Guan Yin oracles?

General forum on the teachings of all schools of Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. Topics specific to one school are best posted in the appropriate sub-forum.
Post Reply
User avatar
cyril
Posts: 347
Joined: Mon Apr 18, 2016 5:47 am

Guan Yin oracles?

Post by cyril »

What do you think about those mediums and oracles of Guan Yin?
Are they faking taking trance and all that?
Can an enlightened being really take possession of a medium just like an ordinary spirit? And if they can't, then what kind of entity masquerades there as Guan Yin?



"You have to make the good out of the bad because that is all you have got to make it out of."
- Robert Penn Warren -
User avatar
Cyrus
Posts: 21
Joined: Tue Jul 22, 2014 12:38 pm

Re: Guan Yin oracles?

Post by Cyrus »

Tibetan Buddhist lineages have a long standing tradition of Oracles which are regarded as authentic mediums.
May I suggest this documentary about the Oracle that serves to advise the Dalai Lama on matters of both spiritual and worldly concerns:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQ1VvvrAILo

"Cloaked in secrecy for over 400 years, the State Oracle of Tibet has been a strange and mystical aspect of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. This ancient spirit, which has inhabited a succession of thirteen human mediums, advises the Dalai Lama on matters of public and religious policy. To witness the eerie spectacle of a medium entering a trance state and being possessed by the Oracle is to confront profound questions about the very nature of human consciousness.

With permission from the Dalai Lama that had never been granted before, The Oracle explores the ancient practice of consulting spirits."

__/\__
'If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.'
— Nikola Tesla
Fortyeightvows
Posts: 2948
Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2014 2:37 am

Re: Guan Yin oracles?

Post by Fortyeightvows »

cyril wrote: Fri Mar 23, 2018 4:40 amWhat do you think about those mediums and oracles of Guan Yin?
Do you mean the one in the video? I haven't watched the video yet. I know some a few who are very good at what they do.
cyril wrote: Fri Mar 23, 2018 4:40 am Are they faking taking trance and all that?
There is a difference between acting and pretending.
cyril wrote: Fri Mar 23, 2018 4:40 amCan an enlightened being really take possession of a medium just like an ordinary spirit? And if they can't,
Can/can't vs. Do/Don't....?
cyril wrote: Fri Mar 23, 2018 4:40 am what kind of entity masquerades there as Guan Yin?
If this is what is happening, I would guess that it is another deity, probably a goddess, who is identified as Guan Yin because of the mediums background.
How do you think Juan Diego's vision of Mary of Guadalupe would have been identified had it happened 200 before it did? Or if it happened in America today? Maybe it isn't really a case of masquerading...
User avatar
cyril
Posts: 347
Joined: Mon Apr 18, 2016 5:47 am

Re: Guan Yin oracles?

Post by cyril »

Fortyeightvows wrote: Fri Mar 23, 2018 10:30 am
cyril wrote: Fri Mar 23, 2018 4:40 amWhat do you think about those mediums and oracles of Guan Yin?
Do you mean the one in the video? I haven't watched the video yet. I know some a few who are very good at what they do.
Not necessarily only those in the video. But rather all those who claim to be oracles for enlightened beings such as Guan Yin. Far as I know, enlightened beings do not manifest through oracles.
Fortyeightvows wrote: Fri Mar 23, 2018 10:30 am
cyril wrote: Fri Mar 23, 2018 4:40 am Are they faking taking trance and all that?
There is a difference between acting and pretending.
Well, in this context I don't think there is much difference, really. Either the possession occurs or not. And if it doesn't, that means the medium fakes it regardless how you call that.
Fortyeightvows wrote: Fri Mar 23, 2018 10:30 am
cyril wrote: Fri Mar 23, 2018 4:40 amCan an enlightened being really take possession of a medium just like an ordinary spirit? And if they can't,
Can/can't vs. Do/Don't....?
Ok, then I reformulate: Do enlightened beings manifest through oracles and mediums the same way worldly spirits do?
Fortyeightvows wrote: Fri Mar 23, 2018 10:30 am
cyril wrote: Fri Mar 23, 2018 4:40 am what kind of entity masquerades there as Guan Yin?
If this is what is happening, I would guess that it is another deity, probably a goddess, who is identified as Guan Yin because of the mediums background.
How do you think Juan Diego's vision of Mary of Guadalupe would have been identified had it happened 200 before it did? Or if it happened in America today? Maybe it isn't really a case of masquerading...
That means you routinely invoke Guan Yin and you end up each and every time with some anonymous goddess instead. While I find that plausible, I'm still left wondering how would that happen.
"You have to make the good out of the bad because that is all you have got to make it out of."
- Robert Penn Warren -
Tiago Simões
Posts: 1102
Joined: Fri Oct 03, 2014 8:41 pm
Location: Portugal

Re: Guan Yin oracles?

Post by Tiago Simões »

That is Guan Yin the folk goddess in the video, not Guanyin the Bodhisattva.

No, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas do not communicate through oracles. Although I heard they use e-mail.
User avatar
cyril
Posts: 347
Joined: Mon Apr 18, 2016 5:47 am

Re: Guan Yin oracles?

Post by cyril »

Tiago Simões wrote: Fri Mar 23, 2018 10:52 pm Although I heard they use e-mail.
Yup, I heard that too.
"You have to make the good out of the bad because that is all you have got to make it out of."
- Robert Penn Warren -
Fortyeightvows
Posts: 2948
Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2014 2:37 am

Re: Guan Yin oracles?

Post by Fortyeightvows »

Tiago Simões wrote: Fri Mar 23, 2018 10:52 pm That is Guan Yin the folk goddess in the video, not Guanyin the Bodhisattva.
I wish I had a response to this.
Is this distinction your own or have others used it as well?
Maybe it's what they like to call 'a distinction without a difference'?
Post Reply

Return to “Mahāyāna Buddhism”