Avalokiteshvara - Kuan Yin - The Goddess of Mercy

The Heart Sutra - New translation by Thich Naht Hahn

Avalokiteshvara
while practicing deeply with
the Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore,
suddenly discovered that
all of the five Skandhas are equally empty,
and with this realisation
he overcame all Ill-being.

“Listen Shariputra,
this Body itself is Emptiness
and Emptiness itself is this Body.
This Body is not other than Emptiness
and Emptiness is not other than this Body.
The same is true of Feelings,
Perceptions, Mental Formations,
and Consciousness.

“Listen Sariputra,
all phenomena bear the mark of Emptiness;
their true nature is the nature of
no Birth no Death,
no Being no Non-being,
no Defilement no Immaculacy,
no Increasing no Decreasing.

“That is why in Emptiness,
Body, Feelings, Perceptions,
Mental Formations and Consciousness
are not separate self entities.

The Eighteen Realms of Phenomena
which are the six Sense Organs,
the six Sense Objects,
and the six Consciousnesses
are also not separate self entities.

The Twelve Links of Interdependent Arising
and their Extinction
are also not separate self entities.
Ill-being, the Causes of Ill-being,
the End of Ill-being, the Path,
insight and attainment,
are also not separate self entities.

Whoever can see this
no longer needs anything to attain.

Bodhisattvas who practice
the Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore
see no more obstacles in their mind,
and because there
are no more obstacles in their mind,
they can overcome all fear,
destroy all wrong perceptions
and realize Perfect Nirvana.

“All Buddhas in the past, present and future
by practicing
the Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore
are all capable of attaining
Authentic and Perfect Enlightenment.

“Therefore Sariputra,
it should be known that
the Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore
is a Great Mantra,
the most illuminating mantra,
the highest mantra,
a mantra beyond compare,
the True Wisdom that has the power
to put an end to all kinds of suffering.
Therefore let us proclaim
a mantra to praise
the Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore.

Gate, Gate, Paragate, Parasamgate, Bodhi Svaha!
Gate, Gate, Paragate, Parasamgate, Bodhi Svaha!
Gate, Gate, Paragate, Parasamgate, Bodhi Svaha!”

When I first was introduced to the Maha Prajna Paramita Hrdaya Sutrs or better known in English as the Heart Sutra of the Buddha, I was very moved by what it was saying and for the first time while chanting it in the Zendo at the Green Gulch Zem Buddhit Monastery along with some thirty members of the Zen community there doing the practice period. My life was transformed, I was I could safely say, awakened I knew back then that this was what i was trying to realize in my spiritual search, this Wisdom that is beyond wisdom, the Sutra that explains the emptiness of life and existence itself.  To me this is one of the most profound if not most powerful Sutras of the Buddha's teaching that if understood and put to Right practice can liberate one from the bondage of false perceptions and ignorance. The heart Sutra is a guide, a blue print for liberation as the Buddha had tried to share with the rest of humanity

The main thrust of the Sutra is the fact that Form and Emptiness is one and the same, There is no form without emptiness and no emptiness without form and this is applicable to all thoughts that we can possibly have in our mind for as the Sutra says, all Dharmas are marked with emptiness, which simply means all phenomena are devoid of their own forms all are empty, how so? If you tear it all down piece by piece layer by layer you will discover that at the end of it all there is nothing, not a thing. In order to come to truly understand this concept of form and emptiness one has to discover it in oneself through practice, especially meditation and through self realization or discovery. At the end of the day one will be left with the ultimate question, is there 'Self' ?  This is the question that has haunted man throughout the ages, the Rishis and the Yogis, the Sufis and the Saints, the Monks and the Scientists, all alike seek to discover this truth but none has put it all together as thoroughly as the Buddha did. It took the Buddha lifetimes of existence evolving ispiritually to become an awakened mind or a liberated entity from the cycles of life, death and rebirth; to step out of the this cycle and become one with existence itself....or God orr Allah or whatever this is you see as the ultimate end to your existence.

The past three days has been celebrated as the days honoring the the Bodhisatva Avalokiteshvara or better known here among the Chinese as Kuan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy. She is also know in japan as Kanon Bosastsu and this is the Bodhisatva of Infinite Compassion and is often portrayed as a many armed deity with each arm hold one form of tool or another for the  saving of humanity from the miseries of suffering.

"It is said that the personification of perfect Compassion, Avalokiteshvara (Guanyin) Bodhisattva (a great being who aspires to help all sentient beings be free of suffering before entering the bliss of Buddhahood), in the beginning of His/Her Bodhisattva career of helping sentient beings, vowed that "Should He ever become disheartened in saving sentient beings, may His body shatter into a thousand pieces." This might seem extreme, but it was symbolic of His overwhelming great Compassion and determination."

Sometime in !988 the same event took place here in Georgetown and I had returned from The United States on a visit and was watching the news at one my aunties home and saw that the Penang Port Comission ferry terminal had collapsed due to too much load with visitors rushing into the island to celebrate this same event which occurs every few decades. Over 800 lost their lives if i am not mistaken and way back when i thought of the irony of how they had perished simply because of coming to worship  the Bodhisatva of Compassion. They came from all over the country to worship at the old temple on Pitt Street or today renamed as the Masjid Kapitan Kling Street or Harmony Street where the shrine is dedicated to Kuan Yin, or Goddess of Mercy as she is fondly known among the Chinese.. 

In Buddhism there are three main Bodhisatvas, those who refuse to accept the final stage of Buddhahood and vows to keep returning this life and help santient beings free themselves from suffering by 'skillful means', through compassion and through perseverance and hard work. They are Manjushri Bodhisatva of Intinite wisdom , Avalokiteshvara Bodhisatva of Infinite Compassion and Bodhisatva Samanthabadra, of Infinite Practice.. Thes Bodhisatvas will lead those sentient beings most conducive to their ways towards liberation or free from suffering. They will materialize as teachers or companions, guides or Gurus to those who genuinely seek their aids just  saints and Walis of the Muslim traditions do.

I dedicate this entry to the  Great Bodhisatva, Mahasatva, Avalokiteshvara, may myriads beings rejoice from His infinite techings a and guidance and attain to Liberation.!