Finding The Goddess
the Power of the Female in Eastern Traditions by Helena A. Cochrane In Singapore, temples were built in veneration of goddesses by newly arrived immigrants. Praying to the goddesses helped connect them to their homeland. The temples were also a crucial part in establishing a community in the immigrants’ new world. In the mythology and origins of Asian goddesses, some important features are repeated. The goddesses are compassionate and modest, yet brimming with creative power that overtakes gender stereotypes of passivity. China: Guan Yin, goddess of mercy and compassion, is a bodhisattva (a Buddha in training) striving in all ways to find enlightenment, and at times shown as an avatar of (the male) Avalokiteshvara, who in his turn sympathizes with and protects devotees. The impermanence of Guan Yin’s gender adds to her popularity among Buddhists. Lian Shan Shuang Lin Monastery in Toa Payoh houses an 11 meter-high figure of Guan Yin with multiple (1,000!) powerful nimble hands.
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Tibet and India's Tara
In both Eastern and Western cultures, religion and mythology recognize the power of the female. In religious arts and literature, women have been revered as mothers, spouses, sisters, aunts or daughters. To some degree, every culture has a ritual or time set aside to venerate the Mother figure: she is the giver of life, the protector, the merciful, and the one who sacrifices herself as a gesture of love. The Christian Virgin Mother Mary is the paragon of selfless and powerful love. In Asia, the devout implore goddesses to intervene on their behalf when troubles surround them. Hindu and Buddhist traditions revere goddesses whose power stems from their primordial feminine, creative, and reproductive abilities. The Buddhist teaching of reincarnation allows transformation of a goddess’s form, or even gender, allowing her to give even greater aid to those who seek her help. The stories featuring these goddesses offer insight into the daily lives and complications that the people of Asia have traditionally faced: seeding and harvesting, birthing and raising children, navigating the open seas and also navigating the daily household transactions in order to survive. China's Guan Yin 6
AWA Magazine May/June 2022
