghan says
“when Kwan Yin spoke this sutra before the Buddha, the entire earth trembled.”
The meaning of this rolling sutra has been lost in translation but Kwan Yin
can be invoked by this chant; Namo Kwan Shi Yin P’u- Sa, which is
a greeting to her.
The following ritual and incantations are from http://www.geocities.com/isisdownunder1/Invocations.html
Kuan Yin Ritual
What you'll need : - A picture or Statue of Kuan Yin
A GOLD candle, the gold candle represents the Goddess
And a cushion to sit on .
On a small table place the pic or statue of Kuan Yin and a Gold candle within the line of you eye.
Some also prefer to burn incense whilst doing this.
Also you could offer some gifts from nature to Kuan Yin like flowers and seed pods etc.
Now.. light the Gold candle.
SIt on a cushion in Lotus position and gaze into the light of the candle.
Repeat the name Kuan Yin, over and over, like a chant. When you believe
you feel her presence, concentrate on your problem or ailment and say :-
"Kuan Yin I ask for your assistance,
To rid all ________________ from me,
Thank you for all your help and love,
Today and always!"
Focus on the problem a while longer, then, when you feel suitable time has
elapsed, thank Kuan Yin for her assistance and help, and blow out the gold
candle.
~~Please Note:~~ The Gold Candle should only be used when you are invoking the Goddess not for your next dinner party!!
Kuan Yin Invocation 2
Goddess of Compassion,
You who are all to me,
All that is,
And all that shall be.
Come, Eternal Protector!
Come as the scent of sacred Lotus,
With love and compassion,
Do be with me now, I pray!
Oh Blessed Kuan Yin.
Kuan Yin Invocation 3
This is an adaptation of the Catholic Hail Mary, but beautiful none the less...
Holy Mother full of grace, power is with thee
Blessed are you, Queen of the Universe, and blessed is all of creation,
Holy Mother, Maker of all things,
Be with me now and always....
Kuan Yin Invocation 4
You are eternal, blissful, aware
Come to me now
Comfort despair
Beyond hope, beyond sickness
So full of fears
Come to me now
Fill my heart
Take away my tears
My Goddess, my Sister
My Advocate, my friend
Your name insurmountable
Mercy, Compassion
Kuan Shah Yin.
Bibliography
Bonhomie, Malaga. “Goddess; A Celebration in Art and Literature.” Steward, Tabor & Change. New York.
Boucher, Sandy. “Discovering Kwan Yin; Buddhist Goddess of Compassion.” Boston. Beacon Press, 1999.
Paler, Martin et.al. “Kwan Yin; Myths and Prophecies of the Chinese Goddess of Compassion.” San Francisco. Thorsons. 1995.
Marashinsky, Amy Sophia. “The Goddess Oracle; A Way To Wholeness Through
The Goddess And Ritual.” Boston. Element Books. 1997.
Monaghan, Patrica. “The Goddess Path; Myths, Invocations And Rituals.” St. Paul. Llewellyn. 1999.
Monaghan, Patricia. “The New Book of Goddesses And Heroines.” St. Paul. Llewellyn. 2000.
Images
http://www.anza-embrace.com/
http://www.goddessmystic.com/CoreCurriculum/Goddesses/KwanYin/index.shtml
Additional information and images
http://www.geocities.com/isisdownunder1/index.html
Photo of my own personal altar to Kwan Yin
This page is the intellectual property of Penelope Hearthwoman
Home
