The perfect Thousand Hands Kannon
The "Thousand Hands Guanyin" at the 2005 Spring Festival Gala touched me and moved the whole of China. It was truly a visual delight and a shock to the soul, and more than 20 young deaf actors performed the dance "Thousand Hands Guanyin" seamlessly and beautifully. When dancing, it is like a thousand hands Guanyin descending into the world. More than a decade later, when I look back, the scene is still vivid and unforgettable.
Since then, when I traveled around, I unconsciously paid more attention to the "Thousand Hands Guanyin" in various places.
There is a relief sculpture of Guanyin in Longmen Grottoes in Henan, which is more than 1,500 years old, and although it has been eroded by thousands of years and has been incomplete, its "thousand hands" are still clearly visible. This is an unvarnished Kannon that reproduces historical reality.
The Thousand Hands Guanyin Sculpture of Shuanglin Temple in Pingyao, Shanxi Province is more than 1,400 years old, brush off the thick dust, take a closer look, if it is not for the many arms stretched out behind the back, it will really make people see the Thousand Hands Guanyin as a beautiful and elegant young woman. Although it has been lonely for thousands of years and ruined by vicissitudes, its extremely affinity demeanor is still irreplaceable and can be described as legendary.
The Thousand Hands Guanyin of Xi'an Daci'en Temple is believed to be from a famous family, built by King Tang and Master Xuanzang more than 1350 years ago. The statue has long been dilapidated, but people now see that it is a renovated Guanyin, exquisite and beautiful. The view is fascinating, like a dream back to the Great Tang.
The Thousand Hands Guanyin carved in Dazu Stone in Chongqing was built in the late Tang Dynasty, more than 1,100 years ago. The general statue of Thousand Hands Guanyin has only 42 hands, but the Dazu stone carved Thousand Hands Guanyin has 1007 hands, and the thousand hands are arranged in several layers in a fan shape, like a peacock opening the screen, which is very spectacular. This is really very rare, this is the "Thousand Hands" Guanyin! Our ancestors really had the foresight and created the Guinness World Record for "statues with the most hands" more than a thousand years ago.
The bronze-cast Thousand Hands Guanyin of the Great Compassion Pavilion of Longxing Temple in Zhengding, Hebei Province, is also more than 1,000 years old, built by Song Taizu, and is 21.3 meters high, benevolent and solemn, and awe-inspiring. Because the bronze statue is so tall, those who come to bow down can only look up from afar.
The portrait of Guanyin with a thousand hands and a thousand eyes in Cave 3 of the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang is a masterpiece of mural, with very smooth lines and elasticity, and the painting is magical, which can be described as a peerless work.
The Thousand Hands Guanyin of Puning Temple in Chengde, Hebei Province, was built in the Qianlong era of the Qing Dynasty, more than 260 years ago, and the Great Buddha is 27.21 meters high, and it is said that it was carved from a large elm tree. This gold-lacquered wood carved Buddha has a well-proportioned body and smooth lines, which is an outstanding work of mainland wood carving art, and is also the world's largest wood-carved Buddha statue, which has been included in the Guinness Book of the World.
There are many statues of Guanyin with different characteristics on the mainland, whether they are stone carvings, clay sculptures, paintings, copper casts or wood carvings, which still radiate brilliant brilliance through thousands of years.
The full name of the Thousand Hands Guanyin is "The Bodhisattva of the Thousand Hands and Thousand Eyes Guanyin", and the thousand hands symbolize its boundless magic power and can save all sentient beings; A thousand eyes symbolize their infinite wisdom and discernment. According to Buddhism, as long as one sincerely believes in the Thousand Hands Avalokiteshvara, there are four major benefits, such as "resting calamity", "gaining", "respecting", and "surrendering". Therefore, where there is a thousand hands of Guanyin, incense is constantly burning and pilgrims are flowing.
Of course, there are many sages and gods that people often worship, such as Wen worshiping Confucius, going to the Temple of Literature to seek the dragon gate and become an official knight; Wu worshiped Guan Gong, went to Guandi Temple to ask for the god of martial wealth, and recruited wealth into treasures; There are also going to the Dragon King Temple to ask for smooth weather and rain, and to the Daxiong treasure hall of various temples to ask Buddha Shakyamuni for blessings and peace and so on. These great gods and great Buddhas are awe-inspiring and admired, and compared with these great gods and great Buddhas, Guanyin is the closest to the common people, and the Thousand Hands Guanyin is also the most artistic.