wooden statue of the Thousand-Armed
Guanyin (
Avalokiteśvara in Chinese), enshrined in
Longshan Temple in
Fujian,
China. Standing at 4.2 metres, the statue features 1008 arms and more than 25 heads. This manifestation of Guanyin is the one most closely identified with the Nīlakaṇṭha dhāraṇī in
East Asian Buddhism.
Nīlakaṇṭha-lokeśvara According to author
Lokesh Chandra (1988), the
dhāraṇī in its original form was
a recitation of the names of the deity (
lokeśvara) Nīlakaṇṭha recited
by the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara: In Vajrabodhi's longer version (T. 1061), the dhāraṇī is explicitly referred to as
Āryāvalokiteśvara-bhāṣitaṃ "uttered (
bhāṣita) by noble (
ārya) Avalokiteśvara;" at this stage, Avalokiteśvara is portrayed as pronouncing the dhāraṇī, but is not (yet) identified with Nīlakaṇṭha. Its preface, authored by the
Ming emperor
Yongle, says thus: It is reported by Kwan Tseu Tsai Bodhisattva, prompted by her great compassionate heart has engaged herself by a great oath to enter into every one of the innumerable worlds, and bring deliverance to all creatures who inhabit them. For this purpose she has enunciated the Divine sentences which follow, if properly recited, will render all creatures exempt from the causes of sorrow, and by removing them, render them capable of attaining Supreme Reason. ) compendium of Buddhist iconography. Note the differences between this particular depiction and the description from Amoghavajra: while the four attributes - conch, mace/rod, discus/wheel and lotus - are depicted, the boar and lion faces, the garments of animal skins, and the serpent
upavita are omitted.The dhāraṇī proper contains a number of titles associated with the Hindu gods
Vishnu (e.g.
Hare,
Narasiṃha-mukha,
gadā- /
cakra- /
padma-hastā 'the wielder of the mace / discus / lotus') and
Shiva (e.g.
Nīlakaṇṭha 'the blue-necked one',
Śaṅkara,
kṛṣṇa-sarpopavita 'the one who has a black serpent as a
sacred thread'), suggesting that Nīlakaṇṭha was in origin
Harihara - a fusion of Vishnu (Hari) and Shiva (Hara) - assimilated into Buddhism. This is more explicit in the longer version of the dhāraṇī, where Nīlakaṇṭha is invoked with more names and epithets associated with the two gods such as
Tripūra-dahaneśvara (
Īśvara who destroyed
Tripūra, an epithet of Shiva), and
Padmanābha (lotus-naveled, an epithet of Vishnu) as well as a short description of the iconography of Nīlakaṇṭha Avalokiteśvara in Amoghavajra's version (T. 1111), which combines elements from depictions of Shiva and Vishnu. Other examples are found in the following section: The status of Shiva and Vishnu in the dhāraṇī follows a similar pattern to the one identified in the
Kāraṇḍavyūha Sūtra (4th-5th century CE): the two gods are repeatedly invoked one after the other, indicating that they stand in a "complementary" relationship to each other. At the same time, however, Shiva is portrayed as the dominant of the two. While as of yet, no trace of this iconographic depiction has been found within India itself, the depiction must have had an Indian origin: an image of this type was brought to China by an Indian monk, and all the Chinese texts on the thousand-handed Avalokiteśvara are translations from
Sanskrit or
Pali and contain Sanskrit hymns in transliteration. One possibility is that this form of Avalokiteśvara had its origins in
Kashmir, From Kashmir, the "thousandfold" Avalokiteśvara might have spread northward, but not southward into the Indian mainland, which could explain the dearth of Indian artifacts connected to this depiction. - slung over his left shoulder.A thousand limbs are integral to the Indian tradition: the
Puruṣa sūkta of the
Ṛgveda, for instance, describes the cosmic man Puruṣa as having "a thousand heads ... a thousand eyes, a thousand feet." Notably, the
Kāraṇḍavyūha Sūtra contains a Buddhist adaptation of the Vedic Puruṣa myth, with Avalokiteśvara as the all-pervasive cosmic being from whose body springs various
gods: "
Āditya and
Candra came from his eyes,
Maheśvara came from his forehead,
Brahmā came from his shoulders,
Nārāyaṇa came from his heart,
Devi Sarasvatī came from his canines,
Vāyu came from his mouth,
Dharaṇī came from his feet, and
Varuṇa came from his stomach." The epithets
sahasra-bāhu ('thousand-armed') or
sahasra-bhuja ('thousand-handed') commonly appear in Indian literature from the Ṛgveda onwards applied to various personages (e.g.
Kartavirya Arjuna), including the gods Shiva and Vishnu. (Cf.
Trailokyavijaya, one of the five
Wisdom Kings, depicted as trampling on
Maheśvara - the Buddhist version of Shiva - and his consort. - also later came to be depicted as one who brought popular deities into Buddhism by pronouncing their hymns, thereby according them a place in Buddhist scriptures and ritual. Eventually, however, these deities came to be identified as different forms or manifestations of the bodhisattva himself. Thus Avalokiteśvara gradually took on forms, attributes and titles originally ascribed to Shiva and/or to Vishnu such as
sahasra-bhuja,
sahasra-netra ('thousand-eyed'),
Īśvara,
Maheśvara,
Hari, or
Nīlakaṇṭha. The emergence of Avalokiteśvara's thousand-armed form is linked with the interiorisation of Shiva into the bodhisattva as
Viśvarūpa. The dhāraṇī of 'Nīlakaṇṭha' (i.e.
Harihara - Vishnu and Shiva - later conflated with Avalokiteśvara) became attached to the
sahasra-bhuja Avalokiteśvara (of which Harihara was the prototype), so that the thousand-armed form became seen as a bestower of royal authority, a trait carried over from Nīlakaṇṭha/Harihara. Classic Mahayana teaching holds that Avalokiteśvara is able to manifest in different forms
according to the needs of different individuals. In the
Lotus Sūtra, it is stated that Avalokiteśvara can appear in different guises - which includes that of 'Īśvara' and 'Maheśvara' - to teach
the Dharma to various classes of beings.The Buddha said to Bodhisattva Akṣayamati: "O son of a virtuous family! If there is any land where sentient beings are to be saved by the form of a buddha, Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara teaches
the Dharma by changing himself into the form of a buddha. ... To those who are to be saved by the form of Brahma, he teaches the Dharma by changing himself into the form of Brahma. To those who are to be saved by the form of
Śakra, he teaches the Dharma by changing himself into the form of Śakra. To those who are to be saved by the form of Īśvara, he teaches the Dharma by changing himself into the form of Īśvara. To those who are to be saved in the form of Maheśvara, he teaches the Dharma by changing himself into the form of Maheśvara. ... To those who are to be saved by the form of a human or of a nonhuman such as a
deva,
nāga,
yakṣa,
gandharva,
asura,
garuḍa, kiṃnara, or mahoraga, he teaches the Dharma by changing himself into any of these forms." A similar statement appears in the Kāraṇḍavyūha Sūtra:
Bhagavat Śikhin replied, 'He [Avalokiteśvara] completely ripens the many beings who circle in saṃsāra, teaches them the path to enlightenment, and teaches the Dharma in whatever form a being can be taught through. He teaches the Dharma in the form of a
tathāgata to beings who are to be taught by a tathāgata. He teaches the Dharma in the form of a
pratyekabuddha to beings who are to be taught by a pratyekabuddha. He teaches the Dharma in the form of an
arhat to beings who are to be taught by an arhat. He teaches the Dharma in the form of a
bodhisattva to beings who are to be taught by a bodhisattva. He teaches the Dharma in the form of
Maheśvara to beings who are to be taught by Maheśvara. He teaches the Dharma in the form of Nārāyaṇa to beings who are to be taught by Nārāyaṇa. He teaches the Dharma in the form of Brahmā to beings who are to be taught by Brahmā. ... He teaches the Dharma in whatever particular form a being should be taught through. That, noble son, is how Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara completely ripens beings and teaches them the Dharma of nirvāṇa.' Despite being a latecomer among the esoteric forms of Avalokiteśvara introduced into China, because of the promotion of his cult by the three esoteric masters (
Śubhakarasiṃha,
Vajrabodhi and
Amoghavajra have all made translations of thousand-armed Avalokitesvara texts) and patronage by the imperial court, the
sahasra-bhuja Avalokitesvara overtook and absorbed the fame of other tantric forms of the bodhisattva.
Bhagavaddharma's version (T. 1060) and its popularity depiction of the Thousand-Armed
Guanyin (Avalokiteśvara) from the
Yulin Caves,
Gansu Province,
China.Out of the various transliterations of the dhāraṇī in Chinese, that of Bhagavaddharma (T. 1060) has risen to become the standard in East Asia. Bhagavaddharma was a monk who came to China from western India around the mid-7th century, about whom nothing else is known; the
Taishō Tripitaka has only two works in Chinese by him, both on the thousand-armed Avalokiteśvara (T. 1059, 1060). The latter of these two works, the 'Sūtra of the Vast, Perfect, Unimpeded Great-Compassionate Heart of the Thousand-Handed Thousand-Eyed Bodhisattva Avalokitasvara's Dhāraṇī', made at Khotan around 650-661 CE, has made him immortal. In China itself, various anecdotes about miracles effected by the recitation of the dhāraṇī appear from the
Tang dynasty onwards. As the dhāraṇī's efficacy became widely known,
dhāraṇī pillars on which the dhāraṇī's text was inscribed began to be erected, the earliest of these dating from 871 CE. By the end of the period, both the sūtra text and the dhāraṇī circulated among the monks and the laity, with copies being made either as pious offerings or commissioned by the faithful to obtain religious merit. An abbreviated version of the sūtra, consisting of only the ten great vows recited by Avalokiteśvara within the text (see 'Summary' below) and the dhāraṇī itself, was also in circulation. Known as the 'Invocation of the Great Compassionate One' (大悲啟請
Dàbēi qǐqǐng), this text was probably used in a liturgical setting. the very lack of such instructions in Bhagavaddharma's text might have contributed to its democratic appeal for ordinary people.
Summary of Bhagavaddharma's version statue of the Thousand-Armed Guanyin (
Qianshou Guanyin) enshrined in
Shanhua Temple in
Shanxi,
China. Bhagavaddharma's text begins with
Śākyamuni Buddha in Avalokiteśvara's palace on the island
Potalaka about to preach to a congregation of
bodhisattvas,
arhats,
devas and other beings. Suddenly there is a great illumination and the three thousand realms become golden in color, shaking all over while the sun and moon become dull by comparison. One of the bodhisattvas present, Dhāraṇī King (總持王菩薩), asks the Buddha why this is happening; the Buddha reveals that Avalokiteśvara secretly emitted this light "in order to comfort and please all living-beings." Avalokiteśvara then begins to speak, revealing that innumerable
kalpas ago, the Thousand-light King
Tathāgata of Tranquil Abode (千光王靜住如來) entrusted to him the 'Dhāraṇī of the Great Compassionate Heart' (大悲心陀羅尼呪). As soon as he heard the dhāraṇī, Avalokiteśvara - who had then been a bodhisattva of
the first stage - quickly advanced to the eighth stage, and after reciting a vow, became endowed with a thousand hands and eyes: "So from that epoch long ago, I have kept the dhāraṇī. As a result, I have always been born where there is a buddha. Moreover, I have never undergone birth from a womb, but am always transformed from a lotus." After giving this explanation, he then calls upon anyone who wants to keep this dhāraṇī to give rise to the thought of compassion for all sentient beings by making the following ten vows after him. Namaḥ Avalokiteśvara of Great Compassion, may I quickly learn all Dharma. Namaḥ Avalokiteśvara of Great Compassion, may I speedily obtain the eye of wisdom. Namaḥ Avalokiteśvara of Great Compassion, may I quickly save all sentient beings. Namaḥ Avalokiteśvara of Great Compassion, may I speedily obtain
skillful means. Namaḥ Avalokiteśvara of Great Compassion, may I quickly sail on the
prajñā boat. Namaḥ Avalokiteśvara of Great Compassion, may I speedily cross over the ocean of suffering. Namaḥ Avalokiteśvara of Great Compassion, may I quickly obtain the way of discipline and meditation. Namaḥ Avalokiteśvara of Great Compassion, may I speedily ascend the
nirvāṇa mountain. Namaḥ Avalokiteśvara of Great Compassion, may I quickly enter the house of non-action. Namaḥ Avalokiteśvara of Great Compassion, may I speedily achieve the
Dharma-Body. If I face a mountain of knives, may it naturally crumble, if I face a roaring fire, may it naturally burn out, if I face hell, may it naturally disappear, if I face a
hungry ghost, may it naturally be satiated, if I face an
Asura, may its evil heart gradually become tame and, if I face an animal, may it naturally obtain great wisdom. After making such vows, one should then sincerely call the name of Avalokiteśvara as well as the name of
Amitābha Buddha, Avalokiteśvara's original teacher. the sincere keeping of the dhāraṇī is said to also result in fifteen kinds of good rebirth (e.g. being ruled by a virtuous king wherever one is born, fully endowed with money and food, can see the Buddha and listen to the Dharma in the place of birth) and the avoidance of fifteen kinds of evil deaths (e.g.
suicide, death on the battlefield, death by
starvation). Avalokiteśvara then recites the dhāraṇī; the earth shakes in six ways, while precious flowers rain down from the sky. As all the buddhas of the ten directions are delighted and practitioners of heterodox ways become frightened, all the assembled reach different levels of realization. Upon being asked by
Mahābrahmā (大梵天王), Avalokiteśvara goes on to further explain the dhāraṇī's benefits, both spiritual and temporal, and recites a
gāthā commanding various benevolent devas,
nāgas and
yakṣas to guard the keepers of the dhāraṇī. The sūtra then ends by identifying the names of the forty
mudrās of the thousand-armed Avalokiteśvara - forty standing for the full number of a thousand - and the respective benefits they bestow on the worshipper. These mudrās are only described verbally on Bhagavaddharma's version; illustrated depictions are found in the version by Amoghavajra (T. 1064). ==In Buddhist practice==