Avalokitesvara

Why in news?

• The Indian consulate in Milan on Friday said a 'Avalokiteshwara Padamapani' idol has been recovered over 20 years after it was smuggled out of India. The idol survived for almost 1200 years in the Devisthan Kundulpur temple till it was illicitly stolen and smuggled out of India in early 2000

What is ‘Avalokitesvara’?

• Avalokitesvara is one among the eight major Bodhisattva in Buddhism
• Avalokiteshvara (primarily in Mahayana Buddhism) is the bodhisattva of infinite compassion and mercy, possibly the most popular of all figures in Buddhist legend.
• Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva is depicted as a female, holding a lotus in the hand
• Avalokiteshvara is beloved throughout the Buddhist world—not only in Mahayana Buddhism but also in Theravada, the branch of Buddhism that largely does not recognize bodhisattvas, and in Vajrayana, the Tantric branch of Buddhism.
• Avalokiteshwara means one who can see all. He represents the ideal of welfare in which he postpones his own transformation into Buddha to help others.
• The height of the veneration of Avalokiteshvara in northern India occurred in the 3rd–7th century.
• Worship of the bodhisattva as Guanyin was introduced into China as early as the 1st century CE and had entered all Buddhist temples by the 6th century.
• The virtues and miracles of Avalokiteshvara are accounted in many Buddhist sutras (scriptures). The Avalokiteshvara-sutra was incorporated into the widely popular Saddharmapundarika-sutra, or Lotus Sutra, in the 3rd century CE.

About Bodhisattvas:

• Bodhisattva is an important concept in Buddhism. It is broadly understood as the attainment of a mindset (chitta) like Buddha.
• Bodhisattva is defined differently in different schools of Buddhism:
  • Theravada school of Buddhism:
    • Buddha referred to himself as a Bodhisattva during all his incarnations. He proclaimed himself as Buddha only after he had attained complete enlightenment. Thus, by definition “A being who is on the path to enlightenment is a Bodhisattva and attains the title of Buddha only after complete enlightenment”
  • Mahayana school of Buddhism:
    • Bodhisattva is defined as “any being who intends to achieve enlightenment and Buddhahood”
• There are 8 important Bodhisattvas who represent different aspects of Buddha.

Important Bodhisattvas:

• Avalokitesvara (Buddha’s Compassion):
  • Discussed above
• Manjusri (Buddha’s Wisdom):
  • The literal meaning of his name is ‘Gentle Glory’. He represents Pragya or transcendental wisdom at a very early age.
• Samantabhadra (Buddha’s Aspirations):
  • The meaning of Samantabhadra is ‘Universal Worthy’ and he is associated with practice and meditation. He made ten vows to fulfil his journey of becoming a Buddha.
• Ksitigarbha (Buddha’s Merit):
  • He is popular as a Buddhist monk in the mostly East Asia. While the name literally means Earth Womb, he is revered as the guardian of children and patron deity of deceased children.
• Maitreya (Buddha’s Activity):
  • He is also known as Ajita Boddhisattva. It is believed that he will arrive when people will forget the path of righteousness.
  • He is considered as the successor of Gautam Buddha.
  • In Buddhist traditions, he is revered as someone who will achieve complete enlightenment and will teach dharma to people.
• Vajrapani (Buddha’s Power):
  • He is described as one of the 3 protective deities around Buddha, others are Manjusri and Avlokiteshwara.
  • Vajrapani represents Buddha’s power while Buddha’s wisdom is symbolised by Manjushri, and Avalokiteshwara manifests as Buddha’s compassion.
• Sarvanivarana-Vishkambhin (Buddha’s Qualities):
  • He is invoked to remove or eliminate all the obstacles to insure a successful meditation.
• Akasagarbha (Buddha’s Blessings):
  • He is boundless as space. He was the twin brother of Ksitigarbha. He manifests as a blessing.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Which of the following statements are correct?

1. Mahayana school of Buddhism does not recognize the concept of Bodhisattvas

2. Avalokitesvara bodhisattva represents infinite compassion and mercy

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer