Stories of the Lotus Sutra - Chapter 26: Kwan-Yin

[Bion]

thousanf-arms-gauan-yin-scaled.jpg Happy Monday, everyone.

First of all, thank you so much to everyone who, during the weekend, joined us for practice. The Friday and Sunday zazenkai were well-attended, and the Fusatsu on Sunday brought many of us together for the recitation of the precepts. It was lovely to see all of you. This is how we maintain sangha.

It is time for another chapter in our book. Be warned, this is a longer one. Also, as we're coming to the end of the book, I think we're all discovering that Mister Reeves is actively trying to convert us to his Risso Kosei-kai sect. He was subtle about it.

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Reading Assignment: Chapter 26 - Kwan-Yin

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We finally made it to the chapter about Avalokiteshvara, whose name is chanted so very often in many monasteries, temples, zendos, and homes. Reeves spends some time going through the history of the creation of this Buddhist figure and shares some interesting facts and stories about its rise to prominence, especially in China. Spoiler: it involves violence and sacrifices.

Please take your time reading, and when you're ready, come back here and share your thoughts on this chapter.

You can also join next Saturday's Book Club Zoom meeting, where we'll tackle this subject face-to-face. It's always fun!

All the details about the meeting and the relevant links to the calendar and Zoom room are on the Study Page here.

Have fun reading.

With metta, and in gassho
sat lah

[Ryūdō-Liúdào]

I had to laugh a little while reading this chapter. Completely by coincidence, I happened to be drinking a lovely cup of Tieguanyin tea from Anxi while reading about Guanyin. It felt rather fitting.

What stayed with me most was the reminder that compassion meets people where they are. Sometimes it looks grand, but more often it seems wonderfully ordinary: listening carefully, offering a kind word, lending a hand, or simply being present. Perhaps that's the real miracle. Not that compassion appears in extraordinary ways, but that ordinary people keep choosing to embody it, moment after moment.

And if compassion also happens to arrive with a good cup of tea... well, I certainly won't argue with that.

Gasshō,
流道-Ryūdō-Liúdào
Satlah

[Bion]

Not that compassion appears in extraordinary ways, but that ordinary people keep choosing to embody it, moment after moment.

Gasshō,
流道-Ryūdō-Liúdào
Satlah

Lovely observation, Ryudo!!

gassho
sat lah

[Tenryu]

Oddly enough, this chapter felt very quiet to me.

Unlike some of the previous few chapters, I didn’t find myself wrestling with it very much. Reading Reeves, I mostly had the feeling that he was putting words to something I had gradually come to appreciate through practice itself.

One sentence stayed with me:

”…everyone can be compassionate, a far more accessible goal than that of becoming a buddha.”

I really like the word accessible.

“Becoming a Buddha” somehow always feels very far away. Being patient with someone this afternoon, listening a little more carefully, or simply showing up for another person—that feels much closer to home. I think that’s why this chapter felt so familiar to me.

Ryūdō-Liúdào‘s post made me smile too. Listening, helping, sharing a cup of tea… somehow that’s exactly how compassion usually shows up in my own life.

The story of Miao-shan was the only part where I found myself pulling back a little. Images like giving away one’s eyes or arms are ones I can really only read symbolically.

Other than that, this chapter mostly felt like spending time with an old friend.


Gasshō
Tenryū
sat and LaH

[carolynz]

Hi all,

I found myself struggling to understand this chapter. A ray of light with Bion's intro: "... Reeves is actively trying to convert us to his Risso Kosei-kai sect..." although I am unfamiliar as yet with that sect, I realize that everyone has their own POV, including our great author, whose writing and accomplishments I enjoy. I am struggling with his ideas, in which I see the need to change, but realize that people, including me, seem unable to change. As they say, "You can't change an orange nto an apple."

I said to my daughter, "I am tired of self-improvement!" She replied, "That's good!" and we had a discussion. (That is why she is such a good teacher!) I would like to break free of my expectations, of others and myself.

Gassho,
Carolyn
sat lah

[Tairin]

I appreciated reading some of the back story on Kwan-Yin/Kannon/Avalokiteśvara even if it is through Reeves’ lens.


Tairin
sat today and lah

[Bion]

Hi all,

I found myself struggling to understand this chapter. A ray of light with Bion's intro: "... Reeves is actively trying to convert us to his Risso Kosei-kai sect..." although I am unfamiliar as yet with that sect, I realize that everyone has their own POV, including our great author, whose writing and accomplishments I enjoy. I am struggling with his ideas, in which I see the need to change, but realize that people, including me, seem unable to change. As they say, "You can't change an orange nto an apple."

I said to my daughter, "I am tired of self-improvement!" She replied, "That's good!" and we had a discussion. (That is why she is such a good teacher!) I would like to break free of my expectations, of others and myself.

Gassho,
Carolyn
sat lah

Change is an interesting thing in Buddhism. It is not undesirable, quite the contrary, but it's very tricky because in a sense, at times, the method is more important than the goal. We always want to change something, but we don't take into account how change happens and what the nature of things is. I'll quote myself, from something I've written. See if it resonates with you:

Our activity then, is simply to create the conditions and put in place the causes for the true Dharma - complete reality - to appear of itself, without effort. It is not that we are ever separate from it, but rather, we are blind to it. That is why the light is turned and shone inward. (in zazen)

We mistakenly think that our job is to cast off body-mind, to somehow think or force ourselves into abandoning ideas of self and attachments. Enlightenment is triggered, not fabricated. Body and mind drop off on their own if we simply create the appropriate conditions for it.

I believe that, while I wrote this speaking of zazen, it applies to the rest of life. There are many things about us that are the product of delusion, unskillful mind qualities, craving, hindrances, etc. To change that, to whatever extent, requires a skillful method, which doesn't need to be unpleasant, violent, or feel burdensome. If I am stingy, instead of forcefully trying to not be so, I will work on increasing my generosity, create conditions for the practice of compassion, or selflessness. As some qualities increase, others will fall away on their own. I can apply that to any other virtue or flaw.

What do you think of that?

gassho
sat lah

[carolynz]

Many practicing Buddhists nowadays don't believe in literal rebirth, and it seems not to affect their practice. Many reinterpret it in terms of a renewal of existence in every moment. Experience is created at every meeting of skandhas and the world, and this has nothing to do with an enduring self that continues from one moment to the next, but is merely a continual unfolding of conditions. What is thought, felt, and intended becomes the conditions for what presents itself in the next moment.

Your question about wars is also great, and very complicated to answer. I don't think there is a definitive correct answer to it, but only an individual one. It has to arise from one's own wisdom.

As for your last comment, I am with you. Humans too easily fall into extreme behaviors. The Buddha never asked any disciple to harm themselves or sacrifice body parts. As a matter of fact, the Middle Way he taught for 45 years was about not mortifying oneself, not punishing the body to any extreme and not indulging in sensual pleasures. For the Buddha, it is by abandoning greed, anger, and ignorance that one proves their devotion.

gassho
sat lah

[Onkai]

Change is an interesting thing in Buddhism. It is not undesirable, quite the contrary, but it's very tricky because in a sense, at times, the method is more important than the goal. We always want to change something, but we don't take into account how change happens and what the nature of things is. I'll quote myself, from something I've written. See if it resonates with you:



I believe that, while I wrote this speaking of zazen, it applies to the rest of life. There are many things about us that are the product of delusion, unskillful mind qualities, craving, hindrances, etc. To change that, to whatever extent, requires a skillful method, which doesn't need to be unpleasant, violent, or feel burdensome. If I am stingy, instead of forcefully trying to not be so, I will work on increasing my generosity, create conditions for the practice of compassion, or selflessness. As some qualities increase, others will fall away on their own. I can apply that to any other virtue or flaw.

What do you think of that?

gassho
sat lah

I try to enter zazen without any goals or self-improvement agendas, trusting that practicing in such a way dissolves the sense of a self and other, and when that solid sense of a separate self dissolves, acting with compassion and wisdom will become more and more natural.

Gassho, Onkai

[Bion]

I try to enter zazen without any goals or self-improvement agendas, trusting that practicing in such a way dissolves the sense of a self and other, and when that solid sense of a separate self dissolves, acting with compassion and wisdom will become more and more natural.

Gassho, Onkai

Yeah, exactly. Also, this "support system" is cyclical. Ethical conduct - keeping the precepts and embodying the virtues of buddhas, such as compassion or generosity - supports our zazen practice, and in turn, zazen practice expresses itself as wisdom, resulting in an even more natural ethical behavior and alignment with the eightfold path. I think it is precisely, as you say, because we trust that practicing in such a way dissolves the sense of solid self and waters good seeds planted, that we do our best to create the conditions needed for that to occur. Thank you for the lovely and wise observation, Onkai!

Gassho
sat lah

[carolynz]

Thank you both! This helps!! ☺️
Gassho,
Carolyn
Sat lah

[Taikyo]

Reading the chapter, I couldn’t help but notice that, in every religion, spiritual practice, and even in Buddhist practice, there is a parental figure—some higher being who watches over us and responds to our call for help, just as Kwan-yin in Chinese Buddhism, Kannon in Japanese Buddhism, Tara or Drolma in Tibetan Buddhism, the feminine forms of the Divine in Hinduism such as Lakshmi, Radha, Sarasvati, Durga, Parvati, etc., and the Virgin Mary in Christianity. All of them carry a protective, parental role.

Is this a human need for comfort and protection in life situations when we do not know how, or do not have the strength, to cope on our own? Is it justified to nurture this need within ourselves if it helps us endure life’s difficulties, or should we be brutally realistic and push through life dryly? Or perhaps accept a middle approach—sometimes asking for help, but without firmly attaching ourselves to or taking a fixed stance on the existence of such beings?

Gassho
Taikyo
sat/lah

[Hokuu]

This is the last one, I promise
I just love putting them in the middle of our beautiful albeit broken world.
ChatGPT Image Jul 30, 2026 at 12_23_09 PM Large.jpg


satlah

[RedLane]

I felt that this chapter following up, “Wonderful Voice Bohdisattva”, was very intentional and elegant. Where Wonderful Voice Bohdisattva emphasized the universality of sentient beings and our ability to embody Buddha nature, or to become the personified virtues of Bohdisattva; this chapter on Kannon felt like a call to action to do just that. All of us have the capacity to be a Bohdisattva for somebody else (and vice versa), just as we all, regardless of our place along the path, have the capacity to embody compassion.

Wisdom must be acquired through the cultivation of good seeds, as Bion and Onkai both eloquently illustrated above. By doing our best to recognize our shortcomings, and slowly working to replace them with the spokes of the eightfold path, we plant those seeds. Sitting zazen without expectation or goal is the water that helps them to flourish, and carrying them with us in our daily lives is pure sunlight.

Compassion (though still wisdom) is a choice. It can be cultivated, of course, but it is also immediately accessible to everyone. I agreed with Reeves statement that,

“While the way of monks and nuns, the way of wisdom, the road to supreme awakening, may be extremely difficult, the way of Kwan-yin is open to all.”

It is my opinion that, regardless of the spiritual tradition, compassion is the highest virtue we can cultivate. Jesus taught this, Muhammad taught this, the Buddha taught this, and Kannon teaches this. If we care for one another, if we care for all sentient beings, if we care for the environment; our lives, as well as the lives of all other beings will be greatly improved.

As a Christian turned Buddhist, one of the things that appealed to me most about following this path is that it has traditionally embraced the spiritual traditions of it’s adherent's without discrimination, and so I do not feel that I turn my back on the teachings of Christianity which resonate with me by saying something like, “to me, Jesus is a Bohdisattva, an embodiment of Kannon”, where as Reeves says,

”Kwan-yin is not only a symbol of compassion, she is compassion”.

It resonates with me profoundly that we can be just as compassionate as any other being, legendary, metaphorical, or otherwise, that has ever been conceived of.

When recently laying, like a pincushion, on my acupuncturist and dear friends table, I found myself dwelling on imagery of Kannon. After being left to marinade for a time, my friend returned, and I asked her (she sits regularly with my meditation group), “where are the thousand hands of Kannon?”, and thought to myself, “right here”.

Gassho ,
Red

Sat/LAH

[Bion]

Hello, my dear friends. You all are being quite quiet this week in our book club! Maybe it´s a good thing we´re coming to the end of this extraordinary experience. Let´s keep up the discussion for just 2 weeks more! Oh, and this is your reminder that tomorrow, Saturday, we´ll have our Zoom meeting. I hope to see you then!

Gassho
sat lah