Zen in Ten: Kannon Bodhisattva

Regarder of the Cries of the World

This beautiful illustration of Senju Kannon is by Seigaku Amato, a writer, illustrator and Soto Zen Buddhist priest. Seigaku graciously gave me permission to use his copyrighted image. Read more about him at: www.seigakuamato.com.

---

1. “Kannon Bodhisattva, also called Avalokitesvara in Sanskrit, is the bodhisattva who represents great compassion.”

2. “Kannon’s name means ‘One Who Hears All.’”

3. “There are many forms of Kannon in Buddhist iconography, depending on the forms of suffering that Kannon can address.”

4. “There are wrathful images of Kannon such as Bato Kannon, or Horse-head Kannon, who is a protector; Juichi men Kannon, the eleven-headed Kannon; and the Senju Kannon, the thousand-armed Kannon, as depicted [in the above image.]”

5. “No matter the depiction of Kannon, the theme is the same: the bodhisattva eases suffering with vast and limitless compassion.”¹

6. In the morning liturgy and for well-being ceremonies at San Francisco Zen Center, we chant the Enmei Jukku Kannon Gyo, which means “Ten Line Life Prolonging Kannon Sutra.”²

7. Here is the chant in Romaji, which is the Romanization of the Japanese language:

   kan ze on  觀世音
   na mu butsu  南無佛
   yo butsu u in  與佛有因
   yo butsu u en  與佛有縁
   buppo so en  佛法僧縁
   jo raku ga jo  常樂我淨
   cho nen kan ze on  朝念觀世音
   bo nen kan ze on  暮念觀世音
   nen nen ju shin ki  念念從心起
   nen nen fu ri shin  念念不離心

8. Here is one English translation:

   Namo Buddha!
   One with Buddha cause
   One with Buddha affinity
   Buddha, Dharma, Sangha affinity
   Constancy, joy, self, purity
   Mornings nen Kanzeon
   Evenings nen Kanzeon
   Nen nen through arising mind
   Nen nen not apart from this mind.³

9. Here is the translation we use at San Francisco Zen Center:

   Compassion!

   We venerate Buddha!

   All are one with Buddha,

   all awake to Buddha—

   Buddha, Dharma, Sangha—

   eternal, joyous, selfless, pure.

   Throughout the day Compassion,

   Throughout the night Compassion.

   This moment springs from Mind.

   This moment itself is Mind.

10. In a recent talk on this chant, Dosho Port “explains how it was that Kannon began as a man in India and became a woman in China, and how the Buddha also may well have had intersex genitals, and so we really ought to refer to the old Buddha with neutral pronouns. Awakening is, of course, gender fluid.”⁴

1. The first five quotes are from Seigaku’s wonderfully informative book, The Complete Illustrated Guide to Zen. Somerville, MA, Wisdom Publications, 2021.

2. Translation by Dosho Port Roshi. Visit his Wild Fox Blog to hear his recent lecture on this chant and learn more about the words “nen” and “namo.”

3. Ibid.

4. Ibid.