[Buddha-l] "The Origins of Om Manipadme Hum"

[Christopher Fynn]

I'm not familiar with the book - but the conflation of Avalokiteshvara 
with Siva is common.

There is a beautiful white marble Lokeshvara image in a remote temple in 
Lahul district of Himachel Pradesh - Indian sadhus who go there call it 
Triloknath the Buddhsts call it Karsha Phagpa () or "Arya of Lahoul". 
Maybe due to condensation, tear like water droplets form in the corners 
of the eyes of this image so it is known to "cry". This image is clearly 
Buddhist - it is a four armed Avalokiteshvara with small Amitabha Buddha 
image in his crown.

Nearby is a Hindu temple with an image of Durga which Buddhist visitors
worship as Vajrayogini.

The famous Kadri or Kadrinath temple in Mangalore, Karnataka also has a 
  an Avalokiteshvara image crowned by Amitabha Buddha which is worshiped 
as Kadrinath or Manjunath - a form of Siva. According to one accuont 
this temple was  established by the siddha Matsendaranath /Machindranath 
who fled there from Kerala with princess Mangal Devi whom he had taken 
as his consort. (Mangalore is supposedly named after her.) This is the 
same Matsendaranath who established the famous Red Machhindranath temple 
in Patan and the White Machhindranath temple in Kathmandu which contain 
images of red and white  Avalokiteshvara.

see:
<http://tulu-research.blogspot.com/2008/01/82vestiges-of-buddhism-in-karnataka.html>

Matsendaranath is of course found in both the Buddhist "84 Mhahasiddhas" 
and in the lineage of the Hindu Nath sect. He was the Guru of Goraknath 
founder of the Nath sect.

More controversially, there is an online book 
<http://www.ambedkar.org/Tirupati/> claiming that the famous Tirupati
Temple (the richest Hindu temple in India) was once a Buddhist shrine 
and that the main image in the temple is in fact an image of 
Avalokitesvara. This book suggests that this temple  is the original 
Potala which was supposed to be located in South India.

- Chris





Curt Steinmetz wrote:
> I was looking at a fascinating blog ( http://jayarava.blogspot.com/ ) 
> maintained by one of Richard's co-religionists (in the FWBO), and I came 
> across a reference to a book on "The Origins of Om Manipadme Hum: A 
> Study of the Karandavyuha Sutra" by Alexander Studholme. According to 
> the book's blurb at amazon:
> 
> "This book presents a new interpretation of the meaning of Om Manipadme 
> Hum, and includes a detailed, annotated precis of Karandavyuha Sutra, 
> opening up this important work to a wider audience. The earliest textual 
> source is the Karandavyuha Sutra, which describes both the compassion of 
> Avalokitesvara, the bodhisattva whole power the mantra invokes, and the 
> mythical tale of the search and discovery of the mantra. Through a 
> detailed analysis of this sutra, Studholme explores the historical and 
> doctrinal forces behind the appearance of Om Manipadme Hum in India at 
> around the middle of the first millennium c.e. He argues that the 
> Karandavyuha Sutra has close affinities to non-Buddhist puranic 
> literature, and that the conception of Avalokitesvara and his 
> six-syllable mantra is influenced by the conception of the Hindu deity 
> Siva and his five-syllable mantra Namah Sivaya. The Karandavyuha Sutra 
> reflects historical situation in which the Buddhist monastic 
> establishment was coming into contact with Buddhist tantric 
> practitioners, themselves influenced by Saivite practitioners."
> [ 
> http://www.amazon.com/Origins-Om-Manipadme-Hum-Karandavyuha/dp/0791453901/ref=ed_oe_p 
> ]
> 
> I am a big fan of Siva - and I am always looking for sneaky ways to 
> co-opt Him into the Buddhist pantheon (if for no other reason than to 
> see the looks on people's faces at the very idea of a Buddhist pantheon 
> at all - let alone one populated with - horrors! - Hindu Deities).
> 
> Is anyone out there familiar with this book by Studholme? Or am I going 
> to have to actually get it and read it myself?
> 
> Curt Steinmetz
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