Emulating the Aspiration of Guan Yin

In recent years, the emergence of influenza and the global outbreak of COVID-19 have created widespread anxiety and instability. In times such as these, it becomes all the more imperative to rely upon the strength of our faith and to place firm trust in the Buddhadharma. Through this trust, we may awaken to the understanding that impermanence underlies all phenomena—that all things are impermanent, without exception. The pandemic has served as a stark revelation of this truth, presenting us with a clear and immediate encounter with the transience of all conditioned existence. The global crisis has highlighted the precarity of life and the instability that marks our collective experience. Precisely in such moments, it is crucial that we ground ourselves in faith and pursue the path of awakening.

The more we are faced with suffering, the more urgently we must turn toward Guan Yin. What is Guan Yin’s role? The Bodhisattva is the very embodiment of compassion, committed to the alleviation of suffering in the world. This compassion is inseparable from Chan; together they serve the ultimate aim of guiding sentient beings onto the path of Dharma practice and toward Buddhahood. What are compassion and Chan? Compassion is the altruistic action toward the welfare of all beings, while Chan signifies a return to the origin—the cessation of wandering through the cycles of birth and death. Life, in its primordial state, is ultimately unchanging. Thus, we take the four immeasurables: loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity as the principles of living. In this way, join me on the path of Guan Yin, affirming unwavering faith, reciting the Great Compassion Mantra  diligently, performing virtuous deeds, and cultivating bodhicitta. This is the principle for guiding beings toward enlightenment: to connect through compassion and to liberate through awakening. These two, compassion and Chan are the essential practices of everyday life. Regardless of how pandemics rise and fall like waves, in every lifetime we must adhere to compassion and Chan, emulating Guan Yin’s aspiration to relieve suffering and transcend samsara. 

At present, many respond to new waves of pandemics with panic and anxiety, forgetting the aspirational power of Guan Yin and forgetting the Dharma practices that I’ve been teaching for decades. What are these methods? They are the three principles of practice: the Great Compassion Mantra, the Diamond Sutra, and The King of Aspiration Prayers.

The Great Compassion Mantra enables us to remain closely connected to Guan Yin at all times; the Diamond Sutra reveals the true nature of liberation; and The King of Aspiration Prayers gives rise to and helps us abide in bodhicitta. The pandemic, once again, reminds us of the nature of samsara—a series of fragmentary fluxes of change devoid of any inherent existence. Thus, we must exert ourselves in reciting the name of Guan Yin, the Great Compassion Mantra, and the Universal Gateway of Guan Yin. Live each day with the four immeasurables. Through the recitation of mantras such as the Six-syllable Mantra, the Heart Mantra of Buddha Shakyamuni, and the Surangama Mantra, we stabilize our minds. In the practice of single-pointed recitation and meditation, the mind settles—just as turbid water becomes clear—and our agitated thoughts find calmness.

In all circumstances, we must follow the footsteps of Guan Yin, guided by the Bodhisattva’s name, the Great Compassion Mantra, and the practice of the four immeasurables. In doing so, we will never feel abandoned or without reliance. By making this a habit, we free ourselves from being swayed by the instability of pandemics or external conditions, no longer surrendering our minds to be influenced by the fear of uncertainties.

Therefore, we must strengthen our resolve and wholeheartedly emulate the four immeasurables and the compassionate aspiration of Guan Yin through recollecting Guan Yin, reciting the Great Compassion Mantra, and incorporating the four immeasurables into our daily lives. By simply following the footsteps of Guan Yin, one will never be apart from the Bodhisattva. This is the very path along which I have journeyed, and it is my earnest wish that all practitioners may walk this path together and fulfill Guan Yin’s vow of “Only when all sentient beings are liberated, will I attain enlightenment.” In this time of pandemic, let us all diligently strengthen our minds, never regressing from the path of the Bodhisattva, and remaining steadfast in the teachings of Guan Yin and the guidance I have given.