In temples, avalokitesvara bodhisattva is usually placed in the Hall of Great Compassion behind the Hall of Muny Heroes released by the Buddha. But among the people, Guanyin's influence and popularity far exceed that of Buddha Sakyamuni.
Guanyin is a free translation of Sanskrit, which is also translated into "Guang Shi Yin" and "Guan Zi Yu". In the Tang Dynasty, in order to avoid the taboo of Emperor Taizong and Li Shimin, the word "world" was omitted, which was called Guanyin for short.
The so-called Guanyin, that is, the miraculous Guanyin, has been observing the suffering beings in the world. Once its name is recited. She went to the rescue at once.
As early as the 7th century BC before the emergence of Buddhism, there was a record of Guanyin in the ancient books of Brahmanism in India. However, avalokitesvara in Brahmanism is not a human being, but a pair of lovely twin foals, also known as Erma prodigy. They are the good gods of Brahmanism and Hinduism, symbolizing compassion and kindness and possessing great power. It is said that these two prodigies can make the blind see again, the patients recover, the disabled are sound, infertile women give birth, bulls give birth, and rotten wood blooms.
In the 5th century BC, Sakyamuni founded Buddhism, and the prodigy of Double Horses was accepted by Buddhism, becoming a charity bodhisattva known as Guanyin, with the image of a lovely pony.
Later, Buddhists personified avalokitesvara, turned her into a mighty husband, and created a new life story of avalokitesvara. According to "Chinese Sorrow Classic", Guanyin is a prince with no pure thoughts on the wheel of the Holy King, and his name is arbitrary. He made a big wish, gave birth to great compassion, cut off the suffering and troubles of all sentient beings, and made them enjoy peace. Therefore, the Buddha named him Guanyin.
Guanyin was introduced to China during the Three Kingdoms period, but at that time Guanyin was still a mighty man. The murals of the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, Gansu Province and the statues in the Southern and Northern Dynasties both depict Guanyin as a man with two beautiful moustaches on his lips.
With the rapid development of Buddhism in China, a large number of nuns and female believers became monks in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. History has proved that western gods must be China and secularized if they want to gain a foothold in China. Therefore, a female bodhisattva must be created to meet the needs of folk believers.
This task has historically fallen on Guanyin. First of all, he is a good god, and secondly, he can have 33 incarnations, but he can be male or female, so he simply became a female bodhisattva, probably during the Sui and Tang Dynasties.
In the Northern Song Dynasty, China people created a new story about Guanyin's life experience. It is said that there was a king of Miao Zhuang who gave birth to three daughters named Miao Yin, Miaoyuan and Miaoshan. All three girls are old enough to get married. The eldest girl and the second girl happily got married, but even the third daughter Miaoshan refused to get married and insisted on becoming a monk. King Zhuang was very angry and drove Miaoshan out of the palace. Miao Shan went up the mountain to practice and became an immortal in Xiangshan. Later, Zhuang Wang was seriously ill and dying. As an introduction to medicine, he needs the help of his relatives. Sister and second sister refused to make sacrifices. Only Miao Shan, who became a monk, gave his hand-eye and saved his father's life. The Buddha was moved by his filial piety, so he gave her 1000 hands and 1000 eyes, making it the Guanyin with dry hands and dry eyes.
This story is the product of the confluence of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, which has been mixed with Confucian filial piety and Taoist immortal thought (Miao Shan practiced as the "immortal leader"). At this point, avalokitesvara is not only completely China-like, but also far from the "True Sutra" of Indian Buddhism.
It is this China and secularized Guanyin that has become the most popular folk belief in China. Similarly, it is the most common belief of Xiamen people. Ignore small shops like Guanyin Pavilion in the old days. Now there are more than 30 temples dedicated to Guanyin in Xiamen. Putuo, the largest temple in Xiamen, is the largest Guanyin Brahma in southern Fujian and is also famous in China. According to legend, Guanyin was born on February 9th of the lunar calendar, nirvana on September 19th and enlightenment on June 19th. These three days in Xiamen are all called "Buddha Life". In these three days, Nanputuo Temple was crowded with people and the peak of incense was amazing.
Not only in monasteries, but also in the homes of many people in Xiamen, there is a statue of Guanyin, which is fragrant in the morning and evening.
Guanyin worship has a long history in Xiamen, which is really worth thinking about. When you think about it carefully, the reasons are very complicated, but it is very important that many good men and women who don't know the origin of Guanyin worship Guanyin, in fact, they just pin their pursuit and hope on "goodness", which has a positive impact on folk customs.
The Sanskrit profile of avalokitesvara Bodhisattva said,' Grandmother Lou Ji has fallen'. Now she is a great bodhisattva in the western paradise, and she can continue to fill the Buddha's position in this life. According to the Chinese Sorrow Sutra, in the past, when Amitabha was the wheel of the holy king, Guanyin Bodhisattva was the prince of the first king, named Buyi. At that time, after Bao Tathagata was awarded to the wheel king, Bu went up to the White Buddha from the prince and said, "Dear Lord, today I tell all sentient beings with a broad voice that all my good roots belong to three virtues and three bodhis (supreme consciousness). I hope that when walking the Bodhisattva Road, if all sentient beings suffer from all kinds of distress and terror, lose their faith and strength in pursuing Buddhism, and degenerate into a dark place without light, when they are physically and mentally uneasy, sad, lonely, poor and miserable, no one can call for help and protection, have no dependence and have no house. If he can remember me and say my name, the cry for help can be heard by my ears and seen by my eyes. Like all suffering beings, if I can't spare them all kinds of pains and troubles, I won't achieve the Buddha's fruit of three virtues and three bodhis. Dear Lord, today, for all sentient beings, I should launch the most extraordinary wish. I hope that if I become the wheel holy king (Amitabha), I will practice bodhisattva in the pure land and happy world of the west, after I enter nirvana, and even when Buddhism is still alive, to benefit all sentient beings. When the infinite life dharma was extinguished on the first night, I immediately achieved the supreme Buddha fruit of three virtues and three bodhis on the second night and continued to transform all sentient beings. "
At that time, Bao Fo immediately wrote a note for him, which read: "When you observe and remember the people in the heavens and all sentient beings in the three evil ways, you have great compassion. In order to cut off the suffering of all sentient beings and let them live in a stable and happy place, I will name you Guanyin today. After the Buddha with infinite longevity entered nirvana, the second Ganges sand and other monks only robbed him, and his land was renamed' Everything is Treasure'.
According to "Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva and Bodhisattva with Great Moment", Sakyamuni Buddha recorded: "It is incredible that monks only robbed in the past, and there is a world name" Infinite Virtue gathers blessings to report the present ",and the Buddha name" Golden Light Master Sai Tathagata ",and its Buddhist land is pure and solemn, which cannot be exhausted and admired by pen and ink. Where the Buddha became a Taoist, there was a king named Wade, who was the king of a thousand worlds. At that time, King Wade, in the view of his garden and architecture, went into samadhi meditation. Around the king, there were two lotus flowers gushing out of the ground. Two boys who were born in the lotus went to the Buddhist Temple with King Wade. They met the Buddha face to face and listened to his teachings.
At that time, the two boys said,' All dragon gods, listen to my teacher. Today, before the Tathagata, we made a big wish and made bodhicitta. The stream of life and death is endless, and the unknown (unavailable) is its source. In order to free a sentient being, the Buddhas have practiced Bodhisattva for countless times. What's more, it's only a few times now, and they can completely free all beings and practice Bodhi Tao, but they are tired and annoyed. If you are greedy from today, you will cheat all the ten buddhas. If you still feel guilty, stupid, polluted, greedy and jealous, that's the same. Today, I want to tell the truth and stay away from the hypocritical heart. If we are unwilling to get rid of the Bodhi Road of all sentient beings with a selfish heart from today, it is cheating the Buddha. We don't want to feel the holy fruit, not just to save ourselves, but to escape from all beings with great compassion in the trillion-dollar robbery. Just like today's Buddhist country, it is pure, peaceful, beautiful and solemn. May my country surpass this 100 billion times when I become a Buddha. Our country has no fame, no karma, only Mahayana Bodhisattva has bodhicitta, and its number is endless. All beings are clean and have the greatest joy. They were born in the law of knowing and seeing, and they will always hold all Buddhism. If our vows are true, they should shake the world. "
When the two boys finished this eulogy, the earth shook immediately, and hundreds of music gods and various musical instruments played harmoniously and elegantly. Bright and exquisite costumes fall from the sky, dancing, and the gods in the sky scatter all kinds of beautiful fragrances in the void like rain, which generally overflows and spreads, making all beings relaxed and happy. Was there anyone else there? That is, I am Sakyamuni, and the two boys at that time were Guanyin and the great bodhisattva Mahasa.
These two great bodhisattvas, in the place where Master Guang Jin played, first developed Aunt Duo Luo's Sanzang and Sanbodhi Mind. Amitabha will go through countless times before entering nirvana. After entering nirvana, the life time of Buddhism is equal to the infinite life of Amitabha. After Amitabha entered nirvana in the world, the number of sentient beings has been the same and equal. After Amitabha entered nirvana, some sentient beings could not see the Buddha, but if there is a bodhisattva who can read Samadha, they can always see the Dharma body of Amitabha. After Amitabha showed the degree of extinction, all the treasures of Elysium, the lotus flowers of various colors in the running water bath and all the trees made of many treasures still kept playing their voices, which is no different from Amitabha's personal statement.
After the end of the Buddhist period in Elysium, at midnight that night, before the light appeared, avalokitesvara sat cross-legged under the seven treasures bodhi tree, and achieved no enlightenment. It was called' King Buddha of Puguang Gongde Mountain'. Naturally, its Buddhist kingdom is composed of seven kinds of treasures, which are arranged and combined in various ingenious ways. The solemn and wonderful sight of its land and world, even if all the buddhas and gods have experienced the disaster like the Ganges, is inexhaustible. There is no such name in its territory, and it is purely a great bodhisattva with bodhicitta, which is all over the territory. The world name of this field is "All treasures gather solemnly". With the age of his life, King Tathagata of Puguang Gongde Mountain has learned that all bodhisattvas are close to each other and support each other, even when they enter nirvana. After entering nirvana, the bodhisattva who gained great momentum still held the dharma until the dharma of the Tathagata King in Puguang Gongde Mountain was destroyed. After the extinction of Buddhism, the great trend bodhisattva was here, and his achievements were not realized. The name is: "If you come to the king, your merits will last forever". Just like Tathagata, the king of Puguang Gongde Mountain, his land and the world, infinite light, infinite longevity, the number of bodhisattvas, and even the duration of Buddhism in the world are equal. "
As recorded in the above two classics, Guanyin Bodhisattva's original intention and virtue of absorbing the pure land and solemn Buddha country are no different from Amitabha's original intention. Therefore, the purity and solemnity of its Buddhist fruit is so extraordinary, so extraordinary! Others, such as 32 kinds of imitative incarnations that respond to the sufferings of all beings, 14 kinds of infinite magical powers that are fearless of all beings, and four kinds of incredible inaction, all have magical powers, which are skillful and convenient for extensive practice. The complete descriptions are like those in the Shurangama Sutra, Fire Eye Sutra and other classics, and now they are not all quoted.
The Sutra of Great Compassion also says that the Buddha is in Buduojia Mountain, the palace of Guanyin Bodhisattva, and the Duobao solemn Dojo. At this time, Avalokitesvara magnified the boundless world in ten directions, indicating that she once lived in the Tathagata of Ganguang Wangjing, suffering from the study of the Great Compassion Mantra before the infinite robbery, and immediately surpassed the first bodhisattva to the eighth bodhisattva. Because of this great mercy mantra, no matter where you live from generation to generation, you must always be in front of the Buddha. Therefore, Guanyin Bodhisattva vowed: "If all beings can recite the great compassion mantra, and if they can't go to the pure land of Buddha, I swear I can't achieve enlightenment."
After Avalokitesvara finished speaking, Sakyamuni Buddha said to the public: "This Avalokitesvara Buddha has already become a Buddha in the past, and it is called' Buddhism Enlightenment'. Because of his great compassion, in order to arouse the bodhicitta of all bodhisattvas, to make all sentient beings happy and to achieve the cause of all sentient beings, he is still a bodhisattva. All of you must always support Guanyin Bodhisattva, and pay attention to the name of Guanyin Bodhisattva, so that you can get infinite blessings and eliminate infinite sins before you die. " According to this passage, we should know that those who respectfully support Guanyin Bodhisattva and call it Guanyin Bodhisattva's name as a way to return to Elysium, like those who have been offering sacrifices to Amitabha, can also die in the pure land. The blessings of the two are roughly the same, and the blessings and good roots are also equal. Please think it over.