🎵Music🎵 She floats graciously on a lotus flower on Paradise Island.
Her dozens of hands gently grasping willow-reeds,
Flowers,
Jewels,
Swords,
And a vase of sweet dew,
The waters of compassion.
A Bodhisattva on the cusp of enlightenment,
And a semi-divine being whose fingertips have brushed the gates of heaven.
She is honored and prayed to,
With hopes of the banishment of fear,
Harm,
And hopelessness.
She who listens,
She who answers prayers,
She who refused to move into enlightenment as long as there were still people suffering on earth.
This is a tale of Kuan Yin,
And how she came to be.
There once was a girl named Miao Shan,
A quiet girl.
She kept to herself and worked on her prayers.
You see,
Miao Shan's greatest wish was to become a Buddhist nun,
And devote her life to prayer.
Her father,
On the other hand,
Had different plans for her.
A selfish man,
Since he had no sons,
He planned to marry Miao Shan to a wealthy man in the village,
So that he may never have to worry about money again.
But she didn't want to marry.
And despite her wishes,
Her marriage was arranged without her consent to an older,
Prosperous man she did not know.
She took no interest in this man,
Or her plans to wed.
And instead of enjoying what most brides would,
Picking out flowers and cakes and dresses,
She prayed.
She prayed and she prayed,
Day and night.
Despite the pressure and anger from her father,
She refused to marry.
Furious,
With his own fate now in jeopardy,
He lifted Miao Shan from her prayer,
And had her put into hard labor at the temple,
With barely any food or water.
When she wasn't working,
She was locked high in an abandoned tower,
For her father was certain she would let go of this calling deep within her heart.
But she found comfort in the work that she did,
Supporting the temple in such a way.
The members of the church were ordered to be tough on her,
And she offered them compassion for what they were being forced to do.
In the tower she found herself relieved instead of frightened.
She had no nagging father or pressures of the outside world.
What she had was peace and quiet,
And more time for prayer.
She needn't any books,
Fancy linens,
Or clothes.
The birds who sat between her barred windows sang her songs.
And the sunshine spilled into her room and warmed her soul.
And she gave herself all of the love and assurance she would ever need.
When her father learned of this,
And saw that she would not relent,
He furiously sent in soldiers to murder his only child.
If she wouldn't follow his wishes,
She would not live to follow her own.
Ashamed at their task at hand,
The servicemen escorted Miao Shan down from the tower and deep into the woods to meet her unfortunate fate.
She went quietly,
With peace in her heart,
And ready to meet whatever was waiting for her on the other side of this life.
Surrounded by trees and canopies of leaves,
The soldiers looked at one another slowly.
Then to the princess.
Sunbeams broke through the leaves to illuminate her face and her kind eyes.
She wished these men no ill will,
But instead offered them compassion for what they were being made to do.
There was a long pause,
The birds pleading above for her to be set free.
When suddenly a massive tiger the size of a horse leapt through the trees,
Swiftly clutching the princess carefully into its jaws,
And escaping even deeper into the forest.
The beast carried her to a remote cave,
Nestled beneath a mighty mountain where her birds followed and flew overhead.
And she could hear cries coming from deep within the cavern below.
She and the majestic tiger shared in a silent moment,
One filled with gratitude,
Love,
And honor.
Then the tiger,
Having done its job,
Was gone.
And in an instant,
The mountain and cave were gone,
And she had descended like water down a riverbank into a much deeper and darker place.
She found herself in the underworld,
Where ghosts of the dead floated past her in a mist.
And there he stood,
Towering over her,
The ruler of the dead.
His fierce features and flaming hair hissed and singed as he moved through the air towards her.
The air was so heavy and thick,
She found it hard to draw a breath.
He taunted her menacingly,
Slamming his horns into the walls of the cavern,
Sending shards of rock and salt spilling into the air,
Making it even harder to breathe.
Here,
He said,
Here he kept his everlasting grip on the unfortunate souls who found their way to him.
Here he would keep them bound and shackled,
Never to leave this place,
To venture back up to be reborn and work out their souls' karma.
Here,
They were trapped.
Forever.
Here,
He would make them singe and burn beside him.
Miao Shan stood,
Lost in his shadow,
And spoke calmly and forcefully to the ruler of the dead.
She challenged him for their souls,
Her prayer moving through her to cast a brilliant and golden light around her.
The spirits were drawn to her like desperate moths drawn to a radiant flame.
They all gathered around,
Filling up the space around her,
And she carried them all within her light.
And when she had gathered them all,
She blessed them and sent them on their way,
Back upward to be reborn and live once again.
The evil ruler was defeated,
And she petitioned him to come with her as well,
But he refused as smoke rose angrily from his shoulders.
Do not worry,
She said,
I shall return for you one day.
She then drifted back upward,
Settling once again in the mouth of the cave,
And she began to pray.
Two full moons came and went,
And upon that next sunrise,
The enlightened one themself appeared before her.
She shared in her light and informed her that her father was aware of her escape and meant to continue making attempts on her life.
They gave her her own island from which to escape his wrath,
And a single peach to offer all the nourishment and guidance that she would need for the next year,
When she herself would reach enlightenment and be beyond the reach of any evil in the world.
And when this time finally came,
She was met with the most beautiful light she had ever seen,
And felt the enlightenment begin to fill her up.
As she became lighter,
Filled with divine energy,
She willingly took a step back.
The light began to drain away and dim,
And she stepped back even more into the shadow and out of the light.
And even though she had brushed the gates of heaven and felt the magic that resides just a few more steps forward,
She remained where she was.
She vowed to stay and help to protect those on earth who still needed to be lifted up.
As long as people still suffered here,
She could not accept enlightenment.
This was to be her way.
And this is when the princess transformed into Kuan Yin,
The Bodhisattva and Goddess of Mercy and Compassion.
She lives on her paradise island,
Surrounded by light and birds,
Answering the prayers and offering the guidance,
And hearing the cries of the world.
She is the embodiment of the compassionate mother,
And holds all who need to fall into her arms.
She even offered her own eyes and severed arms to her ailing father,
Offering a cure to what was slowly taking his life.
And in her sacrifice,
She was rewarded to be made whole again,
And broke her father's curse of evil and hatred.
You may work with Kuan Yin when you feel called to.
Leave her fresh flowers and sweet cakes on her altar,
And burn her lotus incense,
Letting the smoke float up and petition her to hear your prayers.
She teaches us of compassion,
Of patience,
Of selfless love.
She teaches that what is right for one is right for all,
And to look out for others and not just yourself.
She reminds us to follow our hearts,
To fold into our authentic self and do what makes us happy.
We are love.
We are peace.
We are compassion.
Be well,
And follow your heart,
My beautiful one.
Namaste.
Copyright © 2020,
New Thinking Allowed Foundation
