DESCRIPTIONS:

Sahasrabhuja Avalokitesvara is a another form from of Avalokitesvara. The basic image is one with eleven-heads and eight arms. Before the time of Immeasurable Tribulation, Avalokitesvara was already a bodhisattva who had dedicated his life to bringing all sentient beings to enlightenment. After a long period of time, he discovered that no matter how much he worked, sentient beings in the six realms of samsara continued to suffer. At this time, Guanyin redoubled his resolve and made a vow: "I should save all sentient beings. If I break this vow, may my body shatter into a thousand pieces!" After the Guanyin Bodhisattva experienced countless efforts and failures, his head broke into ten pieces and the body split into a thousand pieces. At this time, Amitabha Buddha appeared, and due to the strength of Guanyin's wish, transformed the thousands of pieces of Guanyin Bodhisattva into the incarnation of a thousand hands and a thousand eyes, fusing the ten pieces of his head to make eleven faces. In the Sahasrabhuja Avalokitesvara, however, some arms have more prominent position and other remaining ones are distributed on either side to form a mandala - every hand have one eyes epresenting great compassion. The eleventh head at the top is that of his master buddha, Amitabha. The tenth head is terrifying and all others are placid. The principal pair of arms are in the position of adoration while the uppermost hands hold the rosary and the full blown lotus. These four hands thus represent the aspect of the bodhisattva knows as kharchheri. The other four hands display the jewel and the gesture of charity on the right, and the pot and the bow arrow on the left.