Author: Yuhang Li
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231548737
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 365
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Book Description
Winner, 2024 Geiss-Hsu Book Prize for Best First Book, Society for Ming Studies The goddess Guanyin began in India as the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, originally a male deity. He gradually became indigenized as a female deity in China over the span of nearly a millennium. By the Ming (1358–1644) and Qing (1644–1911) periods, Guanyin had become the most popular female deity in China. In Becoming Guanyin, Yuhang Li examines how lay Buddhist women in late imperial China forged a connection with the subject of their devotion, arguing that women used their own bodies to echo that of Guanyin. Li focuses on the power of material things to enable women to access religious experience and transcendence. In particular, she examines how secular Buddhist women expressed mimetic devotion and pursued religious salvation through creative depictions of Guanyin in different media such as painting and embroidery and through bodily portrayals of the deity using jewelry and dance. These material displays expressed a worldview that differed from yet fit within the Confucian patriarchal system. Attending to the fabrication and use of “women’s things” by secular women, Li offers new insight into the relationships between worshipped and worshipper in Buddhist practice. Combining empirical research with theoretical insights from both art history and Buddhist studies, Becoming Guanyin is a field-changing analysis that reveals the interplay between material culture, religion, and their gendered transformations.
Author: Chün-fang Yü
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231502753
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 657
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Book Description
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, Chün-fang Yü 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, Yü 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.
Author: Stephen Levine
Publisher: Weiser Books
ISBN: 160925919X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 151
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Book Description
In his long career as a poet, Buddhist teacher, spiritual advisor, and writer, Stephen Levine has changed our understanding of death and dying. In Becoming Kuan Yin, Levine’s first new book in many years, he turns to the legend of Kuan Yin, the Bbodhistitva venerated by East Asian Buddhists for her compassion. In Becoming Kuan Yin, Levine shares the tale of Miao Shan, born centuries ago to a cruel king who wanted her to marry a wealthy but uncaring man. This is the story of how Miao Shan refused to follow the path her father had in mind and, instead, became Kuan Yin, the first acknowledged female Buddha who watches over the dying and those who work with them. Levine weaves together story and practice and helps readers discover their own infinite capacity for mercy and compassion under difficult circumstances. This book will have resonance for Kuan Yin's millions of followers.
Author: Sandy Boucher
Publisher: Beacon Press
ISBN: 9780807013410
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 148
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Book Description
Sandy Boucher, celebrated author of Opening the Lotus and Turning the Wheel, now offers North American readers their first opportunity to share in Kwan Yin's illuminating wisdom. Along with providing meditations, chants, and prayers this lovely, illustrated volume recounts the stories of this bodhisattva (one who delays her own full enlightenment to work for the liberation of all beings) and explains Kwan Yin's role in Buddhism. Discovering Kwan Yin is sure to become an important spiritual touchstone for those who seek to celebrate the goddess in their lives, to give and receive the loving power of her presence.
Author: Kurt Behrendt
Publisher: Metropolitan Museum of Art
ISBN: 1588396738
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 139
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Book Description
Intended to inspire the devout and provide a focus for religious practice, Buddhist artworks stand at the center of a great religious tradition that swept across Asia during the first millennia. How to Read Buddhist Art assembles fifty-four masterpieces from The Met collection to explore how images of the Buddha crossed linguistic and cultural barriers, and how they took on different (yet remarkably consistent) characteristics in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, the Himalayas, China, Korea, Japan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Cambodia, and Indonesia. Works highlighted in this rich, concise overview include reliquaries, images of the Buddha that attempt to capture his transcendence, diverse bodhisattvas who protect and help the devout on their personal path, and representations of important teachers. The book offers the essential iconographic frameworks needed to understand Buddhist art and practice, helping the reader to appreciate how artists gave form to subtle aspects of the teachings, especially in the sublime expression of the Buddha himself.
Author: Maya van der Meer
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN: 1611807999
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 33
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Book Description
Spirituality & Practice "Best Books of 2021" Award Winner Bank Street College of Education "The Best Children’s Books of the Year" Moonbeams Children’s Book Awards "Best Illustrator" Silver Winner Two sisters discover the power of love and the true meaning of compassion in this princess-adventure story based on an ancient Chinese tale. Miao Shan isn't your typical princess. She likes to spend her time quietly meditating with the creatures of the forest or having adventures with dragons and tigers. Miao Shan's heart is so full of love that her dream is to spread happiness throughout the land and help people endlessly. But her father has other plans for her--he intends to have her married and remain in the palace. With the help of her little sister Ling, Miao Shan escapes and begins her journey to discover the true meaning of compassion. During their adventure, Ling and Miao Shan are eventually separated. Ling must overcome doubts, fears, and loneliness in order to realize what her sister had told her all along--that love is the greatest power in the world. After the sisters' reunion, Miao Shan realizes her true calling as Kuan Yin, the goddess of compassion. A princess-adventure story like none other, this ancient Chinese tale of the world's most beloved Buddhist hero is a story of sisterhood, strength, and following your own path.
Author: Chinghsin Wu
Publisher: University of California Press
ISBN: 0520299825
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 247
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Book Description
This significant historical study recasts modern art in Japan as a “parallel modernism” that was visually similar to Euroamerican modernism, but developed according to its own internal logic. Using the art and thought of prominent Japanese modern artist Koga Harue (1895–1933) as a lens to understand this process, Chinghsin Wu explores how watercolor, cubism, expressionism, and surrealism emerged and developed in Japan in ways that paralleled similar trends in the west, but also rejected and diverged from them. In this first English-language book on Koga Harue, Wu provides close readings of virtually all of the artist’s major works and provides unprecedented access to the critical writing about modernism in Japan during the 1920s and 1930s through primary source documentation, including translations of period art criticism, artist statements, letters, and journals.
Author: Wu Cheng'en
Publisher: Lebooks Editora
ISBN: 6558946017
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 375
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Book Description
Journey to the West is a seminal work that delves into themes of spiritual growth, perseverance, and the interplay between divine intervention and human agency. Written by Wu Cheng'en, this classic novel weaves mythology, philosophy, and humor to narrate the adventures of a Buddhist monk, Tang Sanzang, and his three disciples — Sun Wukong (the Monkey King), Zhu Bajie (Pigsy), and Sha Wujing (Sandy). Together, they embark on a journey to retrieve sacred scriptures, confronting internal and external obstacles that test their resolve and character. Since its publication, Journey to the West has been celebrated for its rich symbolism and intricate storytelling. The novel's exploration of redemption, teamwork, and self-mastery has resonated across cultures, inspiring adaptations in various media, including operas, films, and television series. Sun Wukong, in particular, has become an enduring figure, representing rebellion, cleverness, and transformation in the face of adversity. The novel's timeless appeal lies in its ability to blend spiritual teachings with an engaging narrative. By portraying the struggles and growth of its characters, Journey to the West offers profound reflections on the human condition, making it a cornerstone of Chinese literature and a source of inspiration for audiences worldwide.
Author: John Blofeld
Publisher: National Geographic Books
ISBN: 1590307356
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
She is the embodiment of selfless love, the supreme symbol of radical compassion, and, for more than a millennium throughout Asia, she has been revered as “The One Who Hearkens to the Cries of the World.” Kuan Yin is both a Buddhist symbol and a beloved deity of Chinese folk religion. John Blofeld’s classic study traces the history of this most famous of all the bodhisattvas from her origins in India (as the male figure Avalokiteshvara) to Tibet, China, and beyond, along the way highlighting her close connection to other figures such as Tara and Amitabha. The account is full of charming stories of Blofeld’s encounters with Kuan Yin’s devotees during his journeys in China. The book also contains meditation and visualization techniques associated with the Bodhisattva of Compassion, and translations of poems and yogic texts devoted to her.
Author: Marcus Bingenheimer
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190456205
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 305
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Book Description
Among Chinese religious sites, Mount Putuo, the "Island of Guanyin," stands out as a fascinating embodiment of China's vibrant Buddhist tradition. A small island in the East China Sea, it has been the single most important pilgrimage site for the worship of Guanyin, the beloved Bodhisattva of Compassion, who is venerated from Sri Lanka to Japan. Attracting thousands of visitors every year, the site has accumulated a multi-layered historical record, as it appears in different lights in poems, biographies, maps, and legends across the centuries. From its foundation in Mahayana Buddhist scriptures to its descriptions in local histories known as "gazetteers," Mount Putuo's distinctive profile makes it an abiding landmark throughout the checkered history of Chinese Buddhism. This book, the first monograph on Mount Putuo in any language, follows the structure of a gazetteer as it presents important texts about this sacred site, which are here translated for the first time, groups them according to the individual genres found in the gazetteers, and analyzes their function. This brings out the full meaning of the texts against their historical, geographical, and religious contexts, producing a panoramic view of Mount Putuo through the lens of its textual heritage. Revealing the dense fabric of one deep-rooted devotional tradition, the book will be of interest to all students of Asian Buddhism.
