Guanyin, aka Avalokiteshvara, is said to have a thousand arms and a thousand eyes, used to see and help suffering people. She represents compassion, far from the functions of destruction and chaos you describe. Your lady deity may be from Hinduism. The position of deities in Buddhism is not high, they are not exempt from suffering and still subject to transmigration of lives (samsara). Guanyin is not a deity, she (some say he) is a bodhisatva, only a few steps below Buddha. Anthony
________________________________ From: dan_guzy <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Saturday, 7 January 2012, 15:19 Subject: [Zen] Does buddhism have any views on things like chaos, destruction, restructuring? This is my first post. I have had something stuck in my mind the past couple of days that I'd like to have clarified. Although I'm not sure whether this is relevant to buddhism or not, something tells me it is. I thought you guys could offer some insight into it. I once read something years ago about a lady deity with 6 arms who controlled things like chaos, destruction, restruction/rebuilding, and balance. There were quite a few levels involved if I remember right, but I don't remember them all. I'm not sure why I'm so interested in it, but something about it struck a chord with me years ago, and for whatever reason it's in my head again. Does anyone know anything about this goddess? Can anyone give an explaination as to what this goddess repressents and what the various levels pertain to?
