Latest news with #Avalokitesvara
Yomiuri Shimbun
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Japan Emperor Visits Center of Mongolian Buddhism in Ulaanbaatar; High School Students in Mongolia Tell Emperor Their Dreams
ULAANBAATAR — The Emperor visited Gandan Monastery in Ulaanbaatar on Thursday during the Imperial couple's trip to Mongolia. At the monastery, which is regarded as the center of Buddhism in Mongolia, the Emperor saw the 26-meter-tall Buddhist statue of Avalokitesvara, which is known as Kannon in Japan, and watched the traditional Mongolian masked dance called tsam. According to the monastery's abbot, he told the Emperor that he prays for world peace while engaging in his daily activities. The abbot said the Emperor told him that it is a very important thing to do. A 10-year-old monk offered a bouquet of flowers to the Emperor. The boy later said that he is now interested in Japan after the Emperor told him to visit the country. Ahead of the visit to the monastery, the Emperor observed a Japanese lesson at Shine Mongol School, a private school in Ulaanbaatar. When the high school students there told the Emperor of their future dreams, such as becoming a physics teacher and studying in Japan, the Emperor smiled and said, 'I'm glad to know that you are studying Japanese with high aspirations.'
Malay Mail
07-07-2025
- General
- Malay Mail
After fighting over this Buddhist statue, Japan temple helps Korean counterpart in making replicas with 3D data
TOKYO, July 7 — South Korea and Japan's ties have a complicated history but a dispute over a 14th-century Buddhist statue only added to the pre-existing friction. According to the Korea Herald, the Kannon Temple in Japan handed over 3D data of the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva statue to Buseoksa Temple after previously fighting a legal battle to reclaim the statue. Thieves had stolen the statue from Kannon Temple on Japan's Tsushima Island in 2012 and taken it to South Korea. However, South Korean authorities had arrested the thieves and confiscated the statue, only for the local Buseoksa Temple to file a lawsuit claiming the statue had previously been stolen by Japanese pirates in years past. In 2023, South Korea's Supreme Court ruled in favour of Kannon Temple meaning the statue must be returned to them, which happened on May 12 this year. Kannon Temple's chief priest Setsuryo Tanaka had visited the temple yesterday and handed over a USB drive with the 3D scan data, said Buseoksa chief monk Wonwoo. Buseoksa had previously requested a scan be made while the statue was still in South Korea, only to be rebuffed by Japan. 'After the statue was returned to Japan, it stayed at the Kannonji Temple for a day before being moved to a museum. Feeling a sense of loss, the temple began to understand how deeply Koreans must have felt when the statue was taken from them. Moved by this empathy, they decided to share the 3D data with us," Wonwoo said in remarks to Korea Herald. What next? Buseoksa plans to create three copies of the statue, with one to be covered in gold leaf and kept in the temple while two more will be placed on display elsewhere. Weighing 38.6 kilograms, the Seated Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva is made of bronze and measures 50.5 centimetres in height.
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Dalai Lama hopes to live beyond 130 years, much longer than predicted
By Krishna N. Das DHARAMSHALA, India (Reuters) -The Dalai Lama said on Saturday he hopes to live until he is more than 130 years old, two decades longer than his previous prediction, following his assurance to followers that he would reincarnate as the spiritual head of the faith upon his death. The Nobel Peace Prize winner was speaking during a ceremony organised by his followers to offer prayers for his long life, ahead of his 90th birthday on Sunday, and as China insists it will choose his successor. The Dalai Lama told Reuters in December he might live to 110. "I have been able to serve the Buddhadharma (the teachings of Buddhism) and the beings of Tibet so far quite well," he said between prayers, clearing his throat now and then. "And still, I hope to live over 130 years," he said, sparking applause and cheers among his followers. The 14th Dalai Lama, already longest-lived head of Tibetan Buddhism, spent about 90 minutes at the prayers in his temple. The ceremony was attended by thousands of followers from around the world who gathered in the northern Indian hill town of Dharamshala, where he has lived since fleeing Tibet in 1959 in the wake of a failed uprising against Chinese rule. "We have lost our country and we live in exile in India, but I have been able to benefit beings quite a lot. So, living here in Dharamshala, I intend to serve beings and the dharma as much as I can," he said in Tibetan, which was translated simultaneously in English and other languages. China, keen to consolidate its control over Tibet, views the Dalai Lama as a separatist. Beijing insists its leaders would have to approve his successor, in a legacy from imperial times. The Dalai Lama has previously said that he would reincarnate in the "free world" outside China and this week told his followers that the sole authority to recognise his reincarnation rests with his non-profit institution, the Gaden Phodrang Trust. DEVOTEES STREAM IN The Dalai Lama is a charismatic figure whose following extends well beyond the millions of Tibetan Buddhists living around the world. He won the 1989 peace prize for what the Nobel committee said was keeping alive the Tibetan cause and seeking genuine autonomy to protect and preserve the region's unique culture, religion and national identity without pressing for independence. At the prayers on Saturday, he sat on a throne before a large statue of the Buddha, with dozens of monks seated in front of him. Marigold garlands hung from pillars as his followers and journalists crowded around the main temple area. Oracles and other figures, shaking in trance, arrived to pay their obeisance to their guru. Monks struck cymbals and played ornate long trumpets in honour of the Dalai Lama and others. The Dalai Lama said he prays daily to benefit all sentient beings and feels he has the blessings of Tibet's patron deity, Avalokitesvara. "Looking at the many prophecies, I feel I have the blessings of Avalokitesvara," he said. "I have done my best so far. At the least, I hope to still live for 30 or 40 years more." His birthday celebrations on Sunday will be attended by senior Indian ministers as well as diplomats from the United States, along with thousands of his devotees.
Nikkei Asia
05-07-2025
- Politics
- Nikkei Asia
Dalai Lama hopes to live beyond 130 years, much longer than predicted
DHARAMSHALA, India, (Reuters) -- The Dalai Lama said on Saturday he hopes to live until he is more than 130 years old, two decades longer than his previous prediction, following his assurance to followers that he would reincarnate as the spiritual head of the faith upon his death. The Nobel Peace Prize winner was speaking during a ceremony organized by his followers to offer prayers for his long life ahead of his 90th birthday on Sunday, and as China insists it will choose his successor. The Dalai Lama told Reuters in December he might live to 110. "I have been able to serve the Buddhadharma (the teachings of Buddhism) and the beings of Tibet so far quite well," he said between prayers, clearing his throat now and then. "And still, I hope to live over 130 years," he said, sparking applause and cheers among his followers. The 14th Dalai Lama, already the longest-lived head of Tibetan Buddhism, spent about 90 minutes at the prayers in his temple. The ceremony was attended by thousands of followers from around the world who gathered in the northern Indian hill town of Dharamshala, where he has lived since fleeing Tibet in 1959 in the wake of a failed uprising against Chinese rule. "We have lost our country and we live in exile in India, but I have been able to benefit beings quite a lot. So, living here in Dharamshala, I intend to serve beings and the dharma as much as I can," he said in Tibetan, which was translated simultaneously in English and other languages. China, keen to consolidate its control over Tibet, views the Dalai Lama as a separatist. Beijing insists its leaders would have to approve his successor, in a legacy from imperial times. The Dalai Lama has previously said that he would reincarnate in the "free world" outside China and this week told his followers that the sole authority to recognize his reincarnation rests with his non-profit institution, the Gaden Phodrang Trust. The Dalai Lama is a charismatic figure whose following extends well beyond the millions of Tibetan Buddhists living around the world. He won the 1989 peace prize for what the Nobel committee said was keeping alive the Tibetan cause and seeking genuine autonomy to protect and preserve the region's unique culture, religion and national identity without pressing for independence. At the prayers on Saturday, he sat on a throne before a large statue of the Buddha, with dozens of monks seated in front of him. Marigold garlands hung from pillars as his followers and journalists crowded around the main temple area. Oracles and other figures, shaking in trance, arrived to pay their obeisance to their guru. Monks struck cymbals and played ornate long trumpets in honor of the Dalai Lama and others. The Dalai Lama said he prays daily to benefit all sentient beings and feels he has the blessings of Tibet's patron deity, Avalokitesvara. "Looking at the many prophecies, I feel I have the blessings of Avalokitesvara," he said. "I have done my best so far. At the least, I hope to still live for 30 or 40 years more." His birthday celebrations on Sunday will be attended by senior Indian ministers as well as diplomats from the United States, along with thousands of his devotees.
Hindustan Times
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
How Dalai Lama's spiritual lineage makes him an icon for LGBTQ community: Queer Buddhist sociologist writes
The spiritual persona of the Dalai Lama can well be considered an icon for gender fluidity, a top researcher at an Australian university has theorised. Stephen Kerry underlines that the Dalai Lama, one of the top temporal heads in Buddhism, is considered the manifestation of Avalokitesvara, the godly being 'who hears the cries of the world'. The 14th and current Dalai Lama, seen here in Paris in 1989, is considered the manifestation of Avalokitesvara, the godly being 'who hears the cries of the world'.(AFP File) Known as Chenrezig in Tibet, Guanyin in China, and Kannon or Kanzeon in Japan, Avalokitesvara originated in India as a man, but can be depicted as either a man, woman, or non-binary being in religious iconography. This gender fluidity has led to them being revered as a trans icon in the West, writes Stephen Kerry, lecturer in sociology at Charles Darwin University. Conversation around the Dalai Lama tradition has grown busier since the latest and 14th incumbent, Tenzin Gyatso, turns 90 soon. And this has reigniting speculation over his eventual successor. In Buddhism, a bodhisattva (as is Avalokitesvara, represented through the Dalai Lama) is a person or representation who denies themselves enlightenment until all beings can achieve enlightenment. "Avalokitesvara appears to living beings in whatever form could best save them,' Kerry writes in The Conversation. 'I have spent the past five years investigating the lives of queer Buddhists in Australia. As part of this research, I have surveyed and interviewed 109 LGBTQIA Buddhist Australians. The words of these individuals, and my own experience as a genderqueer Buddhist person, reveal how the Dalai Lama emerges an an unlikely inspiration for individuals sharing a trans and Buddhist identity,' he adds. 'Effeminate and handsome' He also says that homosexual or non-binary Buddhist Australians are generally reluctant to disclose their gender identities to their communities, and may be told to remain silent about their identities. 'For some, Avalokitesvara's gender fluidity has been important for reaffirming both their queer and Buddhist selves. One Buddhist trans woman […] told me Guanyin (Avalokitesvara) had special significance for her. [She] spoke about Avalokitesvara travelling from India to China as a male, before 'transitioning' to the mainly female presentation of Guanyin over centuries.' Another individual from the queer community told Kerry about how he was fascinated by depictions of Avalokitesvara 'looking effeminate and handsome, with a cute moustache'. Not everyone agrees Some Buddhists deny Avalokitesvara's perceived queerness. Kerry recounts how a genderqueer Buddhist person told him about a teacher who called the theories 'just stories'. Kerry adds, though: 'Despite being a cisgender man who has been somewhat inconsistent in his support of queer people, the Dalai Lama, as the manifestation of the bodhisattva of compassion, is a possible spiritual link between today's queer Buddhists and centuries-long traditions of gender transition and fluidity.' Meanwhile, the controversy over how the next Dalai Lama will be chosen rages on. The 14th and current Dalai Lama has asserted that the temporal institution will continue after his death but his 'reincarnation' will 'not be chosen by China'. The Chinese government has said any successor will have to be approved by Beijing.
