Sahasrabhuja Lokeshvara – thousand armed Avalokiteshvara

This article is about thousand armed Avalokiteshvara (Sahasrabhuja Lokeshvara) – His legend, His iconography and how He helped His devotee.

Legend of Sahasrabhuja Lokeshvara – the thousand-armed Avalokiteshvara as per teaching of Bhavaviveka

At the start of His journey as a Bodhisattva, Avalokiteshvara made a vow before Buddha Amitabha: “I will free all sentient beings from samsara and will be their ultimate guide. May my head split and my body shatter into a thousand pieces if I ever get disheartened in rescuing them.” While this vow may appear extreme, it symbolizes Avalokiteshvara’s overwhelming compassion and unwavering resolve.

Avalokiteshvara then journeyed through all realms to liberate sentient beings from their sufferings. With immense efforts He completely drained the ocean of sufferings and sorrows. Upon His return, He reported to Buddha Amitabha that He had freed all sentient beings.

Buddha Amitabha gazed upon and advised, “Look once more at the world.” As He did so, He noticed the sentient beings in samsara, once again engulfed in sorrows. In this moment of exasperation, He realized to His dismay that it would need an eternity to liberate sentient beings from their sufferings. Disheartened, He lost Bodhicitta (enlightened thoughts) and His courage waned. True to His vow, at that very moment, His head shattered, and body broke into a thousand pieces.

Buddha Amitabha gathered the fragments of Avalokiteshvara’s body, granting it a new form with a thousand compassionate hands, each bearing the eyes of wisdom. He transformed Avalokiteshvara’s shattered head into ten heads and seated Himself upon them. He then invoked the courage and mental fortitude of Avalokiteshvara and motivated Him to start again.

Spiritual metaphors in the legend of Sahasrabhuja Lokeshvara- the thousand-armed Avalokiteshvara

The above “legend” is a beautiful tale with profound spiritual metaphors. Embarking on the Bodhisattva journey to aid others, it’s common to become disheartened by our incomplete Compassion and Wisdom. In such times, the guidance of an inspiring Guru or a spiritual friend is invaluable. They help us to rejuvenate and fortify our commitments.

On the Bodhisattva path, one inevitably encounters obstacles like occasional disappointments. We may either yield to these challenges and lose our Bodhicitta—the aspiration to help all beings, including ourselves, achieve Enlightenment—or we can surmount them and grow stronger, emulating Avalokiteshvara.

When confronted with spiritual obstacles, we face two options: remain perpetually weak and ensnared by the hurdles or overcome them and gain strength from the experience. Advancing forward leads us towards Buddhahood, while failing to do so results in regression or a spiritual impasse. Recognizing that spiritual burnout affects us all occasionally, let us act as timely Bodhisattvas to one another, offering support to recover promptly.

Another legend about Sahasrabhuja Lokeshvara- the thousand-armed Avalokiteshvara

According to another legend, Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara (Sahasrabhuja Lokeshvara) was once the third princess of the king Miaozhuang in India. The king had three daughters: Miaojin, Miaoyin, and Miaoshan. Miaoshan chose to become a nun at a young age despite her father’s objections.

This was intolerable for the king. He ordered to set the monastery where Miaoshan lived on fire. However, this resulted in five-hundred sores on his body as punishment for the sin of burning a monastery. Healing him required the eye and hand of a close relative, but his elder daughters refused. Miaoshan, on the other hand, willingly gave up her eye and hand, which healed her father.

Touched by her selflessness, Shakyamuni Buddha proclaimed, “For your sacrifice of an eye and a hand, I will bestow upon you a thousand eyes and a thousand hands.” Hence, Miaoshan transformed into the Thousand-Armed, Thousand-Eyed Avalokiteshvara, and her temple on Baoding Mountain became a sacred place.

Iconography of Sahasrabhuja Lokeshvara- the thousand-armed Avalokiteshvara

As we know, Sahasrabhuja Lokeshvara- the thousand-armed Avalokiteshvara, has thousand arms and eleven heads. The top-head represents Amitabha Buddha – the Dharamakaya nature of Avalokiteshvara. The second head from top is of Vajrapani – the wrathful Deity. Vajrapani’s presence helps practitioners in fighting against negative forces and overcoming obstacles on their path. Then there are three rows of three faces in white (Sambhogkaya), green (Nirmankaya) and red (Dharamakaya) colors. The three faces represent the three principal aspects of Buddhahood.

The thousand arms of Avalokiteshvara, each bearing an eye in the palm, represent His omnipresence. The eyes symbolize wisdom, while the hands denote skill; thus, the eye in the palm embodies the fusion of wisdom and skill. Avalokiteshvara, with numerous heads, eyes, and hands, perceives and responds to the sufferings of sentient beings, offering them aid. His thousand arms spread out like a peacock’s tail, fully encircling His body.

His body is white, and he sits on a lotus pedestal. The luminous gem in his hand epitomizes the supreme Bodhicitta and an enlightened mind, extending its benefits to all sentient beings and the antelope skin on His shoulder symbolizes His compassionate nature.

Story of Gelongma Palmo and how Thousand armed Avalokiteshvara helped her

Centuries ago, during the tenth or eleventh century, there lived a Kashmiri princess named Gelongma Palmo. She aspired to become a nun rather than marry. Her parents did not approve of this path, so she prayed to be stricken with leprosy as a mean to escape marriage.

At just twenty-five years of age, Gelongma Palmo noticed a small boil on her foot. This boil developed into a blister, marking the beginning of a horrific disease. The affliction spread and overtook her body with excruciating pain. Eventually, her feet detached, signaling the advanced decomposition of her body from leprosy. As leprosy is highly infectious, even her parents asked her to leave the palace.

Gelongma Palmo, confronted with a situation that many would consider a worst nightmare, did not succumb to bitterness. Instead, she cultivated bodhicitta, the enlightened intention. Consequently, during meditation, she experienced a vision of the Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara, who healed her leprosy and led her on the journey to enlightenment.

Tibetan Buddhist narratives teach that circumstances and our responses to them shape our experiences. Gelongma Palmo maintained complete silence throughout her ordeal. She faced her inner demons with compassion, and as a result, she quelled them. A year later, she effortlessly healed from her leprosy, like a snake discarding its old skin, through the blessings of the Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara.

References

Buddhist Deities and Masters – An introduction by Chandra B Sakya

The iconography of Nepalese Buddhism by Min Bahadur Shakya

The Indian Buddhist Iconography by Benoytosh Bhattacharyya

The Origins and Symbolic Meanings of the Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvar

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