Thursday, March 4, 2010

The Jeweled Hall of Ten Thousand Buddhas

The Jeweled Hall of Ten Thousand Buddhas at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, situated in Talmage, Mendocino County, California, USA. The city was founded by Master Hsuan Hua. Constructed in 1982, the Jeweled Hall is adorned with streamers, banners, lamps and a 20-foot (6 m) statue of a thousand-handed Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva. The walls of the hall are adorned with 10,000 images of the Buddha molded by Master Hsuan Hua himself.

Avalokitesvara is a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas, and one of the most revered bodhisattvas in mainstream Mahayana Buddhism. In China, Avalokitesvara is often depicted in a female form known as Guan Yin. In India, Avalokitesvara is also referred to as Padmapani, Lokesvara or Tara. In Tibetan, Avalokitesvara is known as Chenrezig, and is said to be incarnated in the Dalai Lama, the Karmapa and other high Lamas. In Mongolia, he is called Megjid Janraisig or Xongsim Bodisadva.

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