Christie Chapman

Eaarly Chinese History

2/22/05

Guanyin and Maitreya

What is a Bodhisattva?

One who is enlightened but chooses to stay on earth and help others achieve enlightenment rather than becoming a Buddha.

Avalokiteshvara in India

The compassionate Bodhisattva who was also known as Avalokiteshvara and Padmani.

While in China...

Avalokiteshvara to Guanyin, a simple translation.
According to Chun-fang Yu, “Manifesting sound.” also “If they hear of this bodhisattva Perceiver of the World’s sounds and single-mindedly call his name, then at once he will perceive the sound of their voices and they will gain deliverance from their trials”

The Transgendering of Guanyin, the bodhisattva of compassion

The transformation of Guanyin’s gender according to Charles Lachman could be due to a belief that women tend to be more compassionate. The gender of deities can be obscured because one gender may make them seem more of earth rather than of the cosmic realm.

Maitreya - The Future Buddha

In India Maitreya is portrayed as pensive; a thoughtful Buddha with his finger on his cheek and one leg crossed over the other, (the Asian Thinker).

The Earthly Maitreya

To portray Maitreya as the Earthly Buddha, Maitreya is shown enthroned with both legs pendant.

Maitreya Likes Chinese Food

Maitreya is portrayed as fat laughing Buddha. He embodies the simple happiness that reflects the achievement of nirvana and how one who has become Buddha can be carefree. He also has elongated earlobes which show how he has had a long life and that at one time he wore jewelry when he lived as a young prince in his father’s palace.

Maitreya and Guanyin Invade South and East Asia!

After becoming a popular cult in China, the cult of Guanyin and Maitreya spread to Vietnam, Korea and then Japan. In India, the Buddhist religion was reabsorbed into Hinduism, which it was originally born out of, and it was also supplanted by Islam. Only a small number of Indians practice Buddhism.

Sources Cited

Craven, Roy C. Indian Art: A Concise History. New York, NY: Thames and Hudson, 2000.

Incheng, Kim. The Future Buddha Maitreya an Iconological Study. New Delhi: DK Printworld 1997.

Sponberg, Alan and Hardacre, Maitreya, The Future Buddha. Cambridge, [Cambridgeshire] New York: CU Press 1999.

Sullivan, Michael. The Arts of China fourth ed. Berkeley, Ca: University of California Press,1999.

Yu, Chun-fang. Kuan-Yin. NewYork. NY: Columbia University Press, 2001.