Rob Mani, Including Luo: Tibetan The Guanyin Faith Culture Studies

The researches of the cult of Avalokitesvara did not attract much public attention until the middle of the last century. When the Chinese government adopted an open policy and encouraged pluralistic views in religions, that helped to pave way for the popular research in the cult of Avalokitesvara, either studying it as a religion or an academic discipline. The study of the cult of Avalokitesvara in the Han culture has proved to be valuable in the past years. Overseas studies regarding the cult proliferated. It's importance the study of the cult has gained significant recognition and made itself an equal with the researches in Buddhism in the western countries. The enormous achievements in the respective academic research confirm that the cultural studies of Avalokitesvara in Tibet should be fostered and increased.This paper aims at examining the cult of Avalokitesvara in Tibetan Buddhism from a comprehensive and systematic perspective. It seeks to unfold the developments in the Tibetan ancient culture and the favorable conditions for its growth. This paper also reveals the facts why the cult of Avalokitesvara should not be just considered as a local belief but also a cult observed nationwide. Besides its roles as a religion institution, the impacts of the cult extend to the development of Tibet as a unique ethnic entity on the political, social and ethical fronts.It includes the study of the religious theories and practices of the cult, supported by an exclusive book of hidden treasures named Mani bkav vbum. It was believed that the author was the great Tibetan king Songtsan Gampo. Through a broad exploration of the localization of Indian cult of Avalokitesvara metamorphosed to a Tibetan one, it gives an understanding of how the Tibetan ethnic wisdom was inherited from its national identity, customs and traditions. It evidences that Tibet is an energetic ethnic tribe, open and eager to learn to enrich its culture. The Tibetans learn from the other ethnic groups discriminately to their own advantage, and such wisdom has been manifested in its distinguished cultural characteristics.The well known literature Mani bkav vbum covers a wide range of studies in the cult of Avalokitesvara which has preserved its academic value since a century ago. Overseas scholars have been studying Mani bkav vbum for more than one hundred years. It attracted a large number of academic followers. Now it is not only popular in the western countries, it also starts gaining attention among the academia in Mainland China. It is hoped that this paper will serve as a means to draw the attention of the local scholars' to the traditional Tibetan literature. This academic paper constitutes two parts.The first part is a review of the studies carried out locally as well as overseas regarding the Han and Tibetan religious cultures, with special emphasis on the latter. This paper begins by examining the emergence of the literature of the hidden treasures and its values. Furthermore, it investigates Mani bkav vbum from five perspectives, namely the "translation and introduction of twenty-one exoteric and esoteric scripture of Avalokitesvara","Origin of Mani bkav vbum and its connection with Avalokitesvara","Incarnation of Songtsan Gampo according to Mani bkav vbum' and "Merits of chanting of The Six-Syllable Charm" as well as "Practice of Avalokitesvara's esoteric sect of Mani bkav vbum ". These are the essential elements of the cult of Avalokitesvara.The second part is the historical development of the localization of Avalokitesvara by the Tibetan. It seeks to understand the worship of Avalokitesvara among the other ethnical groups. This part also addresses issues like the Fifth Dalai Lama's promotion of the cult of Avalokitesvara and his influences upon religious values, historical significance, political interest, and the national development. This research paper also includes the Tibetan origin and its relationship with Avalokitesvara, and how Avalokitesvara was once considered as a foreign god but eventually worshipped as a Tibetan ancestral god which bestowed the Tibetans with protection. Furthermore, it examines the dynamic changes of Avalokitesvara, how she developed from a religious figure to a political authority. As Avalokitesvara entered civil society, it was treated as a local god and became a worship of Tara. It explains why Avalokitesvara was not received as a female worship figure in times like the Han society. On top of this, the images of Avalokitesvara and Potalaka Palace, a well known Avalokitesvara temple, will be explored. The paper also examines the historical development of the Tibetan Buddhist shrine and the status of the Potalaka Palace, which epitomizes the wisdom of the labour class in the Tibetan culture.In conclusion, through integration, collaboration and evolution, the Tibetans did not only manage to preserve its national and cultural characteristics, but at the same time, had cultivated a cult with renewed transformation and a strong sense of nationalism:the Tibetan cult of the Avalokitesvara...