Two Precious Scroll Narratives of Guanyin and Her ... - Khamkoo

Introduction 7
name: being threatened by falling into a great fire or into swift river
currents, being shipwrecked on the island of giantesses, being executed
by the sword, being attacked by goblins, being locked in
manacles or fetters, being assaulted by brigands, being tempted by
lust, being in a state of delusion, being threatened by thunderbolts
or snakes. 20 Aside from these, the bodhisattva was also ready to
come to the rescue of those who desired a male or female child, or
great wealth. 21 This portrait of Avalokiteśvara greatly contributed to
the popularization of his cult, and from the fifth century onward
collections appeared that chronicled the miraculous rescues and
cures said to have been effected by the bodhisattva. These miracle
accounts only increased in number as time went by. 22 To invoke
the aid of the bodhisattva people could simply invoke his name,
but even better results might be obtained by the repeated devout
recitation of the Pumen jing or, better still, the complete (and quite
long) Lotus Sutra. Many sutras would follow in which even greater
powers were ascribed to Avalokiteśvara, and which often included
magical formulas (dhāraṅī) and elaborate rituals designed to ensure
his aid. 23
Avalokiteśvara was a popular subject of Buddhist iconography
of the first millennium. Usually the bodhisattva was depicted as a
richly arrayed, handsome (Indian) prince. Despite the rather feminine
curves of his two- or three-dimensional body, the male sex of
the bodhisattva is often clearly indicated by a thin moustache. Tantric
Buddhism of the Tang dynasty (617–906) resulted in popular
images of Avalokiteśvara with numerous heads and hands, symbolic
of his omnipresent readiness to come to the aid of his devotees.
The most magnificent iconographical type of Avalokiteśvara
shows the bodhisattva with ‘‘a thousand arms’’: the standing bodhisattva
is surrounded by ‘‘a thousand arms,’’ each with an open eye
in the palm of its hand. 24
From the tenth century onward, however, images increasingly
depicted Avalokiteśvara in female form, and it is in this female
manifestation that the bodhisattva has attained greatest popularity
in late-imperial China. 25 The female Guanyin was venerated by
men, but especially by women. Her power is seen as practically
unlimited; while she is nominally subject to the highest deities,
whether the Buddha or the Jade Emperor, these never refuse her requests
on behalf of her protégés. Modern scholars have been greatly
puzzled by the gender change of Avalokiteśvara/Guanyin. But while