The Water-moon Guan Yin (水月观音)

[edenstrauss 3]

Hi folks,

I have decided to take the liberty to share abit more about the Water-Moon Guan Yin, which is known as "水月观音" in Chinese (even though this topic is not related to FS / Geomency). This is done in view of the overwhelming interest of RT members who had emailed me pertaining to the Water-Moon Guan Yin with her vase pointed downwards, as if pouring out the dew water consistently from her vase.

Based on an extract from a pictorial book "Namo Guan Shi Yin Pu Sa" as illustrated by Xu Mao Song, the description & meaning for Water-Moon Guan Yin (水月观音) is quoted as below:

"Water-Moon Guan Yin (水月观音) is also one of the transformation of Guan Shi Yin Pu Sa who contemplates the water whole heartedly.

According to the drawing from 'The collections of pictures & images of Buddhas', Guan Shi Yin Pu Sa is standing on the lotus petal which floats on the surface of water. She contemplates the moon in the water. According to the 'Copies of Buddhas Image', she is sitting on a rock in the water and appears to be in deep thinking.

But if we were to explain the meaning of her name, it carries the meaning like the saying 'In a thousand rivers, there appears a thousand moons.' It means that if the mind of living beings is pure, then Guan Shi Yin Pu Sa would appear in the heart, just like the reflection of the moon on the water surface."

I would also like to take this opportunity to share my own personal experience of how I came to worship Water-Moon Guan Yin (水月观音) in my home.

When I first got married, I fell in love with the Water-Moon Guan Yin (水月观音) statue found in a store near the waterloo street GY temple and bought it even though my hubby didn't really find the statue agreeable. But it didn't occur to me that the vase pointing downwards would mean anything bad. All my hubby's relatives complained about our choice of GY statue when they came in for housewarming of our flat.

Many friends even exclaimed that I was crazy to choose such a statue to be enshrined & workshipped at home. They claimed that the elderly folks said that it will mean that my marriage would be a very rocky one, wrecked with quarrels, fights, heartbreaks, dysfunctional & a total failure.

And aligning thoughts with superstitions, there is a saying that a downward vase would mean that the owners are giving away everything in their lives: money, health, opportunities, etc.

Yes, it is indeed a rocky ride for me & my spouse over the years but what we have gone through had only served to strengthened our marriage & our faith in Buddhism as a philosophy.

It is indeed a special affinity I have had with the Water-Moon Guan Yin (水月观音). I observed that Water-Moon Guan Yin (水月观音) possesed a very potent source of strength in "exorcising" one's mind. It is only when the person could clear out the fogginess or cloudy minds, that they could ultimately have a pure mind to attain true happiness in life & inner peace within oneself. And make prudent (i.e. wise) decisions in life too.

I'm both thankful & grateful to the Water-Moon Guan Yin (水月观音) for helping me to understand many things in life, assisted me in changing my temper for the better (although I still do get angry once in awhile) over the years. And with a clearer mind, not clouded by negative emotions e.g. anger, jealousy, prolonged unhappiness that ultimately led to depression, etc; I saw many things from a different perspective & am alot more peaceful, happier in person. And I started noticing things I don't in the past, like how beautiful & green the scenary is from the balcony of my home She has also helped me in developing great compassion & kindness, which I had been sadly lacking of since young.

She had also, in the course of great difficulties, made me understand the difference in b/w a religion and philosophy in Buddhism. The word 'Dharma' was introduced shortly upon achieving mind clarity & how the right motivation behind every good deed done is of paramount importance. That was so amazing for me

I was pleasantly surprised that many people noticed that my facial features had also altered over the years to a softer, feminine, radiant & happier face (without any "sha-qi"). And, I had been shown good graces by others when moving around. And I had been offered huge bowls of food whenever I place orders at restaurants or coffee shops - just hope that it had nothing to do with my chubby figure!

Anyways, my Water-Moon Guan Yin (水月观音) statue (carved out from white marble stone) in my matrimonial home had been badly weathered down (10 yrs of worshipping) and is beyond repair or polishing. I sized up that it had probabbly absorbed alot of bad energy as a result of helping me to "purge" out (the bad energy). We are ready to move on to changing her 金身 to work towards attaining enlightenment at the next level.

Still looking around for the right 金身, haven't found "it" yet.

P/S: "pai-seh" to post this religious experience on RT forum in view of a huge flood of emails related to Water-Moon Guan Yin (水月观音) which was first mentioned by myself under discussion thread on RT member, cjloh's "KwanYin statue". I apologise if any remarks/ comments written in this topic is viewed as offensive and seek all reader's kind understanding that this topic is not intended for challenging any differences in views & opinions pertaining to what's discussed. For purposes of sharing out of goodwill.

Edited November 3, 2010 by edenstrauss