Thangka Image Appeared

Yutang Lin    



Don't say that a Thangka is merely a painted image,
With Buddha's blessing the image indeed appeared;
Instructing in a dream that it should be revered to,
And I am your Guru, the Bodhisattva Guan Shi Yin.

Comments:

Disciple Xin Ping comes weekly to bring me food supplies that are sufficient for a whole week, and she has been doing this for over six years. A while back while admiring thangkas hung in my altar room she expressed a wish to get one for her own altar. So I asked disciple Xiao Yan in Bei Jing, China to obtain a Four-arm White Chenrezig (Tibetan name for Guan Yin) Thangka for her as a token of my gratitude for her long-lasting efforts in making offerings to me. Due to busy family affairs she has since neglected to hang it up. Unexpectedly, last night in a dream the Guan Yin in the Thangka appeared to her and said to her: "Lunar September 19, the Memorial Day of Guan Yin's Renunciation of Worldly Engagements, will soon arrive, so you should hang the Thangka up, and I am identical to your Guru." After she woke up she immediately opened the Thangka to take a good look and found out that the appearance is indeed that of a male. She used to follow the traditional Chinese concept of Guan Yin being a beautiful female figure; but now she realized that Guan Yin was originally male. It is rare to have an inspirational experience wherein a Buddha image appeared to give teachings, so I recorded it truthfully here with the hope that it might inspire more faith in people who are interested in or already progressing on the enlightenment path.

 


Written in Chinese and translated on October 14, 2011
El Cerrito, California