Skillful Means

Thich Nhat Hanh in Plum Village, 2000

Skillful means in Buddhism are practices which promote listening deeply to others, understanding their suffering, and recognizing their different needs. Some people may need to appeal to the bodhisattva of compassion, Avalokiteshvara to assuage their pain and suffering. Others may simply need a compassionate listener to express their feelings. Skillful means enhance our social connections [...]

Avalokitesvara

Thich Nhat Hanh

This quote from Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh talks about Avalokitesvara, the bodhisattva of compassion. A bodhisattva is a being who forgoes his own enlightenment in order to help other beings awaken. “There is a Bodhisattva, whose name is Avalokitesvara, in Vietnamise we call her Quan The Âm, in Chinese, Quan Yin. It means: ‘Listening [...]

Bodhisattva of Compassion

Guan Yin is the bodhisattva of compassion. A bodhisattva is a being who forgoes final enlightenment in order to help other sentient beings to awaken. Avalokiteshvara is another name of this bodhisattva of compassion. In Vietnamese, she is known as Quan Te Am. He also has a thousand arms. These arms serve the purpose of [...]