Avalokitesvara While miracles are not our objective of practicing the Dharma, miracles are not unusual in the history of Buddhism. There are many books from ancient times to today where miraculous accounts are collected and read by others to inspire faith. Two accounts are reproduced here to give an ideal of the compassion of Guanshiyin.
Account 1
In the late Qing Dynasty of China (1644-1911) there was a revolution led by a Chinese Christian who wanted to create a Kingdom known as the Tai Ping Tian Guo¤Ó¥¤Ñ°ê. However this group went around killing, plundering and burning the people and their property. At that time in southern China, there was a devotee of Guan Yin called ChenWang , he would offer incense and light to a icon of her every morning and evening without fail. However, one night he dreamt that Guan Yin appeared and told him" You will be killed by one of the TaiPing rebels." Shocked, he woke up and prayed sincerely to her the next day. The next night, he dreamt that Guan Yin appeared again and told him" Well it seems that you have killed your to be killer in another life and now he is wanting to kill you for what you did to him during that time. However I will try my best to help you. His name is WangZhan, from HeNan province who was a orphan since young and joined the Rebels out of poverty. He will come tomorrow and you should set out a banquet for him, remember, friendship can change even the most evil criminal." Then she disappeared. The next day, he calmly sent his family members away to another place of safety while he alone stayed at home and prepared a nice dinner. Soon, battle cries were heard and the rebels soon came carrying weapons. One rebel broke down Chen's door and Chen asked" Are you Wang Zhan from HeNan who was an orphan since young? I have been waiting for your arrival for a meal together!" This rebel was shocked that Chen knew his name and replied "Yes, I am." " If yes then come in for a meal" replied Chen. Although Wang was bewildered he following Chen in for a meal. At the table Chen discussed about the appearance of Guan Yin in his dreams, her instructions etc. Towards the end of the meal, Chen rose up and knelt before him" I owe you a life for I killed you in another life of yours, Please kill me now so that the debt will be settled once and for all!" Wang urged him to rise and said" My parents died when I was young and I joined the rebels out of desperation. No one else except you have been so kind to me! I am tired of this life of killing and plundering and have longed to it up. You are my friend now, why should I kill you!" Chen was deeply touched and said " I have some money here, why not you take these and do a small business." Wang gratefully accepted and both of them then became friends for life.
Account 2
In 1922, there was a large earthquake in Asakusa Tokyo. Many building collasped and the whole place was set ablaze after cooking stoves were overturned. Many people were trapped by the great conflagration. Some tried hiding in the ponds in the parks but the fire which was fanned by the winds scorched them to death. Out of desperation, thousands began crowding at the Asakusa Kannon temple ²L¯óÆ[µ°ó which was built in the early 7th century by fishermen who found a Kannon(Guanyin) statue in their nets and built this wooden temple to house this image.
The people had no other choice but to pray from their bottom of hearts to Kannon. Many were chanting "Namu Kannon Bosatsu save us!"Miraculously, everytime the towering flames tried to burn towards the temple, another gust of wind would blow the flames back to where the flames came from. Many people also witnessed the physical manifestation of Kannon in the typical Japanese form, riding on the head of a dragon. Many thousands were saved during that catastrophic day. Today, this temple is famous as a tourist spot and the Kannon statue is considered so sacred that it is only revealed to the public once in many years.
After reading these two accounts, some might ask, can these accounts be attributed to Guanyin Pusa? Can they be due to other possible reasons? To this I would say, many miracles are almost impossible to prove using science as we know it at this period. But from the many accounts, attributing the miracles to mere coincidence or hallucinations is unreasonable. For example, the Japanese Kannon Temple is only a wooden structure and certainly would not have survived the fire which consumed even the concrete buildings! Divine intervention is then beyond doubt. In addition, people would be tempted to infer Guanyin as a female from the manifestations. This should not be the case. Imagine, if Guanyin did not appear as a typical chinese form but appear as the Four armed Chenrensig to Chen Wang, do you think that Chen Wang would believe what she wanted to say? The Bodhisattvas have to appear in forms that the particular person or group is/are most familiar with in order to make identification easy for the believers who are not familiar with her other forms. There are also many recent accounts during the 99 Taiwan earthquake, however most individuals normally don't reveal such interventions out of humility and other reasons pertaining to personal privacy. But I would like to stress again that the motivation of learning Buddhism is not for such miracles to happen. Miracles are given to those in desperate need and have the causes for the Buddhas to help them. Miracles are just a way of helping beings who have no means of helping themselves and to convey the message that the Dharma has much to hold for them.
The Memorial days of Guanyin
By tradition, Guan Yin has 3 dates dedicated to her. These are
19 of 2nd month-------------- Her birthday
19 of 6th month--------------- Her Enlightenment day
19 of 9th month--------------- Her Ordination day
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