The Divine Feminine in Buddhist Art - Essay Example

The Divine Feminine in Buddhist Art The twentieth century saw many social paradigm shifts, particularly towards greater diversity. One of the more profound social reforms in the West had been the redefinition of the role of women, from that of property or of subordinates to men, to that of equals with the same rights and benefits. It was therefore enlightening to note that under Buddhism as practiced in the land of ancient China, women have traditionally been accorded a position not only of respect but even reverence.

Case in point is Kuan Yin, the divine feminine, goddess of healing and compassion and a bodhisattva which meant enlightened (bodhi) existence (sattva). A bodhisattva is a being who foregoes or postpones entering Nirvana in order to come to the aid of others. Kuan Yin was encountered during the Module 4 cyberjourney to the video on the Thousand Hand Buddha Chinese dance (also entitled Thousand Hand Guan Yin). The dance itself was highly inspirational and embodies both spectacle and symbolism; the thousand hands represented the ready and willing help that arrives when one individual is in need of assistance, and the readiness of that individual to come to the help of others who may be in need.

Other than the technical exquisiteness of the dance, the allure of the beautiful young Chinese woman’s face at the head of the line of dancers was exceedingly serene, benevolent, and unmistakably, mystically feminine. Unlike the Western denominations where all images of God and their ministers and pastors were all men, Buddhism appears to look favorably upon the power of women. Kuan Yin herself is a transformation from a male Indian divinity or bodhisattva, Avalokitesvara (Yu, 2001, p. 419).

Unlike the male gods who are hierarchical, territorial and bureaucratic, feminine deities are domesticated, universal, untied to any territory, hierarchy or bureaucracy (p. 413). Kuan Yin herself is conceived to be unusually pure, compassionate and virtuous, but while she could have thus entered Nirvana readily, she was said to have deferred her journey when she heard the cries of suffering that emanated from all sentient beings, and was profoundly moved to help them, as she is still doing now (Boucher, 2000).

She vowed: “I will not reach final liberation until all other beings have been liberated” (Schenker, 2007, p. 1). Kuan Yin’s benevolence and compassion touches a chord even in non-Buddhists, who find inspiration in the various works of art created after her. The dance of a thousand hands is just one. There are numerous figurines and paintings depicting her in different poses, usually with her trademark nectar jar, and always with her serene visage smiling at the person contemplating her image.

In a sense she is the deification of motherly love, representing that which cannot be approximated by any male image, even that of a loving Father as the West conceives of the Christian God. She is a celebration of womanhood, not as equal to men on their terms, as modern feminism in the West strive to portray, but as men’s equal on her own terms. Rather than rush into liberalization (i.e., into a state of Nirvana), she chose to care enough, with a woman’s compassionate heart, to help others through first before she herself passes through.

Her being elevated to goddess by the Buddhist faithful is an act of embracing her femininity. Ancient Chinese art and culture rest upon traditional beliefs and customs, but what is traditional to the old civilizations are proving to be surprisingly contemporary and even radical to our modern Western civilization. Some of Kuan Yin’s statues have been dated c. 1025, centuries before the dark ages in Europe when women were treated as chattels. For all the disparaging of the ancient cultures by Western modernists who pride themselves on women’s liberation, it should be remembered that this East Asian culture, one of the oldest in the world, honored a female goddess, and her faithful believers throughout the region (India, Japan, China, Malaysia, and anywhere Buddhism is practiced) continue to call upon after more than a millennia.

References Boucher, S (2000) Discovering Kwan Yin, Buddhist Goddess of Compassion. Beacon. Schenker, D (2007) Kuan Yin: Accessing the Power of the Divine Feminine. Boulder, CO: Sounds True, Inc. You Tube (2008) Chinese Dance: Thousand Hand Buddha. Retrieved 10 September 2012 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZ78lPFMWTI Yu, Chun-Fang (2001) Kuan-yin: The Chinese Transformation of Avalokitesvara. Columbia University Press.