In Karaṇḍavyuha Sutra and others, such as the Longer Sukhavativyuha Sutra, He is an attendant of Buddha Amitabha, the principal Buddha in Pure Land Buddhism. He is also eleven-headed because when he looked at suffering humanity, His head split open from pain.Īccording to the Karaṇḍavyuha Sutra, the moon and sun are said to be born from Avalokitesvara’s eyes, Lord Shiva – The Auspicious One from his brow, Lord Brahma – The Creator from his shoulders, Goddess Sarasvati from his teeth, Lord Narayana from his heart, the earth from his feet, the winds from his mouth, and the sky from his stomach. Lord Avalokitesvara is the supremely compassionate helper and is often depicted with a thousand eyes and a thousand arms for that purpose. He supremely exemplifies the Bodhisattva’s resolve to postpone his own Buddhahood until he has helped every sentient being on earth achieve moksha (liberation) from suffering and samsara – the process of death and rebirth. In Sanskrit, He is referred to as Lokesvara (“Lord of the World”) or Padmapani (“Holder of the Lotus”). In Japan, Avalokitesvara is known as Kannon (Kwannon, Kanzeon). Avalokitesvara is also credited with introducing the prayer formula ”Om mani peme hung” to the people of Tibet. King Songsten-Gampo (the founder of the Tibetan Empire) who brought Buddhism into Tibet is regarded as an incarnation of Chenrezig, as are the successive Dalai Lamas. In Tibetan, He is known as Chenrezig and is said to emanate as the Karmapa (the head of the Karma Kagyu), the Dalai Lama and other high lamas. The sutra narrates a discourse between Avalokitesvara and the Buddhas, wherein one learns that Lord Avalokitesvara brings salvation from all sins, even those that were previously considered to be unforgivable sins that lead to the death of the soul.Īvalokitesvara (also known as ”the lord who looks in every direction”) is one of the most important Bodhisattvas in Mahayana Buddhism, who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. Information collected is aggregated and anonymous.Maha Karuna Dharani Sutra (or Nilakantha Dharani), popularly known as the Great Compassion Mantra (or Da Bei Zhou), is an 84-line chant of Mahayana Buddhist origin, first translated from Sanskrit to Chinese in the 7th century. These cookies enable us to provide better services based on how users use our website, and allow us to improve our features to deliver better user experience. Marketing Cookies are placed by third-party providers with our permission, and any information collected may be shared with other organizations such as publishers or advertisers. These cookies are used to deliver advertisements that are more relevant to you and your interests. We use the information collected to evaluate and improve the performance of your shopping experience. They also enable use of the Shopping Cart and Checkout processes, assist in regulatory and security issues, measure traffic and visits, and retrieve order information for affiliate commissions. These cookies are required to use core website features and are automatically enabled when you use the site. You can use this interface to enable or disable sets of cookies with varying functions. We use data cookies to store your online preferences and collect information.