James Baquet

    jamesbaquet@gmail.com

    PERHAPS the most striking statue in many Buddhist temples is also one of the most common. It is the Thousand-armed Guanyin, often found with 11 heads.

    The teachers have a simple explanation. Guanyin is the Bodhisattva of Compassion, pledged to help all in need. The thousand arms maximize her ability to “lend a hand,” and the 11 sets of eyes and ears render her capable of hearing all who ask. Her more complete name, Guanshiyin, can be translated “the one who hears the cries of the world;” the Sanskrit form, Avalokiteshvara, means the same.

    The statue is often found standing back-to-back with the Buddha in the main hall. But just as often she may be in a hall — or hut — of her own.

    When I stayed at Huayan Temple on Zhiti Mountain in Fujian, the acting abbot took me to a small nearby temple. After walking a mountain trail we saw, across some fields, the crumbling remains of a temple compound, still in use.

    The handful of monks inside were in dishabille, donning robes only after our arrival. They rose from their meal of rice gruel to entertain us.

    After some pleasant chat, they led us up a hill behind the main compound to a stone shack. “What could this possibly be?” I thought, as they were acting a little mysteriously.

    We stepped into the dark room and they turned on a light to reveal one of the most magnificent statues of the Thousand-armed Guanyin I have ever seen. In all their poverty, they had scraped together funds for this statue as a focus of devotion, representing the compassion that Buddhism teaches so persistently. It was glorious!