Discovering Kwan Yin, Buddhist Goddess of Compassion - Hardcover

Boucher, Sandy

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0807013404 ISBN 13: 9780807013403

Publisher: Beacon Pr, 1999

Synopsis

In this lovely illustrated volume, the author recounts stories of the goddes Kwan Yin, a bodhisattva (one who delays her own full enlightenment to work for the liberation of all beings), and explains Kwan Yin's role in Buddhism. At the same time, Boucher provides meditations, chants, and prayers devised by the Buddhist devotees of Asian and Western heritage so that all readers can participate in and even create their own rituals.

About this title

Review:

On one end of the spectrum of Western Buddhism, we have the likes of Stephen Batchelor and his Buddhism Without Beliefs. On the other end, some people choose to preserve the gods of the East. Sandy Boucher, author of Opening the Lotus and Turning the Wheel, turns her attention to the phenomenon of Kwan Yin (also known as: Guanyin, Kannon, Kwan Um, Chenrezig, Avalokitesvara), bodhisattva of compassion. Kwan Yin as comforter, healer, and female exemplar has been adopted as a personal deity by a growing number of Western women, whether Buddhists or not. In Discovering Kwan Yin, Boucher meets up with many of them, evoking stories of profound encounters, life-saving rescues, and long-term guidance. The wide-open spiritualism of Boucher's search leads her to a diversity of images, places, people, and experiences: Asian-American immigrants, a Chinese island, an extravagant tattoo, a Fulbright poet, a pagan goddess mass. For those seeking a divine presence in their lives, and a female one at that, Discovering Kwan Yin is a powerful initiation into a centuries-old tradition of soulful devotion. --Brian Bruya

About the Author:

Sandy Boucher, a leading spokesperson on women and Buddhism, conducts retreats that combine meditation with writing, exploring the compassionate teachings of the Celestial Bodhisattva of Compassion, Kwan Yin. She is the author of eight books, including Hidden Spring: A Buddhist Woman Confronts Cancer; Discovering Kwan Yin, Buddhist Goddess of Compassion; Opening the Lotus, A Woman's Guide to Buddhism; and Turning the Wheel: American Women Creating the New Buddhism. She lives in Oakland, California, with her partner.

About this edition

• Publisher: Beacon Pr
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0807013404
• ISBN 13: 9780807013403
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 132