4 Armed Chenrezig

Perfection of Wisdom and Compassion

L ike a majestic lotus that blooms beautifully above muddy waters, compassion
brings us out of suffering. Hence, the Buddhas of all the ten directions are born from
the perfection of wisdom and compassion.
When the immense compassion of all Buddhas is distilled, it takes on a very special
form of a Bodhisattva. This Bodhisattva has a gentle and serene disposition on his
face.
He is white in colour and has four arms representing the Four Immeasurables of loving
kindness, joy, equanimity and compassion. Just like limbs of the body, he has become
one with the realisation of these qualities and uses them to benefit sentient beings.
He has two hands folded in prayer while holding a brilliant sky-blue wish-fulfilling jewel
at his heart. In this way, he holds closest to his heart Bodhicitta or altruistic love for all
sentient beings.
The other arm on his right holds aloft gently a set of crystal prayer beads and the other
left hand holds a pristine lotus. This shows his promise to manifest continuously in a
multitude of ways to benefit us like the steady momentum of counting prayer beads.
Despite appearing skilfully in ordinary guise in various realms of existence to benefit
suffering beings, he is not just unstained but thrives in such surroundings like a pristine
lotus that grows out of muddy waters.
This unstained bodhisattva is attired royally with six jeweled ornaments which consist
of the crown, earrings, bracelets, necklace, bejeweled belt and anklets. Like the
jeweled ornaments he wears to beautify himself outwardly, he has perfected the inner
6 perfections or paramitas, inspiring practitioners to practice generosity, morality,
patience, endeavour, meditation and wisdom to become truly beautiful from the inside
out.
This Bodhisattva is the 4-armed Avalokiteshvara or Chenrezig in Tibetan. With
prayers, offerings and meditations, one can be inspired by Avalokiteshvara to practice
real inner transformation of our negative qualities into selfless motivation to serve
others.
His spiritual energy in the form of sound that helps to transform the mind (Mantra):
OM MANI PADME HUNG