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Life Lessons| Spirituality
A Buddhist Statue Taught Me About My Patterns of Pain
Empowered or Repressed: Which pain would you like?
I recently had a brief stay at a Zen Center that I had eagerly signed up for, not knowing a thing about the act of Zazen (sitting meditation).
I walked into the Zendo (meditation hall) and was transfixed at the sight of the tall statue I later found out was that of , the Buddhist deity of Compassion.
Being a walking talking questionnaire, I asked about this glorious statue and its various heads.
The Zazen meditation instructor kindly explained to me the significance of the multiple faces on top of the head.
She related that the faces signify the evils that exist within us and in the world. By holding them up for all to see, Avalokitesvara is asking us to give love and compassion to all of ourselves. In doing so we are able to rise above our tendencies, to finally become the Buddha - the Awakened one, who sits at the very top of the statue.
The shame I had harbored for certain parts of myself that I held so secretively to my chest burst forth in tears at hearing this.
