The Wonderful Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra –

The Universal Door of Kuan Shi Yin Bodhisattva

The original name of the Sutra in Sanskrit is called Saddharma Pundarika Sutra, which is translated in Chinese as The Wonderful Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra. The theme of the chapter "The Universal Door of Kuan Shi Yin Bodhisattva is to praise all the virtues that the Bodhisattva generally possesses, and his magnificant power of compassionate salvation to all beings. Although there are thousands and thousands different kinds of sentient beings with different capacities, Kuan Shi Yin Bodhisattva can manifest and respond in the way that they need. This chapter is the twenty-fifth one within the 28 chapters of The Lotus Flower Sutra. It is a Chinese idiom: " There is Amitabha Buddha in every family, and there is Kuan Yin at every home." In China, it is well known to the common people from the bottom of their hearts that the great compassionate Kuan Shi Yin Bodhisattva can save them from suffering upon hearing their voices.

Kuan Shi Yin, also known as Kuan Zi Zai, has become the Buddha since the numerous Kalpas in the past. His name is Tathagata Who Truly Understands the Proper Dharma. In the past Kalpas, he heard of the vast, perfect and complete Dharani of the Great Compassionate Heart. In order to benefit all sentient beings, he made a vow of possessing thousand hands and thousand eyes and exercising the Bodhisattva's practices extensively. Right at the moment, the Bodhisattva obtained his perfect and complete body. Though Kuan Shi Yin Bodhisattva has inconceivable spiritual power, he prefers to appear in the body form of Bodhisattva with thousand hands and thousand eyes by his power of great compassion and vow, to protect and guard on the sentient beings, and to save them from suffering upon hearing their voices. He can transform his body in thirty-two ways in response to the respective body of the being that is taught and saved. He vows that whoever suffers from various affliction, and calls upon or hears the venerable name of Kuan Shi Yin Bodhisattva, he must be liberated.

The chapter on the Universal Door, part of the Wonderful Dharma Lotus Sutra, describes the great power of compassion and vow of Kuan Shi Yin Bodhisattva, and his wish to protect the proper Dharma. The Great Compassion Repentance was compiled and edited by Master (Zhi Li?) of Tien Tai School in Sung dynasty. The compassion and vow of the Bodhisattva is inconceivable, therefore, if one follows what is said in the chapter on Universal Door and the Great Compassion Repentance, and bows to Kuan Shi Yin Bodhisattva with respectful and pure mind, one can, apart from fulfilling one’s request in the Repentance Ceremony, learn the power of compassion and vow of Bodhisattva and become the Kuan Yin Bodhisattva with thousand hands and thousand eyes too.