The Goddess Companion

If I were adrift upon the ocean

with demons and dragons all around,

I would think of sweet Kuan-Yin

and the angry waters would subside.

  

If I were trapped within a furnace

as hot as hell’s own blazes,

I would think of Kuan-Yin’s power,

and the flames would turn to water.

  

If enemies pursued me, if I were thrown

from a high mountain peak, if knives

were raised against me, if I were imprisoned

or beset by beasts, I would call on her.

  

Her pity shields me from the lightning.

Her compassion is like a cloud around me,

which rains down sweetness and

puts out the fires of my sorrow.

~Chinese Prayer To Kuan-Yin

  

In China, this is the birthday of the great bodhisattva (near Buddha) Kuan-Yin, “she who hears the cries of the weeping world.” Born a human girl named Miao Shan, she earned enlightenment but refused it out of compassion for those who remained unenlightened here on earth. She will not, it is said, move into true Buddhahood so long as there is even one living being who has not seen the light of truth.

 

We can call out to her, Chinese tradition says, merely by uttering her name. The holy name of Kuan-Yin is the greatest protection we have against anything that threatens us. Or, put another way: recognition of the goddess’light, which shines throughout creation, is our greatest source of strength.

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By Patricia Monaghan