Mantra · Buddhist practice
Namo Guanshiyin Pusa
Homage to Avalokiteśvara
南無觀世音菩薩
Námó Guānshìyīn Púsà
The name of Guanshiyin — Avalokiteśvara as she is known across Chinese Buddhism, the bodhisattva who perceives the sounds of the world. Calling the name is the practice the Lotus Sūtra itself recommends to anyone in trouble.
Source: Lotus Sūtra, ch. 25 (Universal Gate); Chinese Mahāyāna devotional practice
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南無觀世音菩薩
Námó Guānshìyīn Púsà
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What the words say
Námó is namas, homage. Guānshìyīn is a translation rather than a transliteration: guān, to observe; shì, the world; yīn, sounds or cries — the one who attends to the cries of the world. Púsà is the Chinese contraction of bodhisattva. The shorter form Guānyīn is the more common name in speech.
Where it comes from
Chapter 25 of the Lotus Sūtra promises that whoever calls this name will be heard, and that chapter circulated independently as a devotional text. Avalokiteśvara is male in Indian sources; in China, from roughly the tenth century onward, Guanyin came to be depicted and understood as female, and is now among the most widely venerated figures in Chinese religion.
How it is practised
Recited on beads, in temple services, and at moments of fear or difficulty. Often extended to the Great Compassion Dhāraṇī for those who have learned it.
References
- Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra (Lotus Sūtra), ch. 25
- Chün-fang Yü, Kuan-yin: The Chinese Transformation of Avalokiteśvara (Columbia University Press, 2001)
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