Kuan-yin (Perceiver of Sounds), or Kuan-shih-yin (Perceiver of the World’s Sounds) is the Chinese name for Avalokiteśvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, . Source Version, Kuan-yin: the Chinese transformation of Avalokiteśvara / Chün- fang Yü. Yü, Chün-fang, New York: Columbia University Press, c Request PDF on ResearchGate | On Aug 1, , Beata Grant and others published Kuan-yin: The Chinese Transformation of Avalokiteshvara.

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This scholarly and thorough book gives a good account of how Guanyin emerged in China. Want to Read saving….
In this groundbreaking study, Chun-fang Yu discusses this dramatic transformation of the male Indian bodhisattva Avalokitesvara into the female Chinese Kuan-yin — from a relatively minor figure in the Buddha’s retinue to a universal savior and one of the most popular deities in Chinese religion.
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Kuan-Yin: The Chinese Transformation of Avalokitesvara
It is to the eternal credit of the Lotus and the dhdrani texts that they promise pious woman devotees daughters as well as sons, khan-yin it was sons that were emphasized in China, where contin- uing the patriarchal family line was such a central value. Joseph Zizys added it Feb 11, English Choose a language for shopping.
Megan marked it as to-read Feb 09, I am puzzled by the statement that “we can speak of the rise of a kind of ‘domesticated religiosity’ in late imperial times” p. As opposed to Mu-lien who was merely trying to free his mother and accidentally freed souls from hell, Miao Shan purposefully freed souls and eased the torments of those suffering there.
Kuan-yin: the Chinese transformation of Avalokiteśvara
However these rituals became increasingly more popular, and today are done frequently in temples. Finally, there is a whole new body of evidence about Kuan-yin as a local village protector deity to which Yii does not refer but which brings the goddess very much to earth. She argued despite the popularity of the Avaloitesvara Mother of the Chihese in Taoism, there was little evidence to show a practicing cult for her.
Preview — Kuan-Yin by Chun-fang Yu. Get to Know Us.
In this case the beliefs in Kuan Yin of the south Seas. Chun-fang Yu provides evidence sug- gesting that the Miao-shan legend may have been related to a new form of Buddhist lay association that arose at about the same time in which women were active and Kuan-yin was worshiped.
Lastly the chapter looked at the practice of Ke-Ku slicing off flesh from arms, thighs or livers to serve as medicine for dying or ill parents. This scripture influenced many more later on pp. The cult of Kuan-yin in China was made even more specific and con- crete by collections of miracle tales, stories of the bodhisattva’s efficacious responses to the prayers of her devotees, the first set of which was pub- lished in the fourth century.
Here one finds discus- sions of Kuan-yin as a deity in local temples, lineage shrines and homes, and as a focus of groups of woman devotees.

The writer continues to refer to the Kuan Yin figure as a “goddess”which isn’t in Buddhist theology. A major case study of the Mahayana concept of upaya To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. This is more a “how did Kuan Yin come to be,” without answering an unspoken question of what happened in Late Tang early Sung China that facilitated a change in the narrative of the bodhisvatta and why has this narrative continued into the western world with such intensity among the believers.
Kuan-Yin: The Chinese Transformation of Avalokitesvara by Chun-fang Yu
After the legend of Miao Shan became popular festivals were now held on her birthday for Kuan Yin. Lines are hard to draw; this book is full of evidence of specific miracles in response to prayers in thoroughly Bud- dhist contexts. Amazon Second Chance Pass it on, trade it in, give it a second life.
Niklas marked it as to-read Sep 29, Rowan White marked it as to-read Sep 09, Page 1 of 1 Start over Page 1 of 1. By making her work an interdisciplinary study she was really able to give a good glimpse of every aspect of the Goddess, and Bodhivista.
avalokitesvvara

In an indigenous Chinese scripture from the eleventh century a “white-robed Kuan-yin” appears, associated with zvalokitesvara “child-giving Kuan-yin,” a “maternal figure holding a baby in her arms” p. By far one of the most important objects of worship in the Buddhist traditions, the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara is regarded as the embodiment of compassion.
Though there were a few references to Kuan-yin as a woman in records from the fifth and sixth centuries, “the deity underwent a profound transforma- tion sometime during the tenth century, and by the sixteenth century, Kuan-yin had become not only completely Chinese, but also the most beloved ‘Goddess avalokigesvara Mercy’ [originally a Jesuit term for her].
Yu also illustrated the money to be made in the pilgrimage business.
