The Manifestation of Guanyin
A short interlude
This is a short story of my little miracle. Some will contest that this is not at all a miracle but a coincidence or chance finding. I like to always think of the incredible, therefore for me it was, and is.
What actually is a miracle? A blessing, an incredible healing, a meeting which can change one’s life course, or an unexpected event which comes along to reinforce a message. There are degrees of miracles, the great life saving miracle to the everyday miracles of providence, gentle healing, and incredible meetings with incredible people.
Often miracles just ‘happen’. And often appear in the most unexpected ways.
My little miracle happened quite unpredictably on one hot, short tempered day, not so long ago, in Woodbury Park Road.
My miracle is Guanyin
The goddess of compassion and of understanding. The Buddhist legend says she was born about two thousand years ago. Her family was royal from southwest China, and like many enlightened ones she ran away to devote her life to prayer and to helping those in need. Guanyin is the most widely beloved Buddhist divinity all over southeast Asia, with miraculous powers to help those who pray to her, or simply just ask. Guanyin has many manifestations and transformations and has passed through many Asian Countries. She is a Bodhisattva, and has also transitioned from male to female, and she might, once again, transition back to being a male.
Bodhisattvas are enlightened beings who have put off entering paradise in order to help others attain enlightenment. There are many different Bodhisattvas, but the most famous in China is Avalokitesvara, known in Chinese as Guanyin. Washington Education. China
The one I know is Chinese. She is also a she, and is Guanyin. She is everywhere in China, from homes to schools, restaurants, sitting in Feng Shui corners, enormous statues towering taller then skyscrapers, to tiny figurines that can sit in your purse. To be honest, I knew nothing about Guanyin when I lived in China. I guess I did not need to know. She is just here, there and everywhere, for Guanyin is a part of the Chinese collective consciousness - just like the magpie ('bird of joy’), ink paintings of bamboo, and soy with its 100 transformations.
Since leaving China, she has implanted herself in my soul and I have looked for her to place in my front room, facing the door to greet people. Yet, she had to be the right one. Not any Guanyin figure would do. And there are many you can buy online. I wanted a porcelain one, a gentle and ornate lady with a human face, one I could look into.
I started to look for Guanyin last year. I went to Chinese shops and antique shops. I hunted all over London’s China town, charity shops. High and low. There was no Guanyin which felt right.
So, I gave up thinking about her, and a friend gifted me a small, bronze Buddha, which I like. It feels kind in my hand, but is not what I was dreaming of.
One hot and grumpy morning in May, I was tired out with begging Violette, who is 3, to put her shoes on the right feet. I eventually gave in and we stumbled up the long hill we call ‘book hill’ as people leave books outside their front gates, going to playgroup, Violette with back-to-front shoes on and three books in her hands.
I then decided to wander down to the cemetery to visit my friend Philadelphia who I am making a film about. The morning was heating up, the cemetery serene, dressed in green, where last night’s rain had thrown such abundance of water that life’s-light literally shimmered through my camera lens.
After my ritual chatter, I usually go down to the other end of the cemetery to home, but today I tracked back out to the main entrance and turned right along Woodbury Park Road when I saw her sitting there on the neglected, corner house wall.
I shouted. “Oh my God!”
I stood looking at her.
How could I have not seen her?
She wasn’t there five minutes earlier. I had just passed this way!
Between the little plants growing so characteristically out of the cracks in the English summer-to-come-pavement and a thrown-away pot, my Guanyin waited with a bit of dirt on her shoulder, by a dustbin. This was exactly the one I wanted, and had even seen on the Internet, yet she had cost too much to buy.
An elderly man passing by told me absolutely I had to take her home, ‘or else someone will smash her to bits.’
She is home with us this past month. I feel she blesses the house and those who enter it. She faces the door. I feel happy when I look at her. She is my little miracle.
Kikou, a Buddhist friend, told me, Guanyin comes to you when you need her, you don’t go to her. Benedicte, another friend who was quite impressed by her, reiterated this sentiment, reminding me of Picasso’s quote: I don’t seek. I find.
Violette adores Guanyin, she likes to put flowers on her, adorns her with coins, and has put a metal bracelet around her neck. I have explained she is special, and for a 3 year old she is very respectful and careful with her.
But, there is no miracle with Violette, she still wears her shoes back-to-front.
Thank you for reading and sharing. Next month I am diving to Montreal, and back to a place I loved so much and which was my backdrop for not only my films but my life. The Saint-Laurent Boulevard and the Main Deli where the best smoked meat is made.
Have a great few weeks. Jeanne
Coming soon a Udemy course in “how to get started making your first documentary EVER”Have a wonderful week ahead as we are just around the corner from summer.
If any of you are interested in film production, scrapbooking and digital storytelling, go to my website at scatterflix where you will find tips for making your first documentary.
WOW! What a magical happening! I love this story so much, with all its mysteriousness. Thank you for sharing!
Such a sweet and uplifting tale just when I needed it. I am glad I FOUND you and your words. They feel kind in my heart.