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QUAN YIN: THE GODDESS OF COMPASSION
AND MERCY
QUAN YIN: THE GODDESS OF
COMPASSION Quan Yin is one of the most universally beloved of deities in the Buddhist tradition. Also known as Kuan Yin, Quan'Am (Vietnam), Kannon (Japan), and Kanin (Bali), She is the embodiment of compassionate loving kindness. As the Bodhisattva of Compassion, She hears the cries of all beings. Quan Yin enjoys a strong resonance with the Christian Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and the Tibetan goddess Tara.
In many images She is depicted carrying the pearls of illumination. Often Quan Yin is shown pouring a stream of healing water, the "Water of Life," from a small vase. With this water devotees and all living things are blessed with physical and spiritual peace. She holds a sheaf of ripe rice or a bowl of rice seed as a metaphor for fertility and sustenance. The dragon, an ancient symbol for high spirituality, wisdom, strength, and divine powers of transformation, is a common motif found in combination with the Goddess of Mercy.
Sometimes Kuan Yin is represented as a many armed figure, with each hand either containing a different cosmic symbol or expressing a specific ritual position, or
mudra. This characterizes the Goddess as the source and sustenance of all things. Her cupped hands often form the Yoni
Mudra, symbolizing the womb as the door for entry to this world through the universal female principle.
Quan Yin, as a true Enlightened One, or Bodhisattva, vowed to remain in the earthly realms and not enter the heavenly worlds until all other living things have completed their own enlightenment and thus become liberated from the pain-filled cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.
BUDDHISM
Although Buddhism first entered China from India during the Later Han, in the time of Han Ming Ti (AD 58-76), it did not become popular until the end of the 3rd century. The prevailing disorders, aggravated by barbarian invasions and the flight of northern Chinese to the south, heightened the attraction of Buddhism with its promise of personal salvation, despite its lack of affinity with the society-oriented thought of the Chinese. Buddhism was founded by Siddhartha
Gautama, the Buddha, a prince of the Sakya kingdom on the borders of what are now India and Nepal and a contemporary of Confucius. Intent on finding relief for human suffering, he received a moment of enlightenment while meditating under a Bo tree. The Buddha taught that desires are the source of pain and that by overcoming desires, pain can be eliminated. To this end, he advocated meditation and pursuing the Eightfold Path, similar to the Ten Commandments of Judaism and Christianity. The objective was to reach Nirvana, the condition of serenity of spirit, where all cravings, strife and pain have been overcome, giving way to a merging of the spirit with eternal harmony.
At an early stage of its development, Buddhism split into two major trends, Mahayana (Greater Vehicle) and Hinayana (Lesser Vehicle). Hinayana remained closer to the original Buddhism and is still the religion of Southeast Asian countries. The Buddhism of China, Korea, Japan, Nepal, Tibet and Vietnam, however, stems largely from Mahayana. Mahayana Buddhism contained more popular elements, such as belief in repetitive prayers, heaven and deities--bodhisattvas--who would help people gain salvation. It also readily adapted to the land and people it converted. In China, it split into several schools, including Chan (Zen in Japan),
Tian-tai (Tendai in Japan), and Pure Land.
THE DRAGON
The Dragon
is the most well used and
popular object in Chinese culture. His appearance (Ox’s head, Prawn’s eyes,
Elephant’s ears, Donkey’s mouth, Deer’s horns, Man’s whiskers, Snake’s
body, Fish’s skin and Phoenix’s feet) mimics the appearance of all of the
characteristics of the major animals in the world. Because of this, he is a
symbol of the Emperor amongst the different Dynasties. The meaning is of control
of everything. Nowadays Chinese still call themselves Children of the Dragon.
CHINESE ZODIAC
There are several stories as to how the twelve animals of the
Chinese zodiac were chosen. In one, the Jade Emperor, although having ruled
Heaven and Earth justly and wisely for many years, had never had the time to
actually visit the Earth personally. He grew curious as to what the creatures of
the earth looked like. To this end, he charged his chief advisor with selecting
the twelve most interesting animals and bringing them to Heaven to satisfy his
curiosity.
The Emperor's advisor sent invitations to the rat, the cat, the ox, the tiger,
the rabbit, the dragon, the snake, the horse, the ram, the monkey, the chicken,
and the dog. The cat, the most handsome of all animals, asked his friend the rat
to wake him on the day they were to go to Heaven so he wouldn't oversleep. The
rat, however, was worried that he would seem ugly compared to the cat, so he
didn't wake the cat. Consequently, the cat missed the meeting with the Jade
Emperor and was replaced by the pig. The Jade Emperor was delighted with the
animals and so decided to divide the year up amongst them. When the cat learned
of what had happened, he was furious with the rat and that, according to the
story, is why cats and rats are enemies to this day.
CHINESE DYNASTIES
| Dynasty |
Characteristics and History |
| Hsia ·
c.1994-c.1523 BC |
Semilegendary
Emperor Yu built irrigation channels, reclaimed land. Bronze weapons,
chariots, domestic animals used. Wheat, millet cultivated. First use of
written symbols. |
| Shang or Yin ·
c.1523-c.1027 BC |
First historic
dynasty. Complex agricultural society with a bureaucracy and defined
social classes. Well-developed writing, first Chinese calendar. Great
age of bronze casting. |
| Chou ·
c.1027-256 BC |
Classical age ( Confucius
, Lao Tzu ,
Mencius )
despite political disorder. Written laws, money economy. Iron implements
and ox-drawn plow in use. Followed by Warring States period, 403-221 BC |
| Ch'in ·
221-206
BC |
Unification of China
under harsh rule of Shih Huang-ti. Feudalism
replaced by pyramidal bureaucratic government. Written language
standardized. Roads, canals, much of the Great
Wall built. |
| Han ·
202 BC-AD
220 |
Unification
furthered, but harshness lessened and Confucianism
made basis for bureaucratic state. Buddhism
introduced. Encyclopedic history, dictionary compiled; porcelain
produced. |
Three Kingdoms
·
AD 220-265 |
Division into three
states: Wei, Shu, Wu. Wei gradually dominant. Confucianism eclipsed;
increased importance of Taoism
and Buddhism. Many scientific advances adopted from India. |
| Tsin or Chin ·
265-420 |
Founded by a Wei
general; gradual expansion to the southeast. Series of barbarian
dynasties ruled N China. Continued growth of Buddhism. |
| Sui ·
581-618 |
Reunification;
centralized government reestablished. Buddhism, Taoism favored. Great
Wall refortified; canal system established. |
| T'ang ·
618-907 |
Territorial
expansion. Buddhism temporarily suppressed. Civil
service examinations based on Confucianism. Age of great
achievements in poetry ( Li
Po , Po Chü-i
, Tu Fu ),
sculpture, painting. |
Five Dynasties and
Ten
Kingdoms ·
907-960 |
Period of warfare,
official corruption, general hardship. Widespread development of
printing (see type
); paper money first printed. |
| Sung ·
960-1279 |
Period of great
social and intellectual change. Neo-Confucianism attains supremacy over
Taoism and Buddhism; central bureaucracy reestablished. Widespread
cultivation of tea and cotton; gunpowder first used militarily. |
| Yüan ·
1271-1368 |
Mongol
dynasty founded by Kublai
Khan . Growing contact with West. Confucian ideals discouraged.
Great age of Chinese playwriting. Revolts in Mongolia and S China end
dynasty. |
| Ming ·
1368-1644 |
Mongols expelled.
Confucianism, civil service examinations, reinstated. Contact with
European traders, missionaries. Porcelain, architecture (see Chinese
architecture ), the novel and drama flourish. |
Ch'ing or Manchu
·
1644-1912 |
Established by the Manchus
. Territorial expansion but gradual weakening of Chinese power; decline
of central authority. Increasing European trade; foreign powers divide
China into spheres of influence. Opium
War ; Hong
Kong ceded; Boxer
Uprising . Last Chinese monarchy. |
GREAT
WALL OF CHINA
The 1,500 mile long wall, running mostly along the southern edge of the Mongolian
plain, winding across Northern China from Gansu province to Hebei province on the Yellow
Sea, was erected to protect China from northern nomads. It is an amalgamation of many walls built in ancient times; the first unified wall was built in the
third century BC by the Ch'in dynasty. Laborers were conscripted from all over China to build it, and many of them died during the project. The wall's present form dates substantially from the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). It averages 25
feet in height and is 15 to 30 feet thick at the base, sloping to 12 feet at the top. Guard stations and watchtowers are placed at regular intervals. The eastern part of the wall is earth and stone faced with brick, but in the west it is merely an earth mound. Successive invasions of China from the north demonstrated that the Great Wall had little military utility. Since 1949 two sections North
of Beijing have been reconstructed and are open to visitors.
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