Virtual Dharma Talk on Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva in China and Nepal

 Dr Rabin Man Shakya

Portland, March 21 (Nepal Oregon News): A Dharma talk on Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva in China (Dunhuang) and Nepal was organized by Hong Kong Institute of Buddhist Studies Association in the zoom on Saturday, March 20, 2021. 

55 people from the USA, Hong Kong, Canada and Germany took part at the zoom conference on Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Tina Ho from Hong Kong Sangha  said that Avalokiteshvara means "the lord who looks down with compassion."

Dr Ho went on saying: Guanyin  is the Chinese name for Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva. Guanyin is a  Bodhisattva who "observes the sound of the world." Guan means "to observe (the world)" and Yin refers to "the sound", she said.

Giving the historical accounts about the Bodhisattva, Dr Tina Ho said that the scriptures about Guanyin were translated into Chinese as early as the 3rd century. The worship of Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva in China began around the 5th or 6th century. Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva has been widely recognized in China by the fifth century.

She said: From the Tang dynasty (618-917 AD) to the beginning of the Song dynasty (960-1279 AD), Avalokiteshvara still appeared as a male figure and often had a beard in the ancient Chinese paintings.

Dr Ho also threw  light on Dunhuang Avalokiteshvara by great Chinese artist Zhang Daquin,  and  said:"The cave temples of Magao Grottoes were built in the 4th century and lasted for about a thousand years until the 14th century. In other words, it is the latest cave temple in Dunhuang Grottoes. "The Avalokiteshvara with Thousand Hands and Thousand Eyes" on the north wall of cave 3 is known as the masterpiece of the wall decoration of the Dunhuang grottoes."

Dr Ho also highly eulogized Nepal's princess Bhrikuti's  contributions in disseminating Buddhism in Tibet.

Also, speaking on the occasion,  Nritya Mandala Mahavihara's Prajwal Ratna Vajracharya made a detailed and comprehensive analysis about the Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva in Nepal.

When we talk about Avalokiteshvara in Nepal, we have to basically focus on Bunga Dyo and Janbaha Dyo, he said adding: Bunga Dyo Karunamaya is Rato Machindranath Avalokiteshvara and Janbaha Dyo Karunamaya is Seto Machindranath Avalokiteshvara.

Bunga Dyo Jatra is a chariot festival honoring the Mahayani Buddhism deity of compassion - Avalokiteshvara - in Lalitpur, and Janbaha Dyo festival is observed in Kathmandu, Nepal, Prajwal told the zoom conference participants.

Pundit Vajracharya also went on to tell the zoom participants a mythology about how a king, a priest and a farmer (jyapu) with a Karkotaka Naga went to Kamarup Kamapakshya to bring in the Karunamaya for bringing rain to the drought-hit Nepal Mandala at that time.

Prajwal also told zoom participants about the mythology and history of Bhoto Kyenegu Parampara during the Bunga Dyo Jatra.

Avalokiteshvara is a compassionate Bodhisattva who hears the cries of sentient beings and who works relentlessly to help those who call upon Karunamaya's name,  Vajracharya went on saying.

Prajwal added: The sun and moon are said to be born from Avlokiteshvara's eyes, Shiva from his brow, Brahma from shoulders, Vishnu from his heart, Saraswoti from his teeth, the winds from his mouth, the earth from his feet and the sky from his stomach.

Karunamaya (Avlokiteshvara Bodhisattva) is also mentioned in the Chakan Dyo Jatra event. It was because of Karunamaya's blessing that Singha Sartha Bahu, a Newah trader doing business in Tibet successfully made a successful comeback to Kathmandu after his business accomplishment in Lhasa.

(Some more pictures related to Avalokiteshvara in Nepal and China shown during their presentations)

(Nepal Oregon News writer Rabin Man Shakya is a Newah journalist in USA)