2005-03-23

The thirty-three names of Kwan Yin


Bootleg No-sword merchandise
spotted in Ameyoko shock

Found at Wikipedia and also here: the thirty-three names/titles of Kwan Yin, according to a book from 1783. (The idea that Kwan Yin has thirty-three forms is much older, but I think this might have been the first attempt to actually list them all.) I think I have most of these right, and even if I don't Kwan Yin will save me if worst comes to worst.

  1. Kwan Yin of the Willows [willows are medicinal]
  2. Kwan Yin who Rides on the Dragon's Head
  3. Kwan Yin who Holds a Sutra
  4. Kwan Yin the Haloed
  5. Kwan Yin the Playful [rides a cloud]
  6. Kwan Yin the White-Robed
  7. Kwan Yin of the Lotus
  8. Kwan Yin who Watches the Waterfall [which quenches the fire of evil]
  9. Kwan Yin, the Dispenser of Medicine
  10. Kwan Yin of the Fish Cage
  11. Kwan Yin, the Jewel of Virtues [as in The Four]
  12. Kwan Yin, the Moon which is Reflected in Water [this is a metaphor for the idea that her virtue is reflected in us]
  13. Kwan Yin of the Single Leaf
  14. Kwan Yin the Blue-Necked [long story; apparently involves Shiva]
  15. Kwan Yin, the Influence of Virtue
  16. Kwan Yin the Long-Lived
  17. Kwan Yin of the Many Treasures
  18. Kwan Yin who Guards the Door to the Cave [so that poisonous snakes can't come out. No, really]
  19. Kwan Yin of the Great Peace
  20. Kwan Yin of the Refreshing Pond
  21. Amadai Kwan Yin [it's hard to find a Japanese source for what Amadai means, but I think this page says it translates as "Boundless Mercy and No Fear"]
  22. Kwan Yin Clothed in Leaves [a reference to some tribe, apparently]
  23. Kwan Yin of the Lapis Lazuli [saves people in trouble at sea]
  24. Kwan Yin who Respects the Great One/s
  25. Kwan Yin of the Clam
  26. Kwan Yin [who Protects us During] All Six of the Day's Divisions [i.e. all day long]
  27. Kwan Yin the Universally Merciful
  28. Kwan Yin, the Horseman's Wife
  29. Kwan Yin whose Hands are Clasped in Prayer
  30. Kwan Yin, the Oneness
  31. Kwan Yin who is Not the Two Deva Kings [and yet she appears as them, and they are fundamentally the same although apparently quite different]
  32. Kwan Yin who Holds the Lotus
  33. Kwan Yin, the Anointer

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