| Guanyin belief is the mainstream of Bodhisattva belief of Chinese Buddhists,in which,belief of telepathy to Guanyin has always been a typical example.In the system of Guanyin telepathy belief,Guanyin Bodhisattva who responds to the appeals of sentient beings is often externalized into many different forms of sacred symbols,such as the Guanyin classics,Guanyin images,Guanyin sacred abodes,Guanyin sacred names and Guanyin Dharanis and so on,consequently,various forms of Guanyin Telepathy beliefs formed.Among them,telepathy to Guanyin classics is derived from the worship to the Guanyin classics,and its outstanding feature is that believers will be satisfied with variety of miracles and amazing affects which appeared through the multiple specific ways of worship to classics,these worship ways were used for appeals to real life at the beginning.In these religious practices and the sequent experience,the telepathic interaction between believers and Guanyin Bodhisattva expressed as the telepathy relationship between believers and Guanyin classics.The sanctity of Guanyin Bodhisattva and its realistic salvation function can be realized with the help of the sanctity and magical effect of Guanyin classics.Through the study on telepathy belief of Guanyin classics,we may understand some basic problems in the Guanyin belief,which is helpful for us to understand the Chinese Bodhisattva belief and provide an important perspective for comprehensively understanding the Buddhism culture with Chinese characteristics.As the object of telepathy,Guanyin classics has experienced the change from the interpretation of the doctrine to illustration of telepathy belief.Interpretation of some classics with the doctrines of bless from Guanyin’s sacred power,receiving and guiding to the pure land,being aware of enlightenment and holding esoteric rituals and Dharani,and other classics between these,which supported the Guanyin belief system.In addition to the system of hermeneutic classics,the Sinicized Guanyin classics system of worships of divine power gradually formed.The core framework of this system is as follows:leading by the one sutra,interacting by two,supporting with all others and accompanying by apocryphal scriptures.The so-called "one sutra",refers to the Universal Gate that became the core and the main body of classics telepathy belief;The "interacting two" are the "heart sutrd"and the Great Compassion Dharani,that means the Heart Sutra and the Dharani especially the later became interactively popular following the Guanyin Sutra aka the Universal Gate.The so-called supporting sutras means that in addition to the three sutras,there are omni-directional supporting classics such as the Avatamsaka Sutra,the Shurangama sutra,the Prophecy Sutra,and the Contemplation on Infinite Life Sutra.The so-called accompanying apocryphal scriptures mean that a large number of folk classics about Guanyin such as the King Gao Guanyin Sutra which appeared and interacted with orthodox Guanyin beliefs.One of the preconditions for the telepathy belief on classics is the sanctification of Guanyin classics.The source of the sanctity of Guanyin classics is the mysterious power and extraordinary wisdom possessed by the bodhisattva,while the sanctification of Guanyin classics is the acceptance of the sacredness of Guanyin by the believers in practice and the various emotional expressions resulting therefrom.As far as sanctity is concerned,it mainly depends on the source,content and value of the classics.As far as sanctification is concerned,it is mainly reflected in three aspects of the believers,namely,the acceptance,inheritance and worship of the Guanyin classics.The foundation and the process of sacredness are the direct driving force of telepathy belief of Guanyin classics.As the first carrier of Guanyin Classical belief,Universal Gate stirred with the popular upsurge of classical study at that time in its early popularity.Through the study of the telepathy deeds of the Guanyin classics in the Han region during Jin Dynasty and Southern and Northern dynasties,it is clear that through their own religious practice,Guanyin believers are trying to prove that the Guanyin Sutra has irreplaceable sacred value in the struggle with the Lotus Sutra,the Vimalakirti Sutra,the Nirvana Sutra,the Avatamsaka Sutra and many other classics,thus in the era of divine worship and classical belief.Going side by side with many righteous hermeneutic classic beliefs not only expands enough social living space for the Guanyin Sutra aka Universal Gate,but also opens up a sacred path for the application of Chinese Buddhist scriptures.Shortly after the birth of the first Chinese translation of the Guayin classics,China fell into a fierce civil conflict between Han and any other ethnic groups.The human disaster caused by the so-called "Wuhu chaos" has made many helpless victims regard Guanyin Bodhisattva as their dependence to deal with life crisis,and the classics that interpret this dependence have also become sacred objects in the minds of believers.As a result,there are a lot of belief practices that recite "Universal Gate" to deal with various individual disasters brought about by the conflict between Han and any other ethnic groups.These belief practices reflect the integration of belief needs with the special features of times and belief trends of universal significance.The divided and turbulent Northern and Southern dynasties was also an era of extremely fierce political struggle,with complex grudges intertwined between different regimes and different bureaucrats.Facing with the life crisis caused by their political roles,bureaucrats at all levels also find it difficult to control their own lives,so they have no choice but to make a pious call to the Guanyin Bodhisattva by reciting the Guanyin Sutra like ordinary people.This practice way of Guanyin Sutra telepathy belief bears witnesses to the complete convergence of the basic human needs of different social strata and the consistency of belief choices inspired by the common needs,and also reflects the universality of Guanyin Sutra telepathy belief,as well as the extensive and profound social foundation obtained from it.The basic structure of ancient Chinese society is the isomorphism of family and country,which is reflected in individual life.In addition to the grand ideals such as loyalty to the monarch and patriotism and the mission of the world,family life as the lowest level has always been the social foundation and emotional destination of the Chinese people.Through the telepathy deeds of the Guanyin classics,we may study on many perplexities and crises in the family life in Han region of the ancient China,and deeply understood many problems and the yearnings for a bright future by the Chinese people in that era in terms of family integrity,generation continuity,life and health,household harmony,and yearning for the afterlife.These belief practices link the daily life with the Guanyin classics,which reflects the secular basis of the sacred belief,and also shows that the Guanyin classic telepathy belief has gone deep into the depths of people’s daily life.Through the discussion of the telepathy belief in Guanyin classics through the four aspects in Han region from last half of third century to late sixth Century,we may deeply understand the intertwined relationship between sanctity and secularity contained in the telepathy belief in Guanyin classics,such as the sanctity of the Guanyin classics as the object of belief and the secularity of the believers,the sanctity of practicing ways of worshiping the classics and the secularity of the motivation to accept the classics.The sanctity of the main force(Guanyin divine power)mobilized by worshiping Guanyin classics and the secularity of the auxiliary forces such as benevolence,filial piety,building a temple,giving,holding precepts,etc.;the sanctity and manifest of Guanyin divine power and the secularity in docking suffering.In this connection between sanctity and secular life,the core issues of religious beliefs,such as rationality and ultra-rationality,human world and superior world,are clearly revealed.From this,it is not difficult to find the important position of Guanyin classic telepathy belief in the Guanyin belief as well as in the whole Buddhist belief and Buddhism culture. |
