Customer Reviews

Bodhisattva of Compassion: The Mystical Tradition of Kuan Yin (Shambhala Dragon Editions)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
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This is perhaps my favorite book by John Blofeld. The stories of Kuan Yin are well told, diverse and moving. He strikes an excellent balance between philosophy, history, story telling, Kuan Yin meditation techniques, and personal devotion.

There are a few pages of b/w photos, of Kuan Yin, Tara and Avalokiteshvara, the pictures vary in quality. However, many of them I have never seen before and a few definitely inspire devotion.

The fact that John Blofeld lived and traveled in China, his joyous devotion to Kuan Yin, and his knowledge of the Chinese language and culture adds immensely to the book and puts it in a class by itself.

This is a wonderful book. It's become my favorite "bedtime stories" book. What I especially like is that the engrossing tales of personal experiences with Kuan Yin (as well as some with Tara) create for readers our own "virtual" experience of a Bodhisattva being as a reality; I feel I'm actually meeting Her, and I fall asleep in a very pleasant mood. I love many Buddhist books, but "Bodhisattva of Compassion: The Mystical Tradition of Kuan Yin" is certainly one of the most absorbing and intimate. It's often whimsical and sometimes funny. At the same time there is a lot of new knowledge to be gained here, especially for people in the West who may not be so familiar with details of who Kuan Yin is and how she is regarded in the East. Also, there is wisdom, and good discussions of universal Buddhist concepts.

Like virtually all reviewers, I really enjoyed this book. But I also feel people should understand what the work is, and is not. This is a description of the author's exploration of the worship of Kuan Yin across many different Asian cultures he's visited, and relating anecdotes from Kuan Yin worshippers about the boddhisattva. The question at the heart of the book and its author is, more or less, "Who is this figure, why does She impel such passionate devotion among so many, and is She 'real'?" While he dabbles in questions about the relationship between Kuan Yin and other Buddhist devotional beings such as Avalokitesvara and White Tara, this book is *not* an academic exploration of questions of comparative religion or socio-anthropology, so if you seek that, this is not your book.

If the rest of us "foreign devils", as Blofeld's friends refer to him, manage to inbibe even half the wisdom offered in this book, we'll be better off. His gentle, academically bumbling, tireless search for the origin and nature of Kuan Yin is something many of we rational Westerners can appreciate. I especially enjoyed the point that lesser path and greater path Buddhism are equal; one is not more "real" than the other. Kuan Yin is real as is the keyboard on which I type, as long as we remember that void & non-void are the same. The Chinese make no distinction...why should we?

This is the classic Kwan Yin book in English.Very interesting historical information. When the author peeks out from behind his scholarly facade, the book really shines.

John Blofeld's book is a scholarly and yet heart warming story about Kuan Yin. Through his knowledgeable and skillful telling of many folktales about Kuan Yin, he gives the reader a profound understanding of the nature of this Buddhist archetype and of Buddha Dharma. It includes some very nice black and white examples of artwork of Kuan Yin, Tara, and Avalokita, mainly sculpture.

For anyone interested in Kuan Yin, the Boddhisatva of Compassion, this is a very worthwhile read! It traces the cultural origin of Kuan Yin and her place in the cosmology of Buddhism. The book gives both an esoteric and exoteric view of her being, and how she is honored/celibrated/worshipped in central and southeastern Asia. Interesting personal anecdotes by Blofeld prevent this from ever becoming a dry, theoretical, work. Anyone who loves Kuan Yin and wishes to learn more about her will enjoy and profit from a reading of this book!
SJD

The late John Blofeld was a British convert to Buddhism who spent many years living and traveling in the Far East. Amongst Westerners who have attempted to educate the general public about Buddhism and Taoism, he is arguably the most entertaining raconteur of them all. He is a very skilled writer, and he succeeds in making matters of religion and philosophy come alive for the reader as personal questions.

What sets Blofeld apart is his ability to weave personal anecdotes in with philosophical exposition, historical narrative, folklore, and "how to" instructions in various meditative exercises.

Blofeld's task in this book is to explain who - or what - Kuan Yin is, and to put beliefs concerning Kuan Yin within the context of Buddhism as a whole. This is no easy task, because devotion to Kuan Yin - a female representation of Buddhist compassion and enlightenment - seems (for many Westerners) to be at odds with the fundamental Buddhist precept to "be a light unto yourselves."

As Blofeld traces the evolution of Kuan Yin from the male Hindu Boddhisattva Avalokita, to the female Tibetan Boddhisattva Tara, on to her Chinese representation as Kuan Yin, we see that we are dealing with what appears to be a figure of mythology and folklore, a creation of storytellers and artists. But not quite . . . Time and again - and Blofeld illustrates this with many personal anecdotes - Kuan Yin seems to manifest as an actual, independent being. Blofeld devotes many pages to this apparent paradox, and the reader will have to judge for himself whether the stated explanations actually resolve that paradox.

Expressed in various ways, the explanation is essentially reduced to the doctrine of One Mind, i.e., the notion that all of our individual minds participate in the universal One Mind, and that in this realm, ordinary distinctions between "real" and "mythical" break down. One would perhaps have to be enlightened oneself to firmly grasp this or experience it as a lived reality, but - as Blofeld shows - the mythic breaks through into the real just often enough to keep faith and devotion alive, and to pass these perplexing questions down through the generations.

Originally published in 1977, I read the 1988 print. To begin with an advise: Take care of the covers. Either they are highly responsive to bleaching in sunlight or to yellowing under pressure. Whatever the case the covers of my book are very uneaven now in accordance to the other books standing next / resting on top of it.

I am the absolute layperson when it comes to Buddhism and this review should be taken accordingly. I was interested in this book for the Mysticism hinted at in the title. Heaving read about Mysticism in general, primarily the Egyptian in The Mystical Journey from Jesus to Christ, I had just read about the Christian "German" mystic of the 13th/14th centuries, Master Eckhart and expected to compare that to some Buddhist mysticism. Extraordinary, how identical all religions get, as soon as myths and rites are dropped, considering the mysticism only. Which includes this book. However, the author is concerned with mysticism partly only and primarily writes about the myths and rites of female Kuan Yin. Who isn't a facet of Buddhism as such, but of an "alternative" part (the "Pure Land" teaching, without giving an explanation for this term), in some localities known by other names, such as Avalokita, who is considered male. The author doesn't really indulge all too much in the "gender change" - actually, he does, but not that deeply in a mystical way, where genders do not exist, but are considered an illusion. But then again, the author doesn't claim to overstand everything about Kuan Yin exactly and makes fun of himself, whenever he recollects his meetings with various holy people who do better. But even these have different concepts and answers. Which is a strength of this book: Someone NOT from "outside" would probably have written about their own ideas only and not given a variety of thoughts. It is also a personal quest of the author and well written as such.

For those who don't know, as myself before opening this book: A Bodhisattva is a "secondary stream of liberating energy". A primary stream would be called a Buddha. Yet, the book explains that deities are basically that what I-and-I (we) think of them. Ok, I am simplifying the message, please read the book instead.

Even though the book wasn't THAT much about mysticism, some aspects of it I found rewarding and hadn't read/thought about before in the universal mystic concept. That alone was well worth reading this book. Yet, you don't have to be a mystic to appreciate it. I had a hard time giving 4 or 5 stars, so I'll give 4.5, rounding it to five.

The best book on Kwan-Yin I have read.If you think of a better one let me know.John Blofeld has a very heart felt way of expressing his affection for the Bodhisattva.I was touched and learned alot.Take Care....