Avalokitesvara While miracles are not our objective of
practicing the Dharma, miracles are not unusual in the history of
Buddhism. There are many books from ancient times to today where
miraculous accounts are collected and read by others to inspire
faith. Two accounts are reproduced here to give an ideal of the
compassion of Guanshiyin.
Account 1
In the late Qing Dynasty of China (1644-1911) there was a
revolution led by a Chinese Christian who wanted to create a
Kingdom known as the Tai Ping Tian Guo¤Ó¥¤Ñ°ê. However this group
went around killing, plundering and burning the people and their
property. At that time in southern China, there was a devotee of
Guan Yin called ChenWang , he would offer incense and light to a
icon of her every morning and evening without fail. However, one
night he dreamt that Guan Yin appeared and told him" You will be
killed by one of the TaiPing rebels." Shocked, he woke up and
prayed sincerely to her the next day. The next night, he dreamt
that Guan Yin appeared again and told him" Well it seems that you
have killed your to be killer in another life and now he is wanting
to kill you for what you did to him during that time. However I
will try my best to help you. His name is WangZhan, from HeNan
province who was a orphan since young and joined the Rebels out of
poverty. He will come tomorrow and you should set out a banquet for
him, remember, friendship can change even the most evil criminal."
Then she disappeared. The next day, he calmly sent his family
members away to another place of safety while he alone stayed at
home and prepared a nice dinner. Soon, battle cries were heard and
the rebels soon came carrying weapons. One rebel broke down Chen's
door and Chen asked" Are you Wang Zhan from HeNan who was an orphan
since young? I have been waiting for your arrival for a meal
together!" This rebel was shocked that Chen knew his name and
replied "Yes, I am." " If yes then come in for a meal" replied
Chen. Although Wang was bewildered he following Chen in for a meal.
At the table Chen discussed about the appearance of Guan Yin in his
dreams, her instructions etc. Towards the end of the meal, Chen
rose up and knelt before him" I owe you a life for I killed you in
another life of yours, Please kill me now so that the debt will be
settled once and for all!" Wang urged him to rise and said" My
parents died when I was young and I joined the rebels out of
desperation. No one else except you have been so kind to me! I am
tired of this life of killing and plundering and have longed to it
up. You are my friend now, why should I kill you!" Chen was deeply
touched and said " I have some money here, why not you take these
and do a small business." Wang gratefully accepted and both of them
then became friends for life.
Account 2
In 1922, there was a large earthquake in Asakusa Tokyo. Many
building collasped and the whole place was set ablaze after cooking
stoves were overturned. Many people were trapped by the great
conflagration. Some tried hiding in the ponds in the parks but the
fire which was fanned by the winds scorched them to death. Out of
desperation, thousands began crowding at the Asakusa Kannon temple
²L¯óÆ[µ°ó which was built in the early 7th century by fishermen
who found a Kannon(Guanyin) statue in their nets and built this
wooden temple to house this image.
The people had no other choice but to pray from their bottom of
hearts to Kannon. Many were chanting "Namu Kannon Bosatsu save
us!"Miraculously, everytime the towering flames tried to burn
towards the temple, another gust of wind would blow the flames back
to where the flames came from. Many people also witnessed the
physical manifestation of Kannon in the typical Japanese form,
riding on the head of a dragon. Many thousands were saved during
that catastrophic day. Today, this temple is famous as a tourist
spot and the Kannon statue is considered so sacred that it is only
revealed to the public once in many years.
After reading these two accounts, some might ask, can these
accounts be attributed to Guanyin Pusa? Can they be due to other
possible reasons? To this I would say, many miracles are almost
impossible to prove using science as we know it at this period. But
from the many accounts, attributing the miracles to mere
coincidence or hallucinations is unreasonable. For example, the
Japanese Kannon Temple is only a wooden structure and certainly
would not have survived the fire which consumed even the concrete
buildings! Divine intervention is then beyond doubt. In addition,
people would be tempted to infer Guanyin as a female from the
manifestations. This should not be the case. Imagine, if Guanyin
did not appear as a typical chinese form but appear as the Four
armed Chenrensig to Chen Wang, do you think that Chen Wang would
believe what she wanted to say? The Bodhisattvas have to appear in
forms that the particular person or group is/are most familiar with
in order to make identification easy for the believers who are not
familiar with her other forms. There are also many recent accounts
during the 99 Taiwan earthquake, however most individuals normally
don't reveal such interventions out of humility and other reasons
pertaining to personal privacy. But I would like to stress again
that the motivation of learning Buddhism is not for such miracles
to happen. Miracles are given to those in desperate need and have
the causes for the Buddhas to help them. Miracles are just a way of
helping beings who have no means of helping themselves and to
convey the message that the Dharma has much to hold for them.
The Memorial days of Guanyin
By tradition, Guan Yin has 3 dates dedicated to her. These
are
19 of 2nd month-------------- Her birthday
19 of 6th month--------------- Her Enlightenment day
19 of 9th month--------------- Her Ordination day
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