Kannon fodder

[Onsho]

Through the many different lenses, sects and flavours of Buddhism, is Avalokiteshvara the source of all compassion? Would compassion exist without her? Is she commonly viewed as the method where our motivation to be compassionate, (us conscious of it or not), is born from? Is she seen as the divine catalyst that benevolence is created from? I'm curious what the global perspectives are.

Gassho
Onsho
satlah

[Bion]

To me, the source of compassion is a root with many branches.. but none of them are "external" to us, or received from some divine source. On the one hand, there are wisdom and awakening. Understanding suffering leads to understanding interconnectedness, which leads to wisdom, which leads to compassion. Metta, or loving-kindness is also closely connected to karuna, or compassion. So is bodhicitta, or the mind of awakening. Kannon is probably a lovely symbol for this, but, in the mahayana sense, one IS Kannon whenever one sees suffering and acts out of compassion. I believe Avalokiteshvara was created more or less to give form to this. This is my brief and probably insufficiently explained take on the topic.

Gassho
sat lah

[Jundo]

Through the many different lenses, sects and flavours of Buddhism, is Avalokiteshvara the source of all compassion? Would compassion exist without her? Is she commonly viewed as the method where our motivation to be compassionate, (us conscious of it or not), is born from? Is she seen as the divine catalyst that benevolence is created from? I'm curious what the global perspectives are.

Gassho
Onsho
satlah

I usually say that Kannon's 1000 hands are our hands, your hands, when you act with compassion to aid sentient beings. Here's an old talk, part of our Whattsa Who'sa Bodhisattva? series ...

https://forum.treeleaf.org/forum/treeleaf/the-beginner-s-place/bodhisattva-basics/11862-whattsa-who-sa-bodhisattva-a-sit-a-long-series?p=351094#post351094

Other Buddhists might take him/her/them in many ways, depending on the Buddhist you ask! Theological questions like that rarely have one right answer, and many ways to interpret religious symbols and meaning. What might resonate with you?

I recommend Taigen Dan Leighton's book on "Bodhisattva archetypes," quoted at the link.

Gassho, J
stlah

[Tensei]

The description that's resonated the most with me is that Kannon is a manifestation (literal/metaphorical, depending on who you talk to) of compassion. I think some like to have a 'face for the name,' so to speak, and so when they see or hear about Kannon they are reminded of the importance of acting compassionately.

I have yet to see empirical evidence for or against her having 1000 arms (though the mechanisms for limb development are relatively well studied, https://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/basics/hoxgenes/), so I'll remain neutral on that front.

Not directly Kannon-related, Domyo Burke has an excellent series on Buddhist Prayer that touches on this a bit: https://zenstudiespodcast.com/buddhist-prayer-1/.

While looking up the link to the episode, the search engine conveniently suggested another brief writing by Domyo on Kannon (https://brightwayzen.org/calling-on-...of-compassion/), where she says:

"But there’s another way to look at such prayer. Compassion, according to Buddhism, is a force unto itself – a reflection of interdependence and something that functions freely when we simply get ourselves out of the way. Rather than compassion being merely a feeling, something we create, or an ideal for personal conduct, we practice in order to tap into and more skillfully manifest the compassion that’s already inherent in the universe."

Gassho,
Tensei
satlah

[Onsho]

Thanks everyone! I was thinking about, lets say the sun god Ra for example. No Ra, no sun. Got me thinking about views from other Buddhists. Curious if we know of other schools that hold the belief that no Avalokiteshvara, no compassion. Food for thought. I love that we hold so many pieces of the same thing.

Gassho,
Onsho
satlah