And History? Why Is He Important in Tibetan Buddhism? What Is His

Avalokitesvara and the
Tibetan Contemplation of Compassion
Karen M. Andrews
May 31, 1993
Tibetan Contemplative Traditions
Who is Avalokitesvara? What is his place in Buddhist doctrine

and history? Why is he important in Tibetan Buddhism? What is his

function in Tibetan Buddhism? What does he do? What are the

philosophical explanations of his existence? How is he used in

contemplative practice?

Avalokitesvara, the bodhisattva of compassion, is one of the

most important and popular Buddhist dieties. Although he originally

was conceived of in a Mahayana context, he has been worshipped under

different names and in different shapes in nearly every form of

Buddhism in every country Buddhism has entered.

Avalokitesvara first appears in Indian Buddhism. He is

originally mentioned as one of a number of bodhisattvas. These

bodhisattvas are personifications of various attributes of the

Buddha. Avalokitesvara is the personification of compassion. The

development of a Buddhist doctrine of bodhisattvas is more or less

contemporaneous with the development of brahmanic deity worship.

Either the same societal forces led to both developments, or the

bodhisattva doctrine was a response to the rival movement of

brahmanic deity worship. The bodhisattva doctrine may have appeared

as early as the second century B.C.E.

Originally, bodhisattvas were considered to be less important

than buddhas. Buddhas, of course, are completely enlightened

beings, whereas bodhisattvas are beings who are on the verge of

being completely enlightened. Bodhisattvas originally appear as

attendants of the buddhas. Texts speak of there being vast numbers

of bodhisattvas. A few of the bodhisattvas are more important than

others. Avalokitesvara does not appear in the earliest texts about

bodhisattvas. However, after a while he becomes one of the

important bodhisattvas. By the second century C.E., in the larger

Sukhavativyuha, Avalokitesvara is described along with

Mahasthamaprapta as one of the two bodhisattvas in Sukhavati, the

pure land of the Buddha Amitayus. The two of them are described as

the source of the light that illumines the pure land. They also

teach the devotees of Amitayus, adapting their techniques to the

understanding of the listeners.

Avalokitesvara's prominence changed as the doctrinal position

of Mahayana Buddhism changed. In Mahayana, compassion and wisdom

are seen as being the two most important qualities a person can

develop. In early Mahayana, wisdom was seen as more important than

compassion. Therefore, Manjusri, the bodhisattva of wisdom, was the

most highly regarded bodhisattva. However, with time, compassion

came to be seen as the more important quality, and thus

Avalokitesvara became the most honored bodhisattva.

Avalokitesvara's rise in prominence did not stop at this

point. Probably around the fifth century C.E., a full-blown cult of

Avalokitesvara emerged. Avalokitesvara evolves into the supreme

savior of all suffering beings. He takes on the characteristics of

various brahmanic gods, such as Brahma, Visnu, and Siva. Like

Brahma, Avalokitesvara is described as the creator of the universe.

"From his eyes arose the sun and the moon, . . . from his mouth, the

wind, . . . from his feet, the earth."1 He is also described as

being the creator of the brahmanic dieties. This attribution of

power to Avalokitesvara may well have been aimed at proselytizing

among brahmanic followers.

Descriptions of his physical form become increasingly

fantastic. He is described as being enormously large. His face is

a hundred thousand yojanas in circumference (a yojana is a few miles

long). His body is gold colored. He has a halo in which there are

five hundred buddhas, each attended by five hundred bodhisattvas,

each attended by numberless gods. From the hair between his

eyebrows there flow eighty-four kinds of rays. Each ray contains a

vast number of buddhas and bodhisattvas. Each of his ten finger

tips has eighty-four thousand pictures and each picture has

eighty-four thousand rays which shine over everything that exists.

And so forth.

At this point, Avalokitesvara takes precedence over the

buddhas. Even the buddhas cannot estimate Avalokitesvara's merit.

It is said that just thinking of him garners more merit than

honoring a thousand buddhas. Avalokitesvara's rise to prominence

may be partially caused by the Mahayana doctrine of the bodhisattva

vow. This doctrine says that the most wonderfully compassionate

decision is to vow to stay a bodhisattva instead of becoming a

buddha, because bodhisattvas can more effectively help other beings

become enlightened. Because of his compassion, Avalokitesvara has

vowed not to become a buddha and slip into nirvana until after all

sentient beings are saved from the nearly endless round of suffering

in samsara. Instead, he has committed to continued existence so

that he can help suffering beings. Avalokitesvara is not the only

bodhisattva who has made this vow. However, he embodies the

compassionate motivation which led all bodhisattvas to the vow.

Thus, valuing the bodhisattva vow leads to valuing Avalokitesvara

and everything he signifies.

As compassionate action is Avalokitesvara's essence, he is

supremely helpful. He can assume any form in order to help sentient

beings, and there are descriptions of him appearing as buddhas,

brahmanic gods, humans, and animals. In all these forms he does

wonderful things to help alleviate the suffering of beings and bring

them towards enlightenment. He rescues his followers from fires,

from drowning, from bandits, from murder, from prisons. He gives

children to female followers who want children. He helps release

beings from the three mental poisons of passion, hatred, and

delusion. He helpful both on the physical, worldly plain, and on a

more psychological or spiritual level.

In addition to being the personification of compassion,

Avalokitesvara has been connected with light more thoroughly than

any other Buddhist deity. The stories say that he was created from

a ray of light which emanated from Amitabha Buddha. Avalokitesvara

is a luminous being of light, and is repeatedly described as

radiating light which shines over all sentient beings and over all

corners of the universe. Similarly, he sees everything and everyone

in all corners of the universe, a fact that is emphasized by his

name. "Avalokitesvara" comes from two roots, "avalokita" and

"isvara". "Avalokita" means "glance" or "look". "Isvara" means

"lord". "Avalokitesvara" has been taken to mean such things as

"Lord of what we see", "Lord who is seen", "Lord who is everywhere

visible", "Lord who sees from on high", and "Lord of compassionate

glances". None of these interpretations are definitive, but

regardless of how his name is interpreted, Avalokitesvara is

certainly connected with lightness and sight. His ability to see

everywhere is important because it allows him to manifest his

compassion everywhere. The light that he emanates everywhere is

sometimes described as a representation of the flow of his

compassion to all parts of the universe.

As Buddhism spread throughout Asia, the teachings about

Avalokitesvara were carried everywhere Buddhism went. In China and

Japan, Avalokitesvara is the most popular bodhisattva. However, he

has undergone a sex-change, and is almost always portrayed in

feminine form. In China, he/she is called Kuan-yin or occasionally

Kuan-tzu-tsai. In Japan, she is called Kan-non or Kwan-non. In

both countries, she is seen as the supreme savior of suffering

beings and is worshipped widely as the goddess of mercy and

compassion. She gives children to women who pray to her for

offspring.

The cult of Avalokitesvara also spread to Sri Lanka. This is a

little surprising as Sri Lanka primarily follows Theravada Buddhism,

while Avalokitesvara was originally a strictly Mahayana conception.

In Sri Lanka, he is called Natha, which is an abbreviation of

Lokesvaranatha, which means "Lord of the World". He has become

identified with the bodhisattva Maitreya, the "future Buddha". He

is also seen as being identical with several Hindu gods. Natha is

seen as the guardian deity of Sri Lanka, and is reportedly

worshipped primarily because he is regarded as a pragmatically

useful source of advantages in the phenomenal world. Although I

have been able to find very little information on it, apparently the

cult of Natha has also spread with little change to other Theravada

Buddhist countries, such as Cambodia and Burma.

In Nepal, Avalokitesvara is conflated with the Brahman deity

Matsyendranath. He is worshipped in elaborate rituals which are

performed by a priestly caste. Ordination is handed down from

father to son, with some important positions being sold to the

highest bidder from within the caste. According to one reporter,

the meanings behind the rituals have been largely forgotten.

However, they continue to be performed because they are customary

and are considered to bring luck.

In Tibet, Avalokitesvara has reached a position of tremendous

importance. The stories surrounding him, his integration in the

practicalities of life, and his use in meditative practice have all

been highly developed. The Tibetans started with Avalokitesvara

(here called Chenrezi) where the Indians left off.

Traditional Tibetan belief holds that the cult of

Avalokitesvara was brought to Tibet by the eighth century C.E.

During the eighth century, King Srong-btsan sgam-po was active in

bringing Buddhism to Tibet. This king is considered an incarnation

of Avalokitesvara. Tibetans traditionally believe that he was

active in propagating a cult of Avalokitesvara. Not long after his

reign, Buddhism went into a decline, and did not revive until the

eleventh century. Western scholars believe that although there may

have been a small following of the Avalokitesvara cult during the

reign of Srong-btsan sgam-po (and there is not much evidence that

there was any such cult then), the cult certainly died out between

then and the eleventh century. Traditional Tibetan belief holds

that the cult continued in secret during this period. However,

everyone agrees that the cult of Avalokitesvara first became widely

popular during the eleventh and twelfth centuries.

The belief that Avalokitesvara is the creator of the universe

was accepted and elaborated upon. In Tibetan writings, he is seen

as not only creating the world and the Hindu gods, but also as

creating the buddhas and the buddha-fields. The whole cosmos exists

as a manifestation of Avalokitesvara's creative activity.

This is especially true of Tibet, which is depicted as having a

particularly close relationship with Avalokitesvara. His vow to

save all beings becomes a vow to first save Tibetans, because they

need his teachings particularly badly and because the Buddha asked

him to concentrate on Tibet.

Stories arose which describe Avalokitesvara as being intimately

involved with the creation of Tibet. One of the more popular of

these stories describes the creation of the Tibetan people. Once

there was a monkey who was an incarnation of Avalokitesvara. He

lived in the mountains, where he practiced meditation. One day, a

demoness saw him and fell in love with him. She tried

unsuccessfully to court him, and finally said that she would bring

disaster on all the living beings in the area if he did not marry

her. The monkey was confused, and asked Avalokitesvara what to do.

Avalokitesvara told the monkey to marry the demoness. The monkey

and the demoness wed and had six children, who were the progenitors

of the Tibetan people. Thus, all Tibetans are direct descendants of

a manifestation of Avalokitesvara.

Tibetan Buddhism also produced the innovation of recognizing

mortal human beings as the incarnations or manifestations of

dieties. As far as I am aware, Tibet is the only Buddhist country

that has this understanding. Incarnations of Avalokitesvara are

particularly important in Tibetan history. I have already mentioned

the progenitor monkey and King Srong-btsan sgam-po. Another

manifestation of Avalokitesvara which plays a crucial role in

Tibetan history is the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama has been

repeatedly incarnating in Tibet since the fifteenth century. He is

now in his fourteenth incarnation. The Dalai Lama is the head of

the Kagyu-pa school, which is one of the four major schools of

Tibetan Buddhism. Also, from the time of his fifth incarnation in

the early seventeenth century until the Chinese conquered Tibet, the

Dalai Lama was the ruler of Tibet. Thus, Tibet was governed by a

manifestation of their protective deity, who was also the progenitor

of the Tibetan people and the ruler who had brought Buddhism to

Tibet. Further, this deity, and therefore also his manifestation,

is the personification of compassion, which should guarantee that

his rule is kind and reduces suffering.

Avalokitesvara is important not only in Tibetans' understanding

of their history, but also in their practice of Buddhist

meditation. Particularly in tantric visualization practices,

Avalokitesvara, as the embodiment of compassionate action, is

critically important. In tantra, practitioners create

visualizations which are structured so as to bring about

experiential realizations of Buddhist teachings2. In order to

understand the purpose of these visualizations, it is necessary to

understand the philosophy which the visualizations serve to make

experientially real.

What is this philosophy? It is beyond the scope of my paper to

lay forth the entire teachings of Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism,

but I will try to briefly outline the philosophies which are most

commonly used in tantric visualizations of Avalokitesvara.

The most obvious Buddhist teaching used in these practices is

the importance of compassion. What, precisely, is the Buddhist

understanding of compassion? Compassion starts with sorrow at the

suffering of others. As such, it incites action aimed at reducing

the suffering of others. Compassion is the motivating force behind

useful action. It is a warm, positive energy directed towards

helping others.

Compassion can only arise when we do not have a strong sense of

separation from others. If there is a feeling that I am over here,

and you are over there, and we are totally separate individuals,

then we will not be able to truly sorrow at each others' pain,

because others' pain will not touch us. In order to truly be

touched by the suffering of others, we have to abandon our

attachment to sharp divisions between individuals. We need to live

in awareness of the flow of energy between ourselves and others.

Chšgyam Trungpa explains, "When a person develops real compassion,

he is uncertain whether he is being generous to others or to himself

because compassion is environmental generosity, without direction,

without 'for me' and without 'for them.'"3

This sense of identity with others is taken to its logical

conclusion, producing a profound awareness of the relational, open,

empty nature of reality. Reality is relational because everything

is intimately affected by everything else. There is no such thing

as an independent entity. My well-being is affected by your

well-being. The consequences of every action spread throughout the

universe just as ripples spread from a splash in a pond. Reality is

open because there are no boundaries. "There is the . . . panoramic

vision of open meditation--the experience of dhyana--openness. You

do not regard the situation outside yourself as separate from you

because you are so involved with the dance and play of life."4

Openness involves accepting everything just as it is. There is no

boundary between "pure" and "impure" or "good" and "bad".

Everything is seen as a manifestation of pure wisdom mind. Reality

is called empty because everything is empty of permanent,

individual, essence. Thinley Norbu says, "In the undeluded purity

of self-appearance, . . . there is no reality of an object of

sentient beings and no substantiality of an object of dieties."5

There is no individual existence of things. Everything is

intimately interconnected.

When we live in awareness of the empty, interconnected nature

of reality, then compassion arises spontaneously. In the Madhyamaka

school of Buddhist philosophy, "wisdom" means an experiential

understanding of emptiness and interconnectedness. Using this

definition of wisdom, it seems that the development of compassion

and wisdom are integrally intertwined, each arising from the other.

H. H. the fourteenth Dalai Lama has written, "These three, the

awakening mind of bodhicitta, compassion and discriminating wisdom,

should be totally . . . combined, integrated and enhanced."6

Bodhicitta is the mind which is seeking enlightenment in order to be

of benefit to all sentient beings. So from a philosophical point of

view, seeking enlightenment, caring for the welfare of all beings,

and understanding the empty interconnected nature of reality, all go

together as pieces of the same enterprise.

These elements are brought together in the tantric

visualization practices. In practices focusing on Avalokitesvara,

compassion is emphasized, but compassion is so integrally connected

with wisdom that they cannot be separated. Nearly every element of

the visualizations brings forth another aspect of compassion and

empty interconnectedness.

All of the tantras on Avalokitesvara that I have read use many

of the same elements. Different tantras have somewhat different

emphases. Some leave out aspects which are included in others. In

order to demonstrate how the tantric visualizations use

Avalokitesvara to lead to an experience of compassion and wisdom, I

will analyze a single tantra which was written by the second Dalai

Lama7. I chose this tantra because it includes all of the most

common elements and few of the unusual elements of the tantras I

have read. Also, it is described in a way which makes the

philosophical roots of the visualizations especially clear.

This tantra skips the traditional preliminaries to meditative

practice. These preliminaries differ a little from practice to

practice, but most contain at least three elements. Briefly, the

traditional preliminaries are to take refuge in the Buddha, the

dharma (teachings), the sangha (Buddhist community), and usually

also the lamas, the meditational dieties, and the beings in the

retinues of the deities (dakas, dakinis, and dharma protectors).