This month's altar honours Kwan Yin, the Buddhist embodiment of the Divine Feminine, she who hears the cries of the suffering world and responds with mercy and compassion. On a golden altar cloth, the Female Buddha is flanked by two candles of purity, embellished with matching gold ribbons. Placed in front of Kwan Yin is a traditional offering of two oranges and an apple, representing luck, prosperity, peace and safety.
This statue of Kwan Yin shows her in a symbolic ritual pose or mudra common to the dharmic art of Hinduism (where Kwan Yin originated before migrating to Buddhism). Seated on the rocky precipice of hard and unyielding Life, the benevolent bodhisattva has one leg bent with her foot on the ledge's surface. Her other downward foot is firmly placed on a lotus footstool. Kwan Yin's left arm is braced on the surface and her right arm is draped gracefully over her bent knee. This mudra is known as "the position of royal ease" and it signifies the Eternal Moment of Compassion which occurs a split second before Kwan Yin arises, stands and, in her mercy, gives active assistance to those who suffer.
This statue is a reproduction of a famous 11th/12th century one from China called The Water and the Moon Kwan-Yin Bodhisattva. I found it about 25 years ago in an Edmonton spirituality store.
[Photos © Debra She Who Seeks, 2025]
6 comments:
...I wish you, luck, prosperity, peace and safety.
My family worshipped Guanyin
A simple and beautiful setup for this month's altar. Let's hope for all those good things.
That's a really good photo, Debra. I can see all the neat parts of the statue. Here's to a lovely day.
A great altar this month. Thanks for the explanation of the statue's pose.
Hi Debra, For once I beat you to it--I already have my Guan Yin statue out and facing the window where the full moon would be visible if it weren't always cloudy here. Come to think of it, Guan Yin is often depicted sitting on clouds, so Taiwan is probably her spiritual home!
--Jim
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