Chapter 21 Guanyin Bodhisattva is originally a male body

The belief in Avalokitesvara originated from Buddhism, and the image of Avalokitesvara has undergone long-term evolution in Chinese folk. Avalokitesvara, also known as Avalokitesvara and Avalokitesvara, is one of the important Bodhisattvas in Chinese Buddhist beliefs.The worship of her is extremely popular among the people, and the common people call her the Great Merciful and Great Compassionate Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva.In the Tang Dynasty, because of avoiding the taboo of Emperor Taizong Li Shimin, the word Avalokitesvara was removed and the name was changed to Avalokitesvara. Before the Yuan Dynasty, the statues of Guanyin Bodhisattva introduced from India and other places were all male. In the early Yuan Dynasty, Dao Guansheng, the wife of the great painter Zhao Meng, was the first to paint a female Guanyin statue with the method of "ink and wash" because she is merciful. Ruo woman; and wrote the book "Avalokitesvara's Enlightenment".

According to the book, Avalokitesvara is the third daughter of King Miaozhuang of Tianzhu Kingdom, named Miaoshan, who was born a vegetarian, grew up to serve the Buddha, and was determined not to marry.The father asked Miaoshan to do ten difficult tasks, such as filling a pool with water from a bamboo basket, weaving a hundred pieces of cloth in one night, etc. If she couldn't finish it, she had to get married. Miaoshan couldn't complete the task, so she prayed sincerely to the heavens, and all the gods in the sky came down to help Miaoshan complete the task. As a result, all ten difficult tasks were completed within the limit.

Later, Miao Shan was enlightened by Taibai Xing Jundu, and after becoming enlightened, Miao Shan rescued his parents, sister, and the whole family to attain enlightenment. From this story, we can clearly see the transformation and influence of Taoism, a native Chinese religion, on Buddhism.Taoism calls Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva Dongtian Emperor Yuantong Zizai Tianzun.Because Taoism became the religion supported by the rulers in the Song Dynasty, in the first year of Xuanhe, the emperor issued an edict to change the name of Buddha to Dajue Jinxian, Luohan to Venerable, and Avalokitesvara to Avalokitesvara, and merged into Taoism.

Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva once vowed to save all living beings in the world, and after all beings were saved, he was the last one to attain enlightenment. Therefore, for thousands of years, he was still called Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva instead of Buddha.