Bodhisattva Lokesvara Transformed into Siva at the Guimet Museum, Paris

Avalokiteśvara is a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. This bodhisattva is variably depicted and described and is portrayed in different cultures as either female or male. In Chinese Buddhism Avalokiteśvara has become the somewhat different female figure Guanyin. In Cambodia, he appears asLokeśvara. Avalokiteśvara is one of the more widely revered bodhisattvas in mainstream Mahayana Buddhism, as well as unofficially in Theravada Buddhism. In the Tibetan tradition, Avalokiteśvara is seen as arising from two sources. One is the relative source, where in a previous eon (kalpa) a devoted, compassionate Buddhist monk became a bodhisattva, transformed in the present kalpa into Avalokiteśvara. That is not in conflict, however, with the ultimate source, which is Avalokiteśvara as the universal manifestation of compassion. The bodhisattva is viewed as the anthropomorphised vehicle for the actual deity, serving to bring about a better understanding of Avalokiteśvara to humankind. Tibetan traditions assert that Avalokiteśvara is actually the Brahma that convinced Sakyamuni Buddha to teach rather than stay in seclusion after his enlightenment. He then became one of the two major disciples of the Buddha from the Deva realms. The other was Indra, King of the Gods, who became known as Vajrapani. This object is part of Scan The World. Scan the World is a non-profit initiative introduced by MyMiniFactory, through which we are creating a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks and landmarks from across the globe for the public to access for free. Scan the World is an open source, community effort, if you have interesting items around you and would like to contribute, email [e-mail] to find out how you can help.观自在菩萨（Avalokiteśvara）是集一切佛陀之慈悲于一体的菩提萨埵（bodhisattva，简称菩萨）。该菩萨的造像与叙事描述因文化语境而异，在不同文明中分别被呈现为男性或女性身相。在中国佛教体系中，观自在菩萨演变为形象略有差别的女性尊格——观音（Guanyin）；在柬埔寨地区，其化现为洛凯什瓦罗（Lokeśvara）。观自在菩萨是大乘佛教（Mahayana Buddhism）主流中广受崇敬的菩萨之一，在南传上座部佛教（Theravada Buddhism）中也拥有非官方的广泛信众基础。 在藏传佛教传统中，观自在菩萨的起源有两种阐释维度。其一为相对层面的起源：在往昔一劫（kalpa）中，一位虔敬具足大悲心的佛教僧侣证得菩萨果位，并于当下一劫化现为观自在菩萨。这与终极层面的起源并无抵牾：终极起源中，观自在菩萨是慈悲的普世化现身。此菩萨被视为真实本尊的人格化化现载体，用以帮助人类更透彻地理解观自在菩萨的精神内涵。 藏传佛教传统还主张，观自在菩萨正是那位劝说释迦牟尼佛（Sakyamuni Buddha）在证得佛果后勿入隐遁静修，而是开启说法利生事业的大梵天（Brahma）。此后，他成为佛陀来自天界（Deva realms）的两大核心弟子之一，另一位便是天帝因陀罗（Indra），其化身为金刚手菩萨（Vajrapani）。 本藏品隶属于“扫描世界（Scan The World）”项目。该项目是MyMiniFactory推出的非营利性公益计划，旨在打造覆盖全球的可3D打印雕塑、艺术品与地标建筑数字档案库，供公众免费访问与使用。“扫描世界”是一项开源社区共建项目：若您身边有可贡献的优质藏品，可发送邮件至[e-mail]，了解具体参与方式。