Bodhisattva Guanyin, also known as Guanshiyin (meaning Observing the Cries of the World), Kwannon and in male form Avalokitesvara. Known for transforming into many forms when needed and as the bodhisattva of compassion along with commonly being known as a goddess of compassion and mercy. Guanyin is also has the title of ‘Guanyin of the Southern Ocean’ which stemmed from fishermen praying to Guanyin for safe voyages.
Guanyin is often depicted wearing a white robe with a willow branch and vase in her hands and a crown on her head. She is also often depicted with young child’s and in Chinese art Guanyin is often depicted alone, standing atop a dragon, or with a white cockatoo.
Guanyin is also shown with multiple heads and arms, which shows her reaching out to help others. It is said that Amitabha Buddha gave Guanyin eleven heads to hear the cries of those in need and a thousand arms to help all.
Guanyin herself is well known thanks to her compassion and mercy. Regarded as a protector of women and children, thus seen as a fertility goddess. Guanyin is also seen as a protector of fishermen, sailors and anyone else who goes out to sea. She is also seen as a rice goddess as during what is referred as the ‘Great Flood’, she sent down a dog holding rice in its tail after the flood.
Guanyin’s birthday is the 19th day of the 2nd Lunar month, the 19th day of the 6th Lunar month is Guanyin’s Enlightenment Day and the 19th day of the 9th Lunar month s the Renunciation Day of Guanyin.
Guanyin is also known to have been a princess by the name of Miao Shan who had a cruel father that wanted her to marry a wealthy yet uncaring man. Guanyin said that she would marry the man if the marriage stopped three misfortunes, suffering people endure as they age, suffering people endure when ill and the third being the suffering caused by death and if the marriage couldn’t ease any of this Guanyin rather would devote her life to religion.
Her father wasn’t happy and everyday Guanyin begged to be able to become a nun, which was eventually allowed. However, the father ordered the monks to give Guanyin the hardest chores and so the hardest chores were given. Guanyin eventually got help from animals around the temple she was in, and her father tried to burn down the temple for this. Guanyin put the fire out with her bare hands without suffering any burns.
Guanyin’s father was fearful due to how his very daughter stopped the fire herself, so he got Guanyin executed. When executed a tiger took Guanyin to hell where Guanyin played music and flowers blossomed around her, turning hell into a paradise. Seeing as Guanyin was highly kind and helped others often in life as Miao Shan, she was given a new life and given the name Guanyin.
Guanyin also took up a disciple by the name of Sudhana, a disabled boy who became interested in studying Dharma. Upon finding Guanyin, Sudhana asked the bodhisattva to teach him, so Guanyin tested the boy by creating an illusion of several bandits chasing Guanyin over a cliff. As Guanyin and the bandits fell down the cliff, Sudhana slowly followed to help Guanyin where he almost fell down the cliff. Guanyin had stopped the boy and then asked Sudhana to walk, in which Sudhana found himself no longer disabled and from then on Guanyin taught Sudhana.
Years after Sudhana had become the disciple of Guanyin a son of a Dragon King was caught by a fisherman while in the form of a fish and was unable to transform back into his dragon form due to being stuck on land. The Dragon King was distressed and Guanyin gave Sudhana money to go get the fish that really was a dragon. Due to the dragon still being alive hours after being caught it got plenty of attention and eventually people started bidding on it.
Sudhana begged the fish seller to spare the fish and the crowd was angry due to this. Guanyin loudly said that a life should belong to those who try to save it instead of taking it, which got rid of the people and made it possible for Sudhana to get the fish. Thus saving the life of the dragon. The Dragon King sent his granddaughter Lung Nu to give Guanyin the Pearl of Life. Lung Nu asked Guanyin to allow her to become Guanyin’s disciple which was accepted under the request that Lung Nu kept the Pearl of Light.
A parrot, specifically a white cockatoo, eventually became the disciple of Guanyin after it ventured out to find food for its mother and was captured by a poacher. The white cockatoo escapes but finds its mother has died and then goes to become a disciple of Guanyin.
There is even a well known story that in Bugis, Singapore during one of the World Wars Japanese fighter planes dropped bombs in the area and that all was destroyed in the area except for the temple dedicated to Guanyin, which was left strangely untouched, and it is said it is because of this that this very temple is popular. It is even rumoured that Japanese pilots in flight at that time could see a bright circle surrounding the temple. It is said that Guanyin protected the very temple and the people who were in it at the time.
A Chinese oolong tea known as Tie Guanyin is from Anxi in the Fujian province of China. A couple legends lie as to how it came to be. One legend tells of a scholar called Wang who accidentally discovered the tea plant beneath the Guanyin rock in Xiping and took it home to cultivate. Visiting Emperor Qianlong, Wang offered this tea as a gift, with the very emperor being so impressed by the tea asked of its origin. Emperor Qianlong, after learning of the teas origin, named it after Guanyin.
The other legend of the origin of Tie Guanyin is that there was a rundown temple with a statue of Guanyin within it. A poor farmer known as Mr. Wei would pass the temple and noted its worsening condition. With no means to repair the temple Mr. Wei would bring a broom and incense from home twice a month, sweeping the temple clean and offering Guanyin incense.
It was one night that Guanyin appeared in a dream and told Mr. Wei of a cave behind the temple with a treasure within it, giving the message to take the treasure and to share it with others. Going to this cave, Mr. Wei found a shoot of a tea plant which he grew and gave cuttings of to his neighbours. Tie Guanyin was the name given to this tea and over time Mr. Wei along with his neighbours prospered, which allowed the very temple Mr. Wei visited twice a month to be repaired.
Guanyin appears in Journey to the West where she is instructed by Gautama Buddha to search Tang China for a person to take Buddhist sutras from India back to China. It was Guanyin who found the monk Sanzang and got him to go to India for the sutras, along with getting Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, Sha Wujing and the dragon, Yulong Santaizi, to become disciples of Sanzang. Guanyin appears throughout Journey to the West, helping whenever her very help is needed.
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