The ''Guanyin Dian'' ( or ) (lit: “Hall of Guanyin”) is the most important annex hall in
Chinese Buddhist
Chinese Buddhism or Han Buddhism ( zh, s=汉传佛教, t=漢傳佛教, first=t, poj=Hàn-thoân Hu̍t-kàu, j=Hon3 Cyun4 Fat6 Gaau3, p=Hànchuán Fójiào) is a Chinese form of Mahayana Buddhism. The Chinese Buddhist canonJiang Wu, "The Chin ...
temples and is mainly for enshrining the Bodhisattva
Guanyin
Guanyin () is a common Chinese name of the bodhisattva associated with Karuṇā, compassion known as Avalokiteśvara (). Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin, which means " he One WhoPerceives the Sounds of the World". Originally regarded as m ...
(
Avalokiteśvara
In Buddhism, Avalokiteśvara (meaning "the lord who looks down", International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ), also known as Lokeśvara ("Lord of the World") and Chenrezig (in Tibetan), is a Bodhisattva#Bhūmis (stages), tenth-level bodhisattva associ ...
).
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 Sheng Guanyin (), Guanzizai (), and Thousand-armed and eyed Guanyin ().
Statues
Sheng Guanyin
Sheng Guanyin (
Traditional Chinese
A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examp ...
: 聖觀音,
pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...
: Shèng Guānyīndiàn) (lit: “Holy Guanyin”) is the primary manifestation of the Bodhisattva Guanyin. Statues of this manifestation often portrays her sitting 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
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'', along with Longnü "Dragon Girl" are considered acolytes of the bodhisattva Guanyin (Avalokiteśvara) in Chinese Buddhis ...
() and the girl is
Longnü
Longnü (; Sanskrit: ''nāgakanyā''; Vietnamese: ''Long nữ''), translated as ''Dragon Girl'', along with Sudhana are considered acolytes of the bodhisattva Guanyin (Avalokiteśvara) in Chinese Buddhism. Her presence in Guanyin's iconograph ...
().
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 ritualistic tool, symbolizing the properties of a diamond (indestructibility) and a thunderbolt (irresistible force). It is also described as a "ritual weapon". The use of the bell and vajra together as s ...
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
Further reading
*
*
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guanyin Hall
Chinese Buddhist architecture
Guanyin temples