Kuan Yin, a reflection

Kuan Yin, a Reflection.


1.0 Kuan Yin in Chinese Homes

Kuan Yin Nieang is the common traditional address by many Chinese in Malaysia. Most Chinese in Malaysia are inclined towards the Taoist practice that is pantheistic in nature and so they have incorporated Kuan Yin as one of their gods that offers protection against dangers and sicknesses, thus enshrining Kuan Yin as a protector. A statue of Kuan Yin is placed on the alter along with other gods or deities where offerings are made during special festivals or when favours are seeked.

To the more educated Chinese who have read the legend of “Monkey Goes West” which tells about the adventures of a monkey god whose duty was to protect the monk Tsuan Tsang who had embarked on a journey to seek Buddhist teachings from the west of China. In this legend Kuan Yin is seen to have great power which was used to tame the powerful monkey god as well as to help the monk in times of grave danger. Thus the educated Chinese will place Kuan Yin on a higher hierarchy among the other gods. This understanding could possibly be a reason why some Chinese homes have only Kuan Yin as their sole deity or protector.

To the Chinese who have learnt about Kuan Yin through Buddhism, Kuan Yin is a “pu sart” (bodhisattva) who has come to relieve the suffering of man. This is clearly stated in an often chanted sutra, “Pu Men Ping” which states that beings who are in danger will be able to escape from danger when they chant the name of Kuan Yin Pu Sart. Kuan Yin Pu Sart will also be able to fulfill the wishes of those who want a son or a daughter. So, the perception of Kuan Yin Pu Sart is still that of a protector and a wish-fulfilling deity.

2.0 Kuan Yin in my Home

I was brought by my maternal grandmother and there was no statue or image of Kuan Yin in my house until much later. We had an ancestral altar in my house and a medium told my mother that previously there was a Kuan Yin at the altar so my mother had to reinstall Kuan Yin on the altar.

It was a totally different story on the side of my paternal grandmother. My paternal grandmother was a medium who prescribe Chinese herbs through her séances. She was supposedly acting on behalf of Kuan Yin. In her house there was a big altar with a large painting of Kuan Yin sitting on a lotus accompanied by her two assistants. It was a beautiful painting that I admired it whenever I visited my grandmother during festivals and the Chinese New Year. What was remarkable about this painting was that the face of Kuan Yin still looked clean and bright although the other parts of the painting had become dull and brownish.

My grandmother became a medium since the age of seven. She was herding goats at the fringe of the jungle when she went into a trance and started chanting in a language that wa incomprehensible by the other villagers. This lasted for three days and it was only after an old man suggested setting up an alter for a certain deity that stopped her chanting. Since then she started her work as a medium who prescribed herbal medicine to treat the sick and the suffering. All these happened in China.

When she was in her twenties, she migrated to Malaya to look for her husband who had earlier come to work in the gold mine in Raub. Her husband died of TB, as most of the gold miners did, when she was still in her twenties. Being a medium was a calling that also provided her with a source of income to support her seven children.
She was a popular medium for patients came from far and near seeking remedies for illnesses and misfortunes. There was even a Punjabi who came to seek guidance to locate his lost cow which he eventually found. My grandmother must have been quite an effective medium of Kuan Yin as there was a string of about 20 credit-card size gold plates strung across the top part of the Kuan Yin painting. These gold plates were tokens of thanksgiving for illnesses cure.

My maternal grandmother told me that when I was young, I was sickly so I had to be the godson of Kuan Yin and I was offered to my paternal grandmother’s Kuan Yin as a godson. So Kuan Yin is like a fairy godmother to me.

3.0 Kuan Yin in my Heart

I stayed in Kota Baru, Kelantan for two and a half years when I was teaching in Sekolah Menengah Kedai Buluh, about six miles from Kota Baru. During my sojourn in Kota Baru, I used to go to the Kelantan Buddhist Association, KBA. One of the often-chanted sutras at this association was “Pu Men Ping” and the commonly-chanted “chou” (dharani) was “Ta Bei Chou” or the Great Compassionate Heart mantra. This mantra consists of the manifestations of Kuan Yin and is supposed to provide protection and has the power to heal. Most of the devotees had committed this mantra to memory and we would chant it repeatedly. Till today I can still remember this mantra and chant it occasionally.

At the time I was staying in Kota Baru, I taught in a school, SK Kedai Buluh, which was located about 5 miles away from my house. Every morning while riding my motorcycle to school I would chant the Great Compassion mantra, over and over again, until I reached the school. One night, after buying char koay teow, while I was crossing a road on my motorcycle, a speeding and huge motorcycle came from my left and rammed into my small motorcycle. I was flung off my motorcycle and landed on the road, unconscious. I was only aware of some people carrying me into the backseat of a car. When I regained consciousness, I was in hospital. I suffered no injuries, just a slight pain around my rib area. The front fork of my motorcycle was badly bent. I consider it a miraculous escape.

I have always had a soothing feeling when I chant Kuan Yin’s name, be it at the KBA or during the novitiate programme at Kek Lok Si temple. Somehow, I could not derive a similar feeling with the chanting of other Buddha’s names, not even Amitabha Buddha. In my later years I have leant to chant the six syllable mantra, Om Mani Padme Hum, and attended a few chen-re-zig empowerment ceremonies. Other than that I do not have much affinity with Kuan Yin except to view at her as a symbol of compassion. This is mainly because I have turned my focus to Theravadian Buddhism, my initial persuasion.

Then lately Kuan Yin seems to pop up in my life again. First, I met Khenpo Samdrup from Nyifuk monastery, Nepal, about three years ago and I was told that he had been holding the six syllable mantra for a few years, that means chanting it at least 10,000 times daily. That draws me near to him and since then I have met him every year he comes to Malaysia. Besides, I went to learn the San Lang qi gong and have been practicing it for the past nine months. One of the elements of this qi gong is calming the mind while listening to Tibetan Buddhist chants. One of the frequently used chants is the six syllable mantra. Finally my friend, Bee Leng, told me that she wish to sponsor the publication of a book related to Chinese deities and Kuan Yin, authored by a man who was inspired by Kuan Yin.

By Hoh Foo Kong
September 2010

p/s And now I meet a friend on Facebook, Mr Albert Canalizo, who invokes the blessings of Kuan Yin upon me. ....and also a Facebook friend with a profile name of Kuan Yin.