PRELIMINARY MEDITATIONS FOR A

KABBALAH OF KUAN YINThe Bodhisattva of Compassion on the Tree of Life

by Dale Goodyear

d_good_year@hotmail.com

I am publishing today some comparative charts I wrote down, as a preliminary meditation toward a study of various

important Aspects of the Bodhisattva of Compassion, Kuan Yin which lend themselves to placement on the Western

diagram (i.e., Mandala) of the Tree of Life.

Later I will publish my actual thoughts on how they correspond, but anyone with sufficient knowledge of Kabbalah and

Mahayana Buddhist meditation can begin to find their own insights.

At this time I will just mention that I have placed the 10 Vows of Kuan Yin and 10 Hearts of Kuan Yin--both listed in the

Dharani Sutra--on the Tree of Life in a convincing manner (in other words, they really do correspond).

I have also placed the 11 Faces/10 Perfections of Kuan Yin on the Tree. (I used an older translation of the Paramitas or

Perfections when I wrote this out; consult my essay on the 11 Faces and 10 Perfections for other important translations of

these.)

In my placement, the 10 Vows, 10 Hearts, and 11 Faces of Kuan Yin all rise up the Tree from Malkhut (Kingdom) to Keter

(Crown).

I have also included a first chart for understanding the 81 aspects of Kuan Yin's Saving Power in relation to the Tree of Life.

I have also successfully placed the foundational 10 Vows or Aspirations of Samantabhadra on the Tree. In this case,

however, they most naturally go down the Tree, descending from Keter to Malkhut. I do not consider this an accident or an

aberration, but I'll go into more detail when I write explanatory text for the charts.

For now, though, I've placed my (mostly) handwritten charts in this document, just for the record until I can write further.

Feel free to meditate on these correspondences in order to deepen your attunement with both Kuan Yin

(Avalokiteshvara/Tara) and P'u Hsien (Samantabhadra)!

Namaste,

Dale Goodyear

INTRODUCTION

The renowned and revered Bodhisattva of compassion, Kuan Yin, long ago revealed to certain

Buddhist sages sets of Bodhisattva Qualities by which we can become just like her.

This is the Imitation of Kuan Yin! apprenticing ourselves to learn to think, feel, speak and act as She

does, in order to deliver not only ourselves from ignorance and suffering, but ulimately all living

beings.

Two of these sets of her Qualities were written down in a short text called the Great Compassion

Dharani Sutra, which survived in Chinese translation.

These are Kuan Yin's 10 Vows and her 10 Hearts. I have written a booklet about the 10 Hearts from a

purely Buddhist perspective, which I recommend.

This number 10 is significant, for the West there is a mystical tradition of 10 Divine Aspects arranged

on a "Tree of Life." It is from the ancient Hebrew, and Jewish, tradition called Kabbalah.

I have long been interested in comparing Eastern and Western mysticism and meditation, and when I

decided to correlate the 10 of Kuan Yin's Vows, and Hearts, with the 10 of the Tree of Life, I found a

both intuitive and logical correspondence.

This is not so surprising, for the Tree of Life is said by Kabbalists to be a Universal Pattern. So it

doesn't matter that the Tree of Life teaching is written in Hebrew or Aramaic, while the mystical Kuan

Yin traditions survive in Chinese and Tibetan (both from original Sanskrit).

We will find that both the 10 Divine Aspects (10 Sefirot) of the Tree of Life, and the 10 Vows and 10

Hearts of Kuan Yin, are Maps that allow us to rise from where we humanly are to the highest and

purest levels of Enlightened and Liberated Consciousness.

There is another tradition of Kuan Yin separate from the Dharani Sutra, referring to her 11 Faces. It is

an incompletely recorded teaching, but the 11 Faces clearly correlate to the 10 Perfections (or

Paramitas) first listed in the accounts of Shakyamuni Buddha's past lifetimes on the Bodhisattva Path.

The 11th Face represents the integration of all the other 10. (Please refer to my essay on the 11 Faces

for more information.)

These 11 Faces, and 10 Perfections, also fit convincingly on the Kabbalist Tree of Life.

[A final Kuan Yin tradition--this one also from the Dharani Sutra--lists the 12 Treasuries, or Matrices,

which correspond rather to the 12 Zodiac signs beginning with Capricorn. You may read more about

that in my essay The Astrology of Kuan Yin.]

The great Bodhisattva of freedom, joy, right action and spiritual ritual, Samantabhadra (Pu Xian, in

Chinese) also revealed a Map for Buddhahood with his 10 Aspirations recorded at the end of the

Avatamsaka ("Flower Garland") Sutra, one of the most influential Buddhist scriptures ever written,

along with the Lotus Sutra.

These 10 set the matrix for all Mahayana Buddhist religious and spiritual practice. What a statement! it

means this powerful Enlightened (and Enlightening) Being sponsors all spiritual practice and activity

on the Bodhisattva Path. Yet so far he is relatively little known in the West, this wonderful

Samantabhadra who acts directly under the Dhyani Buddha Vairocana as his special Dhyani

Bodhisattva, whose name means "All-Embracing Good" and whose quintessential Vow is:

"May I purify an ocean of worlds,

May I free an ocean of beings!"

(Avatamsaka Sutra)

Now while the Maps of Kuan Yin's 10 Vows, 10 Hearts, and 11 Faces rise up the Tree of Life (so to

speak from "Earth" to "Heaven", from Manifestation to Spirit), the 10 Aspirations of Samantabhadra

descend, we might even say, pour down from "Heaven" to "Earth."

(Flowing, moving water is very important in Samantabhadra's mystic symbolism. See my essays

Manjushri's Brother and Bodhisattva of Aquarius for more information.)

I believe the change of direction, and of perspective, has to do with the Polarity between

Samantabhadra's Freedom and Kuan Yin's Mercy. Using electromagnetic language, Freedom is Plus

(+) while Mercy is Minus (-), when in relation to one another. So that direction of flow on the Tree is

reversed.

Finally, I have presented a placement of Kuan Yin's longer name KUAN SHIH YIN (or Guan Shi Yin)

on the Tree of Life.

These 3 syllables relate to the 3 Cosmic Forces that are taught both in ancient Kabbalah and ancient

Taoism, among other traditions. For example, in the ancient Chinese T'ai Hsuan Ching ("Classic of

Supreme Mystery"), they are termed T'ien, Ti, and Jen (or Tian, Di, and Ren), "Heaven, Earth, and

Man" ("Man" as in all Humankind, of course).

In Kabbalah, they are referred to by the 3 Mother Letters Shin, Aleph,and Mem--as well as in other

ways.

KUAN is Plus (Yang)

SHIH is Neutral (also the integration, and fruit, and field of Yang and Yin in play--both "Man" =

Human and "Manifestation" = World)

YIN is Minus (Yin)

So these 3 Forces form a total of 81 Expressions of the "Holy Spirit", Kuan Yin's Holy Spirit, acting in

the various levels of Manifestation and Action, both around us and in us.

These are 81 Transformations--therefore 81 aspects of Kuan Yin's Nirmanakaya, the "Body of

Transformation(s)" that is the vehicle a Buddha or Bodhisattva uses to act in the world and help living

beings.

The 81 combinations of Kuan, Shih, or Yin are Codes for these Transformations. Only Kuan Shih Yin

can show us what all their significances and blessings are. She will show us, teach us, as we imitate

her and walk the Bodhisattva Path.

Shortly I will add a separate explanatory section for each of the Lists, explaining in more detail the

correspondences between the 10 Qualities (or Vow) and the 10 Sefirot on the Tree of Life.

These 9 basic codes create 81 full codes of Kuan Yin's Saving Power. You can visualize them with the

Chinese characters for Kuan, Shih, and Yin; or use the romanized words (Kuan Shih Yin or Guan Shi

Yin); or use the initial letter K, S, and Y (or G, S, and Y).

What exactly all these codes are and what they do (i.e., what Kuan Yin does with them) are for a

lifetime of meditation and attunement. But certainly when we finally do attain Supreme

Enlightenment, we shall know! Meantime we can just scan them, meditate on them, and let Kuan Yin

apply them for our Liberation.

Eventually I will post full charts of these 81 codes of Kuan Yin's Saving Power.

SAMANTABHADRA'S 10 VOWS

AND THE TREE OF LIFE

While Kuan Yin's Hearts, Vows, and Faces travel up the Tree from Malkhut to Keter (from

Mother to Father, or Matter to Spirit),

the 10 Vows of Samantabhadra appear to travel down from Keter to Malkhut (from Father to

Mother, or Spirit to Matter)!

Maybe that's due to the Polarity difference between Kuan Yin's Mercy and Samantabhadra's

Freedom--relatively a more Minus or "Feminine" Polarity (Mercy) and a more Plus or

"Masculine" Polarity (Freedom) of Saving Power--causing them to flow in opposite directions.

1.To pay homage and respect to all Buddhas. [KETER]

2.To praise all the Buddhas. [HOKHMAH]

3.To make abundant offerings. (i.e. give generously) [BINAH]

4.To repent misdeeds and evil karmas. [HESED]

5.To rejoice in others' merits and virtues. [GEVURAH]

6.To request the Buddhas to continue teaching. [TIFERET]

7.To request the Buddhas to remain in the world. [NETZAH]

8.To follow the teachings of the Buddhas at all times. [HOD]

9.To accommodate and benefit all living beings. [YESOD]

10.To transfer all merits and virtues to benefit all beings. [MALKHUT]