The Hall of Guanyin or Guanyin Hall ( or ) is the most important annex halls in

Chinese Buddhist Chinese Buddhism or Han Buddhism ( zh, s=汉传佛教, t=漢傳佛教, p=Hànchuán Fójiào) is a Chinese form of Mahayana Buddhism which has shaped Chinese culture in a wide variety of areas including art, politics, literature, philosophy, ...

temples and mainly for enshrining

Guanyin Guanyin () is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is the East Asian representation of Avalokiteśvara ( sa, अवलोकितेश्वर) and has been adopted by other Eastern religions, including Chinese folk religion. She ...

(

Avalokiteśvara In Buddhism, Avalokiteśvara (Sanskrit: अवलोकितेश्वर, IPA: ) is a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. He has 108 avatars, one notable avatar being Padmapāṇi (lotus bearer). He is variably depicted, ...

). Guanyin, also called "Guanshiyin" (), "Guanshizizai" (), "Guanzizai" (), etc., is the attendant of Amitabha and one of the "Western Three Saints" (). Guanyin is renowned for his mercy and sympathy. According to ''Chapter of the Universal Gate of Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva'' (), if people are in danger, they just need to call his name and he will hear them and go to save them. Since he has many manifestations, different places enshrine different statues of Saint Guanyin (), Guanzizai (), and Thousand-armed and eyed Guanyin ().

Statues

Saint Guanyin

Statue of Saint Guanyin sits in the lotus posture with a lotus or the Yujingping in hand, wearing Keyura, necklaces and decorations and a precious crown on the head. There is a sitting statue of Amitabha () on the crown, which is the main symbol of Guanyin.

Guanzizai

Kuan-yan bodhisattva, Northern Sung dynasty, China, c

Statue of Guanzizai sits with on leg crossing and one leg dropping. The Yujingping full of sweet dew and a willow branch is placed near him, representing his mercy and sympathy to spread to all the people. A boy and a girl serve as his attendants on his two sides. The boy is

Sudhana Sudhanakumāra (), mainly known as Sudhana and Shancai or Shancai Tongzi in Chinese, and translated as ''Child of Wealth'', is the protagonist in the last and longest chapter of the ''Avatamsaka Sutra''. Sudhana appears in Buddhist, Taoist and folk ...

(Shancai Tongzi; ) and the girl is Longnü ().

Thousand-armed and eyed Guanyin

Thousand-armed and eyed Guanyin, has thousands of arms on both sides of the body. For statues, there are often 42 hands with one eye in each to symbolize the thousand hands. The middle two hands are in closing palm posture and other hands are holding

Vajra The Vajra () is a legendary and ritual weapon, symbolising the properties of a diamond (indestructibility) and a thunderbolt (irresistible force). The vajra is a type of club with a ribbed spherical head. The ribs may meet in a ball-shap ...

s, sutra scrolls Dharma seals and other weapons. Guanyin's thousand hands mean to protect all living creatures and the eyes mean to view over the world.

References

External links