Quan Yin - a new ceramic Icon

I've made a number of sculptures and masks over the years  dedicated to Quan Yin *** . Quan Yin, the manifestation of Divine Compassion throughout Chinese Buddhism, represents the Bodhissatva - the Great Being who "hears the cries of the world" and returns, again and again, to aid the suffering of the world.  She is often shown, like Tara of Tibet, with many arms, and has been called "thousand armed Quan Yin"....the arms being the many ways she can help and assist those in need.  

I  have felt the need to create quite a few "Icons" for Quan Yin  and White Tara.  Perhaps it has to do with the divisiveness and harshness of the times we live in, the great crisis of global warming, covid, and disastrous wars that surround us.    Making art about Quan Yin,  and Goddesses of Compassion, represents for me a personal act of Invocation.  May She bring those qualities of Compassion into my heart, and may she show me how I can, as She does, assist.  

Art making can be a great act of invocation, a great act of healing, an act of magic if you will.  That was what each woman over the years was doing when she danced with the masks......by embodying the Goddess, she was invoking them for the benefit of all those present.  In-voke:  to "yoke", to "join".  I remember when I was working on a Quan Yin sculpture that became a fountain (Quan Yin is usually shown holding a chalice of water, representing the healing waters she gives to the world).....I remember that when I and the model I used for the sculpture were at work we both felt a kind of light in the room, a yellow, calm, serene sensation.  I feel the Goddess was with us as we prepared Her image through our creative process.   It really doesn't matter if you even "believe" in the Goddess Quan Yin.   I'm not sure that "believing" is anywhere near as important as simply wanting help, wanting guidance, opening the heart.  I don't "believe" the Divine Ones care what we call them or what form we give them in order to symbolize Their qualities and gifts.  

Making art can thus be a devotional act, a spiritual practice for the maker.  The art object, finished, becomes an icon, a talisman to remind and re-member.   When I made my fountain/icon in 2017 for Quan Yin my friend Queeny  very generously endured my casting her face and upper torso.  Queeny is Chinese Canadian.  I wanted to make a Quan Yin that, instead of the idealized and beautiful young woman She is usually portrayed as, looks more like a real woman in the real world of today -  the Bodhisattva walking among us, working among us, hearing and responding to the pain of the world, bringing healing and love, help and insight.  A  woman in her middle years, reflecting the experience that comes with living and embodiment.  

Mosaic artist Ginny Moss Rothwell did the same with her breathtaking contemporary Icons to

Quon Yin.  

"Jewel in the Lotus:  Quan Yin" by Ginny Moss Rothwell

Kuan Shih Yin - Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva

The Bodhisattva of Great Compassion

The Sanskrit name "Avalokiteshvara" means "the one who looks upon the world with compassion".  Translated into Chinese, the name is "Kuan Shih Yin"or Quan Yin.

Kuan: observe

Shih: the world / the region of sufferers

Yin: all the sounds of the world, in particular, the crying sounds of beings, verbal or mental, seeking help

In China, Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva is represented in female form and is known as Kuan Yin. In her hands, Kuan Yin may hold a willow branch, a vase with water or occasionally, a lotus flower.  The willow branch is used to heal people's illnesses or bring fulfillment to their requests.  The water ( the dew of compassion) has the quality of removing suffering, purifying the defilement of our body, speech and mind, and lengthening life.

In Buddhist art, Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva is sometimes shown with eleven heads, 1000 hands and eyes on the palms of each hand (Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva). The thousand eyes allow the Bodhisattva to see the sufferings of sentient beings, and the thousand hands allow her to reach out to help them.

There is a sacred place for the worship of Kuan Yin in China - the Putuo Mountain. It is actually an island located near the city of Ningpo, in Zhejiang Province. There are many stories of Kuan Yin's miraculous appearances at Putuo Mountain.

Actually, anyone can be like Kuan Yin. You may say that you don't have a thousand eyes or a thousand arms or that you lack skillful means, but it is your compassion that can transform you into a Kuan Yin. With your eyes and hands, you can help others. With your compassion, you can bring peace and tranquility to this world.

from:  Buddhanet

 Kuan Yin  at Putuo Mountain, China

Quan Yin Mask

Sometimes I find that a mask wants to be made, and it seems that I receive "invisible support" in my quest to make it.  For quite a while now I wished to make a mask for Quan Yin, the Goddess of Compassion in China.  But I lacked a cast of a Chinese woman's face, and also did not have any Chinese aquaintances that I could ask to sit for me.  Then in November (I rent rooms in my home with AIRBNB) no less than three beautiful  Chinese women rented rooms from me!  And with the kind assistance of Irene who modelled for the mask, I at last was able to make the mask for Quan Yin.  Now, it is my hope, dancers will come to perform it.

From Journey to the Goddess (https://journeyingtothegoddess.wordpress.com/2012/04/05/goddess-kwan-yin/:

In Chinese tradition, “Kwan Yin (‘She Who Hears the Prayers of the World’) was originally the mother Goddess of China, who proved so popular She was adopted into the Buddhist pantheon as a bodhisattva (much like the Goddess Bridgit was made a saint). A bodhisattva is a person who has attained enlightenment but chooses to forgo Nirvana and remain in the world to help others attain enlightenment.  As the still-popular mother Goddess of China, Kwan Yin is known as a great healer who can cure all ills. She is also a Goddess of fertility, and is often shown holding a child. In this aspect She is known as Sung-tzu niang-niang, “The Lady Who Brings Children”. She is shown holding a crystal vase, pouring out the waters of creation. Simply calling Her name in time of crisis is believed to grant deliverance.

Guanyin is also revered by Chinese Taoists (sometimes called Daoists) as an Immortal. However, in Taoist mythology, Guanyin has other origination stories which are not directly related to Avalokiteśvara.  She is known as the Goddess Tara in Tibet and the Himalayas and Mazu in Her incarnation as the Goddess of the Southern Seas, but She is best known by Her Chinese name, Kwan Yin (also spelled Kuan Yin), the Goddess of Compassion.  

NAMES OF THE GODDESS

Kuan Yin (Kwan Yin. Guan Yin, Guan Shih Yin, Quan Yin, Guanyin, Kuanin)
Avalokitesvara
Mazu, A-ma, Matsu
Goddess of the Southern Sea
Kwannon (Japan)
the Asian Santa Maria
One Who Hears the Cries of the World
Sung-Tzu-Niang-Niang
(Lady Who Brings Children)
The Maternal Goddess
The Observer of All Sounds
Bodhisattava of Compassion
The Thousand-hand Kuanyin   ***


***I had to include the following video.  If you’ve not seen this before, be prepared to be amazed.  The performance is called “Thousand-handed Goddess of Mercy” performed by China Disabled People’s Performing Art Troupe.  They are all deaf and mute.  The amazing leading dancer is Tai Lihua , who is a dance teacher at a deaf-mute school in Hubei, China.

A Thousand Hands of Quan Yin - Stunning Performance by Deaf & Blind Performers

Thousand Hand Guan Yin-"Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva is an astonishing performance in celebration of the Goddess of Compassion, Quan Yin.  It is even more astonishing when one learns that this Chinese production was performed by deaf  and blind performers.  Quan Yin, like Tara, is the embodiment of infinite mercy and assistance to all who call on her.  She is "She who hears the cries of the world".   Avalokitesvara means  "Lord/Lady who looks down", a  Bodhisattva who embodies compassion. Kuan Yin has a thousand arms with which to scatter blessings, a thousand arms with which to bring help to those in need. What an amazing invocation these performers make!

 http://youtu.be/xgHmSdpjEIk



http://youtu.be/Ov_iJQGq6DI