Thousand Hand Guan(Kwan) Yin

Not all classics are Western.

About Guan Yin
Guan Yin is the bodhisattva of compassion, revered by Buddhists as the Goddess of Mercy. Her name is short for Guan Shi Yin. Guan means to observe, watch, or monitor; Shi means the world; Yin means sounds, specifically sounds of those who suffer. Thus, Guan Yin is a compassionate being who watches for, and responds to, the people in the world who cry out for help.
Bodhi means wisdom or enlightenment; sattva means being or essence. Put the two together and you get bodhisattva, a being who is enlightened and ready to transcend the cycles of birth and death, but chooses to return to the material world in order to help other people reach the same level of enlightenment. This is the ultimate demonstration of pure compassion.

The thousand hands of this bodhisattva represent Guan Yin's many abilities to render assistance. There are a thousand eyes on these hands which give Guan Yin great powers to observe the world. Guan Yin also has many faces so she can become who people need her to be, not necessarily herself, because her help is given in a way that is literally selfless.
Due to the widespread influence of Chinese culture, Guan Yin has become arguably the most popular and well-known bodhisattva in the world. This can sometimes lead to confusion as people erroneously equate Guan Yin with bodhisattva. For instance, quite a few people have already mistranslated the Chinese name of the performance to Thousand-Hand Bodhisattva.
Also, the deification of Guan Yin can lead to a misconception at a fundamental level. A bodhisattva is not a deity but a human being - a spiritually advanced human being. Although Guan Yin is depicted as a beautiful Asian woman, anyone can be a bodhisattva regardless of appearance, race and gender. Whenever you act in accordance with a natural impulse of total compassion, you have taken another step toward becoming a bodhisattva yourself.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Asian
• Classic

[emobutterflylady]

Beautiful. I see by the comments that there is no harmony in any religeon. Everyone has their ideas and is sure everyone else is wrong. That is why I do not participate in any oragnized religeon and consider myself merely "spiritual" and devote myself to positivity and self-sacrifice.

[admanstan]

Amen, Friend...same goes for me.

[zellen420]

amasing

[TheJAEME]

I liked it MUCH better BEFORE they added the "factoids" which interrupt and break up the continuity of the dance. PLEASE make them GO AWAY!!!!

[Moomitrolly]

You've got to hand it to them...!

[TyDoglover]

i m so impressed. I know they are all deaf, and that added extra work to them. I saw a whole vid about how they train... It was really touching. The music is relaxing and gives me a kind of feeling...I am not really sure how to describe it.. All in all, they did really really well. Cheers to them. And thanks for sharing too. =)

[ziadsia]

exelnt

[who7knows]

Yeah, that's true. They are all deaf. So beautiful and amazing.

[idarklight]

Really? I was always told that all of them were deaf.

[PriestestYeye]

I am so happy to be able to view this video. It reminds me of a visit I received from Kwan Yin even before I knew who this deity was. It reminds me to be compassionate of other.