Revered as both a bodhisattva (an individual who has attained Buddha hood, but decided to stay with the
human race in order to bring enlightenment to every human being) as well as a goddess, Kuan Yin has been worshipped in many
cultures and religions, with her worship still extremely popular today. Images of her grace
almost all Taoist Temples; she can be found in almost all Chinese Buddhist temples; she is
revered within Shintoism; and her significance is even understood within Christianity
where she has a strong resonance with the Virgin Mary. As such, there are numerous spellings of her
name (Kwan Yin, Quan Yin, Guan Yin or Guanyin) and just as many interpretations and titles of her name such as - “She
who harkens the cry of the world”, “Goddess of salvation from misery”, “Goddess
of one thousand arms and eyes” and more popular, “Goddess of mercy and compassion”.
Scholars believe that Buddhist monk and
translator Kumarajiva was the first to refer to the female form of Kuan Yin in
his Chinese translation of the Lotus
Sutra in 406 CE. The Lotus Sutra refers to the bodhisattva
Kuan Shih Yin "by resort to a variety of shapes, travels in the world,
conveying the beings to salvation" and as such, of the 33 appearances of
the bodhisattva referred to in Kumarajiva’a translation, seven are female. Chinese and Japanese Buddhists therefore have
associated the number 33 with Kuan Yin ever since.
On Saturday, 12 July 2014, The Goddess House will be honouring Kuan Yin by offering a half day workshop in her honour. During this workshop we will be paying homage to the bodhisattva of compassion through reciting her mantras, making offerings, sharing her stories and making our own set of prayer beads so that we can personally connect with her ability of showing universal compassion. The investment of this workshop is only $40.00 and payment is to be made before 5 July 2014 through Paypal to ensure numbers.
This workshop, as are all workshops being offered by The Goddess House this year, are open to both men and woman. To make further enquiries about this or any other workshop, please contact the Priestess in Residence.
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