Avalokiteśvara
Bodhisattva embodying compassion
In Buddhism, Avalokiteśvara (meaning "the Lord who looks down", IPA: ), also known as Lokeśvara ("Lord of the World") and Chenrezig (in Tibetan), is a Bodhisattva associated with Great Compassion (mahākaruṇā). Avalokiteśvara has a vast number of manifestations (e.g., the 108 forms of Avalokiteśvara) and is depicted in various forms and styles across Buddhist traditions of different cultures. In Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism, Avalokiteśvara is also considered a manifestation of Amitabha Buddha for the purpose of Dharma teaching, and an emanation from Vairocana Buddha as an embodiment of the Miraculous Observing Wisdom (妙觀察智).
In East Asian Buddhism, Avalokiteśvara is known as 觀音 (an abbreviation for 觀世音), pronounced Gwoon Yaam in Cantonese, Guanyin in Mandarin Chinese, Kannon in Japanese, Gwaneum in Korean, and Quan Âm in Vietnamese. In the traditional cultures of these Asian countries, there is a female form of Avalokiteśvara depicted as a divine mother in a white robe, called White-Robed Avalokiteśvara or Southern Sea Avalokiteśvara. This female form of Avalokiteśvara is worshiped widely in East Asian religions including Taoism and Chinese folk religion.
Avalokiteśvara is also known for his popular mantra, Oṃ maṇi padme hūṃ, which is the most popular mantra in Tibetan Buddhism.
Etymology
The name Avalokiteśvara combines the verbal prefix ava "down", lokita, a past participle of the verb lok "to look, notice, behold, observe", here used in an active sense, and finally īśvara, "lord", "ruler", "sovereign", or "master". In accordance with sandhi (Sanskrit rules of sound combination), a+īśvara becomes eśvara. Combined, the parts mean "lord who gazed down (at the world)".
“Avalokiteśvara” enters the record as bodhisattva embodying compassion. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Avalokiteśvara, Bodhisattva and embodying can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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