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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.

Friday, April 12, 2013

Origin and meaning of Om Mani Padme Hum

Learning Point No 286






The paragraphs below are extracted from
http://www.mykwanyin.com/kwgoddess.html 

Entwined in the faith of Buddhism, her first real appearance in literature seems to be around 400 AD. By that time, Buddhism had been around for nearly 1000 years, spreading from its birthplace in India to China, and subsequently to Korea, Japan and Tibet. 

Devotees of Avalokitesvara, or Avalokita, Bodhisattva of Compassion of Indian Buddhism, brought the concept of Avalokita to China. There, Avalokita, or Kwan Yin, was adopted as a god in the male form and later was gradually changed by some to resemble a female, lending a rather androgynous element to her. 

By 1200 AD she was definitely a female portrayed in flowing robes. 




Avalokita is depicted with many arms, hands and heads, sometimes with an eye in each palm representing the ever watchful omnipresent mother, ready to immediately reach out in any direction to alleviate suffering. 

In Buddhist mythology, it states that Avalokita was born from Amitabha Buddha's right eye, after which he proclaimed, "Om Mani Padme Hum" -- Hail to the jewel in the lotus -- a sentiment of her preciousness to him. Some believe she is actually an incarnation of Amitabha Buddha. 

The Chinese translation of the Sanskrit Avalokita is Kuan shih Yin, the full form of the shortened Kuan Yin, or Kwan Yin.





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