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The Living Life Series is dedicated to Lord (武天) Bo Tien. The doctrine is in His image. The image is the doctrine. He who sees, understands and effects the doctrine sees and knows Him. He who does not see, know and effect the doctrine sees not and knows not the saint even if the saint or His image is beside him. The far may be near and the near may be far. Let the doctrine and the saint be part of our life. The lord saint in your life can be any heavenly saint of any religion, sect or school. The doctrine of truth is behind all and this is the Inner Truth that leads all (regardless of their religious affliliation or even if none) to inner peace and heaven on earth here and now and not just in the after life. The ideal worship and devotion is to know and effect the doctrine of God and the saints. The best gospel is the gospel of life. We learn from our life and the lives of others. The true temple is the world we live in. The sky is the roof of the temple and religions and sects are the pillars of the temple. All under Heaven are in the temple. The whole wide world and web is the temple and must be regarded as a sacred place --- a temple for living and learning. It is more important that everyone that counts plays a role in this universal temple if due focus is to be given to the Mission of Heaven. Men must not be distracted by the agenda of men and end up serving the mission of man. That would be a far cry from the Mission of Heaven.

Thursday, April 11, 2013

More to the image of Kuanyin

Learning Point No 284





Below are extracts from the comprehensive write-up at  http://inmortalkwanyin.blogspot.sg/#! 

Guan Yim is usually shown in a white flowing robe - white being the symbol of purity -, and usually wearing necklaces of Indian/Chinese royalty. 





In the right hand is a water jar (as the Sacred Vase the water jar also one of the Eight Buddhist Symbols of good Fortune) containing pure water, the divine nectar of life, compassion and wisdom, and in the left, a willow branch to sprinkle the divine nectar of life upon the devotees as to bless them with physical and spiritual peace. 

The willow branch is also a symbol of being able to bend (or adapt) but not break.  

The crown usually depicts the image of Amitabha Buddha (Fully Conscious Infinite Light), Guan Yim's spiritual teacher before she became a Bodhisattva. 

A bird, mostly a dove, representing fecundity is flying toward her. 

A necklace or rosary is associated with her calls upon Buddha for succour, each bead of it representing all living beings and the turning of the beads symbolises that Guan Yim is leading them out of their state of misery and repeated rounds of rebirth into nirvana, hence the beads represent enlightenment. 

Should a book or scroll of papers be within the portrayal, it is representing the Dharma, the teaching of Buddha or the sutra, the Buddhist text, Guan Yim is said to have constantly recited from. 

Guan Yim is often depicted either alone, standing atop a dragon, accompanied by a bird, flanked by two children, or flanked by two warriors. 

The two children are called Long Nue and Shan Tsai. 

The two warriors are the historical character Guan Yu who comes from the ‘Three Kingdoms’ period and the mythological character Wei Tuo who features in the Chinese classic 'Canonisation of the Gods'. 



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