Silver-tone Jade Guan Yin Pendant Necklace
Materials: Jade
Chain: .925 Silver Plated
Length: 18"
Gift Boxed!
"Guanyin is the bodhisattva associated with compassion as venerated by East Asian Buddhists, usually as a female. The name Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin which means "Observing the Sounds (or Cries) of the World". She is also sometimes referred to as Guanyin Pusa (simplified Chinese: 观音菩萨; pinyin: Guānyīn Púsà; Wade–Giles: Kuan-yin Pu-sah; literally "Bodhisattva Guanyin"). Some Buddhists believe that when one of their adherents departs from this world, they are placed by Guanyin in the heart of a lotus then sent home to the western pure land of Sukhāvatī.
Due to the devotional popularity of Guanyin in East Asia, she is known by many names, most of which are simply the localized pronunciations of "Guanyin" or "Guanshiyin":
- In China Guanshiyin, changed to Guanyin due to the unacceptability of the original under the naming taboo of Emperor Gaozong of Tang.
- In Japanese, Guanyin is pronounced Kannon (観音), occasionally Kan'on, or more formally Kanzeon (観世音, the same characters as Guanshiyin); the spelling Kwannon, based on a pre-modern pronunciation, is sometimes seen.
- In Korean, the Bodhisattva is called Gwan-eum (관음) or Gwanse-eum (관세음).
- In Thai, the name is called Kuan Eim (กวนอิม) or Phra Mae Kuan Eim (พระแม่กวนอิม) due in part to the influence of the Chinese Thai population.
- In Vietnamese, the name is Quan Âm or Quán Thế Âm.
- In Hong Kong and Guangdong Province the name is pronounced Kwun Yum or Kun Yum in the Cantonese language.
- In Indonesian, the name is Kwan Im or Dewi Kwan Im referring the word Dewi as Devi or Goddess. She is also called Mak Kwan Im referring the word Mak as Mother.
- In these same countries, especially Japan, the variants Kanjizai ( 観自在) and Kanzejizai (観世自在) are also found in the Heart Sutra, among other sources. Within Tibetan Buddhism, she is Tārā, a Bodhisattva of compassion and action. She is the female aspect of Avalokitesvara (Chenrezig)."
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guanyin
