By far one of the most important objects of worship in the
Buddhist traditions, the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara is regarded as
the embodiment of compassion. He has been widely revered throughout
the Buddhist countries of Asia since the early centuries of the
Common Era. While he was closely identified with the royalty in
South and Southeast Asia, and the Tibetans continue to this day to
view the Dalai Lamas as his incarnations, in China "he" became a
"she" -- Kuan-yin, the "Goddess of Mercy" -- and has a very
different history. The causes and processes of this metamorphosis
have perplexed Buddhist scholars for centuries.
In this groundbreaking, comprehensive study, Ch?n-fang Y?
discusses this dramatic transformation of the (male) Indian
bodhisattva Avalokitesvara into the (female) Chinese Kuan-yin --
from a relatively minor figure in the Buddha's retinue to a
universal savior and one of the most popular deities in Chinese
religion.
Focusing on the various media through which the feminine
Kuan-yin became constructed and domesticated in China, Y?
thoroughly examines Buddhist scriptures, miracle stories,
pilgrimages, popular literature, and monastic and local gazetteers
-- as well as the changing iconography reflected in Kuan-yin's
images and artistic representations -- to determine the role this
material played in this amazing transformation. The book eloquently
depicts the domestication of Kuan-yin as a case study of the
indigenization of Buddhism in China and illuminates the ways this
beloved deity has affected the lives of all Chinese people down the
ages.
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