Feng Shui Tips for the Working Person

After discussing the different FENG SHUI TIPS FOR THE WORK PLACE (1 and 2), I now would like to share the different Taoist Deities or Immortals and Buddhas or Bodhisattvas who can help you with your career and work environment.

Some of the things that I’m going to mention here are things that I’ve discussed in the past, but I believe that they are worth repeating.

For me, one of the most powerful Taoist God who also happens to be a Chinese Buddhist Buddha is the ‘Great Sage, Equal of Heaven’, the Monkey God or Monkey King called Sun Wukong. I have written about Sun Wukong several times in various posts, but if you wish to know more about him you can read a post solely dedicated to Sun Wukong. But it is worth repeating here that Sun Wukong is a very good strategist, furthermore, one of his intrinsic qualities is that he is loyal to those who shows reverence to him and worship him. Having an image of Sun Wukong either as a tabletop image or pendant will give you a competitive edge in all your undertakings. Furthermore, Sun Wukong is also a very powerful protector so having his image will ensure that your chances of getting backstabbed or swindled are greatly minimize. But more than that, Sun Wukong is also a very powerful wealth god so having his image will ensure good salary and help ensure career advancement.

Another powerful Taoist and Buddhist god is Kuan Kong (also called Guan Gong, Kuan Ti, or Guan Ti). Kuan Kong is a historical Bodhisattva and Taoist immortal. I’ve also written intensively about Kuan Kong, and you can know more about him by reading my previous post about Kuan Kong. His difference with Sun Wukong is that Kuan Kong is more appropriate for people who are in power or significant position. But other than that they’re almost the same in qualities, attributes, and the type of blessing that they bestow upon those who tap into their powers.

If your workplace environment is very tense and needs a lot of harmony, you should have the image of the Maitreya Buddha, better known as the Happy Fat Buddha. The Maitreya Buddha, will ensure that there is harmony in an otherwise tense and stressful environment. You can either place an image of the Maitreya Buddha on your table or wear one as a pendant. The Maitreya Buddha will also help ensure that you focus on the positive aspects of a ‘problem’. Furthermore, the Maitreya Buddha is also a very powerful wealth god, so he can ensure good money luck. If you want to know more about the Maitreya Buddha please read my previous post by clicking here.

Just a word of caution, I mentioned here several times that you could put the images of Kuan Kong, Sun Wukong, and Maitreya Buddha on your table. However, you have to ensure that when on your table that you don’t ‘show disrespect’ by constantly hitting them with your papers, calculators, etc. If possible, it is better to place them somewhere that they won’t be disturbed.

Ji Gong: An Eccentric Buddhist Monk that Became a Taoist Wealth God

Today, allow me to share with you another powerful, thought not very famous, wealth god called Ji Gong or Che Kong (濟公). Also spelled as Ji Kong or Che Gong.

Ji Gong is known as the ‘Legendary Monk with a Magical Fan’. This is because he is usually portrayed as having a fan and sometimes with a bottle of wine.

I entitled this post as – JI GONG: AN ECCENTRIC BUDDHIST MONK THAT BECAME A TAOIST WEALTH GOD – because Ji Gong in reality was a Buddhist monk, was expelled from his monastic life and later on became a Taoist wealth god. The irony here, is that he’s not considered as a Buddha or a Bodhisattva in Buddhism, and it was only after the Taoist has adopted Ji Gong as a deity did the Buddhist started including him in their Koans.

(A Koan, for lack of a better description, is like a form of Sutra. It’s a fundamental part of the history and lore of Zen Buddhism and it consists of stories, dialogues, questions and statements, the meaning of which are said to be understandable through intuition or lateral thinking. )

Ji Gong was born to a famous and rich family during China’s Southern Song Dynasty. His father is a highly respected ‘businessman’ and military advisor. Ji Kong, the only son, and whose real name is Li Xiuyuan (李修元), came late in the family. His parents were actually told by a respected Feng Shui consultant that they don’t have descendant’s luck and that they will never have any children. This cause great sadness to both his parents, and considered this as one of their greatest misfortune. Since they are a religious couple they decided to make sure that they would go on various pilgrimage to different temples to ask for child.

Like most Chinese then and now, they don’t really make any distinction between Buddhism and Taoism and they would visit temples from both religions even if they were really Taoist.

It is said that in one of their pilgrimage to a Buddhist temple, they entered the hall of the 500 Arhats. Whereby the image of one of the Arhat, Mahakasyapa, fell off from the altar. It was taken as a sign that at that moment Mahakasyapa’s energy or spirit left ‘his’ image.

Not long after that, Ji Kong’s mom found out she was pregnant. They remembered the incident in the temple and believed that the baby in her womb was a gift from the Buddhas. They even began to think, that what she was carrying in her womb is the reincarnation of the Arhat Mahakasyapa!

At the age of 18, Li Xiuyuan decided to go to Hangzhou (a province in China), to enter the monastic life at the famous temple called Ling Yin Temple. After several years of studying Buddhism, he was finally ordained as a Buddhist monk and named Dao Ji Chan Shi. He was then normally called Dao Ji, thus this has become another common name of Ji Kong.

His monastic life proved to be short but memorable. Being born from a very rich family, he’s used to eating meat and drinking wine, and he was unable to give this up when he became a monk. Furthermore, he started showing some eccentricity and it is believed that he is slightly mad. However, they all agree that he is kind hearted and generous. Nevertheless, because Zen Buddhists strictly prohibits eating of meat and drinking of wine, they really didn’t have much choice but to expel him from the monastery.

After being expelled from his monastic life, Dao Ji or Ji Kong never really bothered to search for another monastery that can adopt him. He just roam on the streets and is often thought of as beggar monk, because he really didn’t gave up his Buddhist robes either.

His eccentricity continued to manifest on the streets, but so his kindness and compassionate heart. It is said, the even he looks poor he never really begged for money, and it is often a wonder as to where he gets money for food. Some say that it could be part of his inheritance, but if it were from his inheritance, it’s a mystery were he kept his wealth.

However, after a while, Dao Ji or Ji Kong started to manifest another eccentricity. Since he has a compassionate heart, he would often approach beggars on the streets and other poor families. He would listen to them, crack a joke, then murmur a prayer, after which he’ll use his fan to fan them a little. Soon after these incidents the recipient of his kindness and weird ritual will come to a good fortune. He thus earned a reputation for being a Buddhist magician, which, in turn earned him the title Ji Gong Huoto, which means the Living Buddha Ji Gong. Ji is derived from his Buddhist name Dao Ji, Gong, is a respect for a powerful elderly, and Huoto literally means living Buddha.

At his old age, Ji Kong was adopted by another monastery. This is where he passed away on the 14^th day of the 5^th Lunar month. Right after his death, Taoist immediately adopted him as their deity, and it is said the he continuously manifest his compassionate and magical powers to every one who keeps his image and go to him.

His image is usually pictured as a monk in rugged clothing, holding a bottle of wine and a ‘magical’ fan. He is always shown with a smiling face, because he has a very happy nature. Although, he is usually pictured wearing a hat with the word Fo, which means ‘Buddha’, Buddhist never really considered him as Buddha or a Bodhisattva. However, seeing how much he is revered in Taoism, Buddhist did include him in their Koans, some sub-sects even considers him as an Arhat.

This is a jade Ji Gong pendant. It's very similar to the one that I have.

Having an image of Ji Kong at home, and wearing his image as a pendant is a sure way to continuously tap into his blessings of wealth.

Feng Shui Tips for a Safe Travel

In my previous post – SIGNS OF A BAD TRAVEL LUCK, I talked about signs and/or omens of bad travel luck. I will now share with you the things that you can do before your travel to avoid these omens and to ensure a safe travel.

In the old times, a Taoist and Buddhist will never travel without consulting a Feng Shui expert or the Tong Shu, a Chinese Almanac, to check what are the auspicious and inauspicious travel date. However, this practice is slowly fading away, even amongst Feng Shui believers. Nevertheless, I still check on auspicious or neutral travel dates, but I personally avoid inauspicious travel dates.

Other than looking for the auspicious or neutral dates, I also do the following ritual before I travel:

I go to the temple to light some incense for a safe travel. I also pray for my family who is going to be left behind.

On a piece of yellow paper, I put my name and names of my travel companion. Details of my travel like departure date, flight number, destination, address abroad, arrival date. Then I put this under an image of a Buddha or Bodhisattva in our altar at home.I burn the said once I’m back.

I start praying the three full mala of the Kalachakra Mantra –OM AH HUM HO HAM KSHAMALA VARAYA HUM PHAT – three times a day, three days before I travel. I continuously to do so while I’m abroad and until on the day arrive.

Just before the flight, or the cruise, I visualize Sun Wukong at the front of the plane or ship, and is the one in control. To know more about Sun Wukong, please read – GETTING TO KNOW THE ‘GREAT SAGE, EQUAL OF HEAVEN’ MONKEY GOD CALLED SUN WUKONG!

I also always make sure that I have my WEALTH AND MASTER PROTECTION PENDANT with me. If you don’t have this you can also wear any Sun Wukong pendant. A Kuan Kong will also do. Aside from the WEALTH AND MASTER PROTECTION pendant, I also have my Kuan Yin pendant, Kalachakra Pendant, which is one of the symbols found in the WISH FULFILLING AND BUDDHA’S BLESSING MANTRA PENDANT.

Paying Homage to Goddess Tara

In my previous post I talked about Goddess Tara, who is also popularly known as the Green Tara. I shared her story and I also shared the story on how Goddess Tara helped ‘liberate’ me from my previous employer.

Now, allow me to share with you ways on paying homage to Goddess Tara.

Like any other Buddha, Bodhisattva, Deity or Immortal, one of the best ways to pay homage to Goddess Tara or Green Tara is to invite her image into your home.

Having her image in your home will not only earn merits for you because you are paying homage to her, but it will also grant you blessings from Goddess Tara. Goddess Tara will provide you with countless opportunities and it is up to you to just grab these opportunities.

Again, wearing her image as a pendant will surely bring countless blessings from Goddess Tara.

From my private collection. Goddess Tara or Green Tara's image made of jadeite jade.

In times of troubles, or if you need to decide on something, or in times of change, or if you need change, call on Goddess Tara by reciting her mantra and she’ll guide you to the right path! But more than that she’ll provide you the right path!

The mantra of Goddess Tara is – OM TARE TUTTARE TURE SOHA.

There are different manifestations of Goddess Tara, this one is a White Tara pendant made out of a meteorite. This is from my private collection and got this pendant in Singapore.

Wearing a symbolic script of her mantra or her seed syllable TAM, which is included in WISH FULFILLING AND BUDDHA’S BLESSING MANTRA PENDANT, will provide you with a blessing as if you’re constantly reciting her mantra.

The pronunciation of the mantra is OM, TARE is pronounced with a short A, and RE is pronounced as RAY. TUT is pronounced as TWO, TARE same as the first TARE. TURE is pronounced TWO and RAY.

A Calm Mind

The idea to write about this again came from a reader who a few weeks ago contacted me to request for the WISH FULFILLING AND BUDDHA’S BLESSING MANTRA PENDANT.

J mentioned in one of his emails that he’s just starting to understand more about the Buddha Dharma. A few days ago, he wrote another email inquiring as to whether there are mantras that he can recite for him to be calm and for him to have peace of mind.

A calm mind and peace of mind are two different things. The latter is usually achieved one’s we have come to terms with our past deeds and mistakes, it is also achieved one’s we have attained a calm mind. It’s a struggle. Having a calm mind is a precedent for a peaceful mind.

Since a calm mind precedes a peaceful mind, that it what I’m going to discuss now.

The first thing that you have to acknowledge is that it takes practice to have a calm mind. You work on it, it’s not something that you simply hope for and voila it happens right away. You have to constantly remind yourself that you want to be calm, that you NEED to be calm.

I, myself, had to struggle to achieve a calmness that I really need. I used to be a very hot headed person, not only that, since I was young my mind has always been hyperactive, I would constantly think about how things would go wrong, how people are doing me bad, I always think that all good things are done with malice and hidden motives. Because of this, I do get into trouble a lot of times. I was pretty violent and pretty harsh with my words and deeds; this kind of behavior is destructive not only to the people around me but also to myself.

There were a few times that I wanted to see a therapist to help me with my hyperactive and malicious mind. However, when I delve into Buddhism deeply, I found myself becoming calmer. I still do have those burst of emotions and hyperactivity, but I can honestly say that I’m now calmer and is able to control myself better. I also don’t really think a lot of negative thoughts and my being a worrier has subsided.

I won’t be able to pinpoint in on a single thing that helped me to be more calm, rather the change, which was gradual, is brought about different things that all worked together in helping me to have a calm mind.

First, understanding more about Buddhism has really helped. It helps that I understand that every action, every thought, every word has an effect. It creates karma, and whether that karma is good or bad depends on your deeds, words, and thoughts. The idea that reward and punishment is directly proportionate to your own deeds, thoughts, and words helped me to be more cautious and level headed.

Second, images of the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Deities, Immortals also helped in constantly reminding me that I can always call on their assistance for me to achieve the calmness that I need. They had become a constant point of meditation for me.

Another very effective tool is reciting the mantras. All the mantras will definitely have a calming effect. However, to be specific in the purpose of the calmness of the mind the PRAJNAPARAMITA MANTRA, the MANTRA OF THE MASTER OF HEALING, more popularly known as the MEDICINE BUDDHA MANTRA are the two mantras that works well with trying to calm the mind. The Prajnaparamita Mantra is – TADYATHA OM GATE GATE PARAGATE PARASAMGATE BODHI SOHA. It really is just GATE GATE PARAGATE PARASAMGATE BODHI SOHA, however, when reciting it one needs to add TADYATHA OM. The Medicine Buddha Mantra is – TADYATHA OM BHEKANDZYE BHEKANDZYE MAHA BHEKANDZYE BHEKANDZYE RADZA SAMUGATE SOHA.

Reading the various SUTRAS are also very helpful in trying to achieve a calmness of the mind. This is not only because at the point of reading you try your best to concentrate on the teaching, but more importantly, the Sutras really has such an effect.

Wearing a PRAYER WHEEL is also a very powerful tool to help achieve a calmness of the mind that we all need. If you want to know more about the Prayer Wheel do read my post – THE POWER OF A PRAYER WHEEL.

In my pursuit to have a calmer mind, I also decided to never watch horror movies because I find that the chi in creating a horror movie and watching them is so bad that it disturbs a person. It doesn’t matter whether you get scared or not, just watching it is enough to affect you in some way.

Wearing the image of the Medicine Buddha or the symbolic script of the Medicine Buddha Mantra as pendant also has a calming effect. I’ve previously discussed in length about the Medicine Buddha and about the power of the mantra. If you want to know more about them please read my post entitled – MEDICINE BUDDHA: A HEALER, PROVIDER, AND PROTECTOR OF BOTH THE PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL REALM – and – MANTRA: THE INSTRUMENT TO TAP THE POWER OF SYMBOLIC SOUND, SCRIPT, AND THOUGHT – respectively.

The WISH FULFILLING AND BUDDHA'S BLESSING MANTRA PENDANT has the image of the Medicine Buddha on the front and the Medicine Buddha Mantra symbolic script at the back.

These are just some of the tools that we can use to help us have a calmer mind. There are other ways to achieve a calm mind, however, this would require seeing one’s BAZI and Feng Shui of the house. Thus, I’m unable to discuss it here.

But more than anything, the first step to a calm mind is the decision to make it happen.

Heaven, Earth, Mankind: The Holy Trinity of Luck

Is Feng Shui everything?

It’s easy to simply focus on Feng Shui because its mysticism is quite alluring but more than that it’s really comforting and easy to rely with something that we can buy or with something that we can simply adjust. However, Feng Shui is not everything. Feng Shui is not the only thing that affects our luck…our destiny. The truth is Feng Shui is simply 1/3 of the equation. There are other factors that governs our destiny our life.

The three factors that determine our fate are the HEAVEN, EARTH, AND MANKIND LUCK, which is also called the HOLY TRINITY OF LUCK. The word luck here might be a little misleading or limiting, because, without the prefix bad, we usually associate luck with good things. LUCK here refers to either bad luck or good luck.

Each of the Holy Trinity of Luck all affects our destiny and as you will see after reading my explanation of each luck they are all interconnected with each other.

HEAVEN’S LUCK is something that is dictated by our birth and maybe the least of the 3 lucks that can be controlled. If you’ve been reading my blog, you now more or less understand that the principles of BAZI or Feng Shui states that our birth determines what kind of luck we’ll have or what kind of relationships are we going to have with our family and friends. In fact, it even defines our personality and character. Furthermore, it defines where we’re born, when we’re born, what kind of family we’re born into.  So this is something that’s beyond control, and this already dictates 1/3 of your life luck and may be hard to change. However, another school of thought states that our Heaven’s Luck is actually determined by our karma created in our past lives. This may be a little controversial for people who don’t believe in reincarnation, but Buddhism and Taoism both states that we do in our past life of past lives affects our present life, in the same manner, whatever we do now will have an effect on our Heaven’s Luck in our future life.

Also, in Buddhism, Heaven’s Luck refers to the intervention of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, thus the need to recite mantras, read and/or carry the Sutras, make offerings of incense, offerings of flowers, water, and food, etc.

The Taoist has a slightly different view regarding this matter, they believe praying to Taoist Gods, Deities, and Immortals can only bring so much help. Taoist believe that Taoist Gods can only help us up to the extent that is allowed by the luck determined by one’s Heaven’s Luck. Meaning, the power of Taoist Gods are not infinite when it comes to changing one’s karma. Our past deeds will have the final say as to the 1/3 Heaven’s Luck we have.

EARTH LUCK is Feng Shui. Most of you who have been reading my blog now will have basic understanding of how Feng Shui works, so I really won’t discuss EARTH LUCK here. However, I would like to say that we still don’t have full control of this because the truth is, although I really haven’t discuss it further on this blog, is that Feng Shui of our homes, office, neighbors, or personal Feng Shui are not the only Feng Shui that affects us. To a certain extent Feng Shui of the city, the province, the country and its relation to its location affects us also. As you will see this is also partly due to our Heaven’s Luck.

MANKIND LUCK is the thing that we may be able to totally control, but also more often than not it’s the thing that we neglect most. Mankind Luck refers to our thoughts, words, and actions that all create an immediate karma that also contributes to our over-all luck.  Furthermore, Mankind Luck basically refers to our everyday decision and course of actions on things that we do about every day matters like how we act or react on things done to us by our relatives, friends, colleagues, boss, or clients. It also refers on the things that we do on to ourselves, or on decisions regarding our work or business or career. Some Feng Shui teachers state that Mankind Luck is also defined by the actions of the people who surround us.

As you will notice these three lucks is not a stand-alone luck. They all work hand in hand. You might have a really bad Heaven’s Luck but because you practice good Feng Shui and create good MANKIND LUCK by creating good karma and by working hard you already have a 2/3 chance of a better life.

On the other hand, you can have very good Heaven’s Luck and may not be practicing good Feng Shui and/or continuously create bad Mankind Luck by being lazy or doing bad things. You would have obviously wasted your Heaven’s Luck.

In the same manner, you could be energizing your Earth’s Luck with good Feng Shui, however, you really have a bad Heaven’s Luck and continuously to create bad Mankind Luck by being lazy or pessimistic or by creating bad Karma. Then obviously Feng Shui won’t do anything long term or worthwhile for you. You would have negated all the good Feng Shui you created.

Furthermore, if you were to subscribe to the belief of karma and reincarnation, Mankind Luck will also have great effect on Heaven’s Luck. In the same manner that practicing good Feng Shui like what was suggested in my previous post about the Cicada will also help ensure a good rebirth, which is Heaven’s Luck.

I guess, what I’m trying to say is simple. Feng Shui works, but you need to work also. Furthermore, have faith in your God whatever religion you may have.

 

Feng Shui Tips to Activate Descendant Luck

One of the greatest aspirations of the Chinese is to ensure that they have good descendants, thus when looking for a spouse they consult Feng Shui experts to ensure that descendant’s luck of a couple is present. In fact, once the wife gets pregnant she is treated like a goddess, even the mother-in-law will definitely make sure that the pregnant daughter-in-law is taken care of properly to ensure a smooth pregnancy.

Also, in the old days much effort is given to ensuring that a boy is born, is to ensure the family’s lineage is well preserved. A girl is considered as a less important child because she is destined to be married off to another family, and thus considered as somebody else’s child. In fact, this practice or belief has become so bad that there are some Chinese families who don’t give names to their daughter because they’re destined to be known as the wife of so-so. Thus when addressing them in the household they’re simply called as First Daughter, Second Daughter, Big Sister, or Second Sister, or Third Sister. When addressed by somebody else other than their family they’re simply called as ‘First Daughter of Wong Family’ they’re simply defined by their family name and whether they’re the eldest daughter or the youngest, etc. When they get married they’re then simply defined by the husband’s family name. My own grandmother doesn’t even have her own name.

However, because I don’t believe that women are of a ‘lesser’ being compared to men, I will not write about Feng Shui tips in ensuring that the couple are to have a boy, rather, I’d like to share some Feng Shui tips to activate one’s Descendant Luck or Fertility Luck.

Several of the Feng Shui tips that I’m going to mention are things that I’ve recommended to friends and family.

RED KUAN YIN PENDANT.  Kuan Yin (also known as ‘Goddess of Mercy’, ‘Buddha of Compassion’) is a Bodhisattva revered both in Taoism and Buddhism. Kuan Yin grants the wish of having of babies. For this purpose a red Kuan Yin (also spelled as Kwan Yin, Quan Yin) is best to help you activate your Descendant’s Luck. It is highly recommended that both the husband and the wife wear a red Kuan Yin pendant. However, if this is not possible, then it is recommended that the woman wear the pendant. I have three different previous post about Kuan Yin. Get to know her by reading them. The first post is KUAN YIN: THE ONE WHO HEARS THE CRIES OF THE WORLD, the second post is UNDERSTANDING MERCY AND COMPASSION: THE TRANSFORMATION OF AVALOKITESVARA TO KUAN YIN, and the third post is PAYING HOMAGE TO KUAN YIN, THE BUDDHA OF COMPASSION.

RABBIT. A rabbit is a very powerful symbol of fertility. It’s believes that placing the image of a rabbit in the East section of the bedroom can increase the chances of fertility.

HAPPY FAT BUDDHA WITH CHILDREN. Having the image of the Happy Fat Buddha whose real name is Maitreya Buddha in your house helps increase your potential of having a good descendant luck. You can also know more about the Happy Fat Buddha by clicking here.

CARNELIAN BRACELET. Carnelian or Carnelian Agates or Orange Agates worn as bracelet is one of the best fertility charm. Carnelian is a stone or semi-precious stone that directly controls our sixth chakra – the sire where our reproductive organs are located. Wearing a carnelian as a bracelet will increase the wearer’s chance of being more fertile. This charm is also great for people who have found to have low sperm or egg count.

IMAGE OF KUAN YIN WITH A BABY. Placing an image of Kuan Yin with a Baby is another Feng Shui Descendant Luck enhancer. For this purpose, it’s best to place the image of Kuan Yin with a Baby on the west section of your house. If this is not possible you can also place the image of Kuan Yin with a Baby in the West corner of your living room.

A PAIR OF ELEPHANTS. This is one of the most effective Feng Shui cure and enhancer to activate one’s descendant luck. You should note that the trunk of the elephants should be down and not up. Place a pair of elephants with the trunks down on the west section of your room and if possible both couples should stroke the trunks of the elephant three times each night.

THREE PIECES OF CERAMIC OR PORCELAIN POMEGRANATE AND/OR PEACH. Both the pomegranate and the peach are powerful Feng Shui tools to enhance your descendant luck or fertility luck. In choosing a ceramic or porcelain pomegranate, choose the one that has a color of deep red. For ceramic or porcelain peach choose one that has a color of bright pink.

RECITE THE MANTRA OF GODDESS TARA. Goddess Tara or Green Tara is a Buddhist deity born out of Avalokitesvara or Kuan YIn’s tear drop. I’ll discuss more about Green Tara on a future post, however, allow me to say that calling on Goddess Tara by reciting her mantra is one way of activating one’s Descendant Luck. Furthermore, placing an image of the white manifestation of Goddess Tara called White Tara on the west section of your house also activates one’s descendant luck. Goddess Tara’s mantra is OM TARE TUTTARE TURE SOHA. Wearing her seed syllable TAM is also a powerful tool to activate one’s descendant luck. The seed syllable TAM is one of the featured symbolic syllable in the WISH FULFILLING AND BUDDHA’S BLESSING MANTRA PENDANT.

Paying Homage to Kuan Yin, the Buddha of Compassion!

I intentionally wrote 3 different posts about Kuan Yin (also spelled as Guan Yin, Quan Yin, Kwan Yin, Gwan Yin), because there is simply a lot to write about Kuan Yin. The first post is KUAN YIN: THE ONE WHO HEARS THE CRIES OF THE WORLD. The second post is UNDERSTANDING MERCY AND COMPASSION: THE TRANSFORMATION OF AVALOKITESVARA TO KUAN YIN.

Kuan Yin is also called ‘The Goddess of Mercy’, ‘Buddha of Compassion’, ‘Bodhisattva of Compassion’, ‘Guan Shi Yin’, ‘Kannon’ in Japan, ‘Avalokitesvara’ also spelled as Avalokiteshvara, ‘Chenrezig’, ‘Guanzizai’ are just some of the way she’s addressed.

However, allow me to share a few ways of paying homage to Kuan Yin. One way of paying homage to Kuan Yin is by inviting her into our house. It’s important that her image is placed on a ‘good’ spot. If possible, place her near the entrance, but do not put her in the kitchen, dining room, restroom and bedroom of married couples. Inviting her image to our home or office creates a lot of merit, and by simply having her image around us makes us closer to Kuan Yin.

You can also offer incense, clean water, flowers, fruits; lighted candles is also a very auspicious way of paying homage to the Bodhisattva of Compassion.

Wearing her image as pendant either in gold or a semi-precious stone like jade  is also a way of paying homage to Kuan Yin. It also gives us a visual representation of our ‘relationship’ to Kuan Yin that it helps us to become closer to the Bodhisattva.

My own Kuan Yin pendant has her sutra and other prayers written on the back. Any image of Kuan Yin will do, however, if you can get something that’s similar to my pendant the better. The bigger one has the shortest sutra in the world, the Heart Sutra that is largely associated with Kuan Yin. The smaller pendant has the White Robed Kuan Yin prayer. In Buddhism wearing or carrying sutras and prayers brings the same effect as if you saying it yourself. It has an effect of you continuously saying the sutra or prayer. You can also get a miniature Heart Sutra and carry it with your body, aside from being an homage to the Kuan Yin this serves as an instrument of your continues blessing from Kuan Yin.

Still another way of paying homage to Kuan Yin is by ‘sharing’ her with other people. Talking to people about Kuan Yin is one way of homage to Kuan Yin. You can do this orally or you can do this in written format. In the age of internet, this had become easier, because simply writing about her on your blog, or Facebook or Twitter account a lot of people get to know more about her. You can also buy several copies of the Heart Sutra or several of her images and share it to your friends and/or even strangers; it’s another way of paying homage to her.

There are many ways of paying homage to Kuan Yin, and you can come up with your own unique way of paying homage to her. However, I believe one best way of paying homage to Kuan Yin other than inviting her to our home or office and wearing her image as pendant is by chanting her mantra.

Reciting or chanting the mantra of Kuan Yin or Avalokitesvara is not only an act of homage, but it gives us a lot of merit from Kuan Yin. If you’re facing a big problem, recite her mantra and she will immediately come to your aid.

The Mantra of the Buddha of Compassion, Kuan Yin is OM MANI PADME HUM.

If you want to know more about Kuan Yin do read my first two posts about her. The first one is KUAN YIN: THE ONE WHO HEARS THE CRIES OF THE WORLD and the second one is UNDERSTANDING MERCY AND COMPASSION: THE TRANSFORMATION OF AVALOKITESVARA TO KUAN YIN.

Symbolic Script of the Mantra of the Buddha of Compassion

Understanding Mercy and Compassion: The Transformation of Avalokitesvara to Kuan Yin.

In my previous post I wrote about the Goddess of Mercy Kuan Yin (also spelled as Kwan Yin, Quan Yin, Gwan Yin, Guan Yin), who is also known as the Buddha of Compassion. Now, allow me to share with you a brief ‘history’ of Kuan Yin.

People who have read my earlier posts knows of my devotion to the ‘Great Sage, Equal of Heaven’ the Monkey God or Monkey King called Sun Wukong. Sun Wukong is a Taoist celestial being who became really wild whom the Buddha pacified. However, it was really Kuan Yin who paved the way for Sun Wukong to be a Buddha. She did this out of her extreme compassion for Sun Wukong who at that time was already condemned for an eternal imprisonment. Kuan Yin did this not just for Sun Wukong but also for other immortals. Westerners largely look at this story as some sort of fantasy, but to Taoist and Chinese Buddhist they have high regard for the said story and believe it actually happened in the celestial world. However, the point here is not whether the story is true or not, but it hopes to illustrate the depth of Kuan Yin’s mercy and compassion that she was able to subdue one of the most powerful Taoist Immortal/Deity. It should be noted that it was implied in the story mentioned above that should Kuan Yin had to ‘fight’ with Sun Wukong, her power would not have match that of Sun Wukong. However, her real power is not with her strength as a Bodhisattva, although, I must clarify, she is very powerful, but more than her physical and celestial strength, is the power of her mercy and compassion that is said to be infinite!

However, Kuan Yin or Kuan Shi Yin (Guan Shi Yin) which means ‘The One Who Hears the Cries of the World” has a very unique transformation. Kuan Yin is Avalokitesvara in India and Cherezig in Tibet. Nevertheless, Kuan Yin is the female transformation of the said Bodhisattva. I need not talk about who Avalokitesvara in detail now because Kuan Yin is Avalokitesvara (also spelled as Avalokiteshvara), Avalokitesvara is Chenrezig, Chenrezig is Kuan Yin, they may have different names, and in the case of Kuan Yin she may have a different image but they’re one and the same. All the attributes of Kuan Yin are that of Avalokitesvara and Chenrezig, all the attributes of Avalokitesvara and Chenrezig is that of Kuan Yin!

Image of Avalokitesvara (also spelled as Avalokiteshvara).

Nevertheless, allow me to state that Kuan Yin in the form of Avalokitesvara first started in India, the land where Buddhism really started. He/She is a Bodhisattva, which is traditionally considered a little less important compared to the Buddhas. However, Avalokitesvara gained reverence equal to that of Buddhas and to some extent, specially amongst Chinese Buddhist, exceeds that of the Buddhas because as the Historical Buddha Sakyamuni himself shared through various sutras, Avalokitesvara should have been a Buddha already, however, he refused Buddhahood and wished to remain a Bodhisattva for the welfare of all sentient beings.

The transformation of Avalokitesvara to Kuan Yin is in itself a very interesting story. There are various stories about how Avalokitesvara became Kuan Yin.

One story is that in relation to Tripitaka Monk Xuan Zang who traveled to India to get some Buddhist texts that he can share with his countrymen. When he wrote about his journey he always refers to the Bodhisattva of Compassion as a female Kuan Yin, some people believes that this is one of the first time that Avalokitesvara is addressed as Kuan Shi Yin, which later was shortened into Kuan Yin. In his account of the manifestations of Kuan Yin she always appear as a miraculous being and always under miraculous circumstances.

Another story is that of Princess Miao Shan. I’ll skip the story at the moment, and I’ll share her story as written in Wikipedia at the bottom of this post.

Still, another story about Avalokitesvara’s transformation to Kuan Yin is quite simple and not as popular because it lacks the theatrical and flair of the other stories.

When Buddhism was first introduced to China, the religion is largely Taoism, which has Immortals or Deities that are very powerful and ‘masculine’. The compassionate deities and immortals are mostly female deities. Because of this the Chinese had difficulty in fully comprehending the attributes of Avalokitesvara.

Buddhist monks prayed to Kuan Yin to ask for her guidance. Some text says that Kuan Yin spoke to some Buddhist monks through their dreams and instructed them to introduce him as Kuan Yin with a female form. Other text states that they were able to divine this through an Avalokitesvara/Kuan Yin oracle. Whether it was through a dream or through an oracle, it was clear that the Buddhist monks who brought Buddhism to China started the female manifestation of Avalokitesvara. As we know this image became popularly known as Kuan Yin.

This raises the question as to why when experiencing Avalokitesvara’s miracle or vision, people see her as Kuan Yin. According to the explanation of a Chinese Buddhist monk, this is because Avalokitesvara will always appear in the form that people will understand or easily relate to.

I personally believe that the last story is the real reason why Avalokitesvara became Kuan Yin. It is because they need to put an image of mercy and compassion, and because of this Avalokitesvara transformed into Kuan Yin.

Avalokitesvara as Kuan Yin became so popular that even Tibetan Buddhist who is extremely familiar with Avalokitesvara, as a male Bodhisattva would still mention Kuan Yin. In fact, the biggest image of Avalokitesvara in the world is that of Kuan Yin which is found China.

The biggest image of Kuan Yin in the world is in China.

This also answers why some images of Kuan Yin depicts her as a flat-chested handsome young prince.

One of the semi-masculine form of Kuan Yin.

You can read my other posts about Kuan Yin entitled KUAN YIN: THE ONE WHO HEARS THE CRIES OF THE WORLD and PAYING HOMAGE TO KUAN YIN, THE BUDDHA OF COMPASSION.

If you’re interested to know about the Legend of Princess Miao Shan please read on the following that was lifted from Wikipedia.

Another story from the Precious Scroll of Fragrant Mountain describes an incarnation of Guanyin as the daughter of a cruel king who wanted her to marry a wealthy but uncaring man. The story is usually ascribed to the research of the Buddhist monk Chiang Chih-ch’i during the 11th century CE. The story is likely to have a Taoist origin. Chiang Chih-ch’i, when he penned the work, believed that the Guanyin we know today was actually a Buddhist princess called Miaoshan (妙善), who had a religious following on Fragrant Mountain. Despite this there are many variants of the story in Chinese mythology.

According to the story, after the king asked his daughter Miao Shan to marry the wealthy man, she told him that she would obey his command, so long as the marriage eased three misfortunes.

The king asked his daughter what were the three misfortunes that the marriage should ease. Miaoshan explained that the first misfortune the marriage should ease was the suffering people endure as they age. The second misfortune it should ease was the suffering people endure when they fall ill. The third misfortune it should ease was the suffering caused by death. If the marriage could not ease any of the above, then she would rather retire to a life of religion forever.

When her father asked who could ease all the above, Miao Shan pointed out that a doctor was able to do all of these.

Her father grew angry as he wanted her to marry a person of power and wealth, not a healer. He forced her into hard labor and reduced her food and drink but this did not cause her to yield.

Every day she begged to be able to enter a temple and become a nun instead of marrying. Her father eventually allowed her to work in the temple, but asked the monks to give her the toughest chores in order to discourage her. The monks forced Miao Shan to work all day and all night, while others slept, in order to finish her work. However, she was such a good person that the animals living around the temple began to help her with her chores. Her father, seeing this, became so frustrated that he attempted to burn down the temple. Miao Shan put out the fire with her bare hands and suffered no burns. Now struck with fear, her father ordered her to be put to death.

In one version of this legend, when Guanyin was executed, a supernatural tiger took her to one of the more hell-like realms of the dead. However, instead of being punished by demons like the other inmates, Guanyin played music, and flowers blossomed around her. This completely surprised the head demon. The story says that Guanyin, by merely being in that hell, turned it into a paradise.

A variant of the legend says that Miao Shan allowed herself to die at the hand of the executioner. According to this legend, as the executioner tried to carry out her father’s orders, his axe shattered into a thousand pieces. He then tried a sword which likewise shattered. He tried to shoot Miao Shan down with arrows but they all veered off.

Finally in desperation he used his hands. Miao Shan, realising the fate that the executioner would meet at her father’s hand should she fail to let herself die, forgave the executioner for attempting to kill her. It is said that she voluntarily took on the massive karmic guilt the executioner generated for killing her, thus leaving him guiltless. It is because of this that she descended into the Hell-like realms. While there, she witnessed first-hand the suffering and horrors that the beings there must endure, and was overwhelmed with grief. Filled with compassion, she released all the good karma she had accumulated through her many lifetimes, thus freeing many suffering souls back into Heaven and Earth. In the process, that Hell-like realm became a paradise. It is said that Yanluo, King of Hell, sent her back to Earth to prevent the utter destruction of his realm, and that upon her return she appeared on Fragrant Mountain.

Another tale says that Miao Shan never died, but was in fact transported by a supernatural tiger, believed to be the Deity of the Place, to Fragrant Mountain.

The Legend of Miao Shan usually ends with Miao Chuang Yen, Miao Shan’s father, falling ill with jaundice. No physician was able to cure him. Then a monk appeared saying that the jaundice could be cured by making a medicine out of the arm and eye of one without anger. The monk further suggested that such a person could be found on Fragrant Mountain. When asked, Miao Shan willingly offered up her eyes and arms. Miao Chuang Yen was cured of his illness and went to the Fragrant Mountain to give thanks to the person. When he discovered that his own daughter had made the sacrifice, he begged for forgiveness. The story concludes with Miaoshan being transformed into the Thousand Armed Guanyin, and the king, queen and her two sisters building a temple on the mountain for her. She began her journey to heaven and was about to cross over into heaven when she heard a cry of suffering from the world below. She turned around and saw the massive suffering endured by the people of the world. Filled with compassion, she returned to Earth, vowing never to leave till such time as all suffering has ended.

After her return to Earth, Guanyin was said to have stayed for a few years on the island of Mount Putuo where she practised meditation and helped the sailors and fishermen who got stranded. Guanyin is frequently worshipped as patron of sailors and fishermen due to this. She is said to frequently becalm the sea when boats are threatened with rocks. After some decades Guanyin returned to Fragrant Mountain to continue her meditation.

Kuan Yin: The One Who Hears the Cries of the World.

Kuan Yin, also spelled as Quan Yin, is a Bodhisattva of Compassion. A lot of people refer to her as the Buddha of Compassion, which is technically wrong in terms of terminology, but absolutely right when refers to her true being.

Kuan Yin (also spelled as Quan Yin, Guan Yin, Gwan Yin, Kwan Yin) is also known as the Goddess of Mercy, Buddha of Compassion, Bodhisattva of Compassion.

The truth is Quan Yin or Kuan Yin is a Bodhisattva who refuses to enter Buddhahood because of her desire to help all sentient beings to achieve nirvana or the Buddhist equivalent of heaven.

Kuan Yin (also spelled as Quan Yin, Kwan Yin, Guan Yin, Gwan Yin) is  of mercy and compassion. It is said, that her compassion towards sentient beings exceeds that of all the other Bodhisattvas combined. She is considered to be a source of unconditional love and a savior of sentient beings. When talking about Kuan Yin’s love for us, mankind is usually not used, because it is said that it is an underestimation of her compassion. Sentient beings is generally use because this also refers to other beings, other than just us humans, it refers to all living creatures that includes insects.

As a Bodhisattva, Kuan Yin pledges to response to all the cries and please of all beings, in fact, it is aid that even before you utter your plea, Kuan Yin would already have heard you and responded to your plea. Naturally, devotion to her will help hasten this, but you need not believe in her for her to reply to your pleas. The sutras that talked about Kuan Yin as a savior of both the spiritual and physical realm and when a person with deep negative karma call upon her, she will have cleanse and help this person from his karmic burden.

I don’t think that it’s an exaggeration to say that Kuan Yin’s popularity amongst Chinese Buddhist exceeds that of other Buddha and Bodhisattva. She is extremely popular and revered that Taoism has also ‘adopted’ her thus making her one of the most revered Taoist deities. It is not surprising to see Taoist temples having her image.

She is also extremely popular as being a merciful deity that some people wrongly address her as Goddess of Mercy.

There are a lot of miracles that are attributed to Kuan Yin. These miracles may range from the simple things like wanting to get a job, wanting to have a child to something really big and may seem like impossible.

My personal treasure trove of stories about Kuan Yin’s blessings and/or miracles is simply amazing. Not to mention stories shared with me by my friends, relatives, and acquaintances. You simply have to search the net and you’ll see a lot of stories about Kuan Yin’s miracles.

I’m not going to share a personal story because that will be a little self-serving. Instead, let me share with you a story of a woman who goes to the same temple that I go to. Let’s just call her A. A is a 40 something housewife. She said that she’s a devotee of Kuan Yin just like her mother. In fact, I’ll often see her make some offerings to Kuan Yin even if there’s no occasion such as the Kuan Yin feast day. I talked to her about her devotion to Kuan Yin and she clarified that while there are other small miracles that she can attribute to Kuan Yin, she believes that 2 of the important thing that happened in her life is due to Kuan Yin’s blessing. The first one is when she had her first child. It was a difficult pregnancy not only because it was her first child, but it was also a complicated pregnancy that almost got aborted several times. The worst part of the pregnancy happened on the 7^th month. She had a severe case of bleeding that they thought she’d go into premature labor. On the way to the hospital, while her husband is driving, she and her mom just kept on calling Kuan Yin’s name while they mentally pray that Kuan Yin save her baby.

She was stabilized at the hospital but they can’t say the same were true for her baby. They are unable to detect the heartbeat of the baby and the ultrasound shows that the baby isn’t moving at all! After a while, the OB informed them that if another 15 minutes passed by with a heartbeat and/or a movement they would have to operate on her. By this time, she was almost hysterical, out of desperation; her mom took of her Kuan Yin pendant and gave it to A. A didn’t wear pendant but she ‘hold on’ to Kuan Yin, about 5 minutes after she ‘hold on’ to the pendant, the doctor got an heartbeat from the baby and the ultrasound also showed some movements! The baby who is now an 11-year-old boy is an honor student in Xavier.

Another story that she shared with me is about her husband. A’s husband owns a restaurant and there are times that her husband will have to stay out late to check on the operations of the restaurant. One night, when he was about get on the car, he suddenly had a very strong urge to go back and check on the Kuan Yin altar that A insisted be installed in his office. He just had this nagging feeling that he left something inside, it almost feels like he was being called to go back in by an unseen ‘force’. He thought to himself he might have left incense lighted, which might cause some fire. So he decided to go back in the restaurant. As soon as he stepped inside the restaurant he heard a very loud crashing noise, so loud, that some of the diners ducked down!

When A’s husband looked as to what happened, he saw that a large truck and another car crushed his own car! What happened was a drunk truck driver lost control of his truck, hit a car, which also hit A’s husband’s car. The whole driver side of A’s car was flattened! If he were in the car he would have died already or seriously injured. A said that when she saw the car she cried because she knew that if her husband was in the car he would have died already.

After the incident, that’s when A’s husband realized that he didn’t even light an incense, because he was really not in the habit of lighting an incense in the evening. It is simply not safe.

According to A both she and her husband believes that he was ‘called’ by Kuan Yin so that he wouldn’t have to be in the car when the accident happened.

A and her family always wears the image of Kuan Yin as pendant. This is just two stories from a single person; however, there are a lot more Kuan Yin miracle stories that can be shared.

You can also read my two other posts about Kuan Yin entitled UNDERSTANDING MERCY AND COMPASSION: THE TRANSFORMATION OF AVALOKITESVARA TO KUAN YIN and PAYING HOMAGE TO KUAN YIN, THE BUDDHA OF COMPASSION.