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Avalokiteśvara (Sanskrit, "Lord who looks down", , THL: ''Chenrézik'') is a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. This bodhisattva is variably depicted and described and is portrayed in different cultures as either female or male. In Chinese Buddhism, Avalokiteśvara has become the somewhat different female figure Guanyin. In Cambodia, he appears as Lokeśvara. Avalokiteśvara is one of the more widely revered bodhisattvas in mainstream Mahayana Buddhism as well as unofficially in Theravada Buddhism.〔 ==Etymology== The name ''Avalokiteśvara'' combines the verbal prefix ''ava'' "down", ''lokita'', a past participle of the verb ''lok'' "to notice, behold, observe", here used in an active sense; and finally ''īśvara'', "lord", "ruler", "sovereign" or "master". In accordance with sandhi (Sanskrit rules of sound combination), ''a''+''iśvara'' becomes ''eśvara''. Combined, the parts mean "lord who gazes down (at the world)". The word ''loka'' ("world") is absent from the name, but the phrase is implied.〔Studholme p. 52-54, 57.〕 It does appear in the Cambodian form of the name, ''Lokeśvara''. The earliest translation of the name into Chinese by authors such as Xuanzang was ''Guānzìzài'' (), not the form used in East Asian Buddhism today, ''Guanyin'' (). It was initially thought that this was due to a lack of fluency, as Guanzizai indicates the original Sanskrit form was actually ''Avalokitasvara'', "who looks down upon sound" (i.e., the cries of sentient beings who need help).〔Pine, Red. ''The Heart Sutra: The Womb of the Buddhas'' (2004) Shoemaker 7 Hoard. ISBN 1-59376-009-4 pg 44-45〕 It is now understood that was the original form, and is also the origin of ''Guanyin'' "Perceiving sound, cries", a translation furthered by the tendency of some Chinese translators, notably Kumārajīva, to use the variant ''Guānshìyīn'' "who perceives the world's lamentations"—wherein ''lok'' was read as simultaneously meaning both "to look" and "world" (Sanskrit ''loka''; ).〔 The original form ''Avalokitasvara'' appears in Sanskrit fragments of the fifth century.〔Studholme p. 52-57.〕 This earlier Sanskrit name was supplanted by the form containing the ending ''-īśvara'' "lord"; ''Avalokiteśvara'' does not occur in Sanskrit before the seventh century. The original meaning of the name fits the Buddhist understanding of the role of a bodhisattva. The reinterpretation presenting him as an ''īśvara'' shows a strong influence of Hinduism, as the term ''īśvara'' was usually connected to the Hindu notion of Krishna (in Vaishnavism) or Śiva (in Shaivism) as the Supreme Lord, Creator and Ruler of the world. Some attributes of such a god were transmitted to the bodhisattva, but the mainstream of those who venerated Avalokiteśvara upheld the Buddhist rejection of the doctrine of any creator god.〔Studholme p. 30-31, 37-52.〕 In Sanskrit, Avalokiteśvara is also referred to as ''Padmapāni'' ("Holder of the Lotus") or ''Lokeśvara'' ("Lord of the World"). In Tibetan, Avalokiteśvara is ''Chenrézik'', () and is said to emanate as the Dalai Lama the Karmapa and other high lamas. An etymology of the Tibetan name Chenrézik is ''spyan'' "eye", ''ras'' "continuity" and ''gzig'' "to look". This gives the meaning of one who always looks upon all beings (with the eye of compassion). 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Avalokiteśvara」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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