Thirty-three forms
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<poem> thirty-three forms 三十三身 (Jpn sanjusan-shin )
Different forms that Bodhisattva Perceiver of the World's Sounds assumes in order to save living beings. Bodhisattva Perceiver of the World's Sounds appears in these various forms in accordance with the capacity of living beings, for the purpose of instructing and converting them. His thirty-three forms are described in the "Perceiver of the World's Sounds" (twenty-fifth) chapter of the Lotus Sutra, which lists them as
a Buddha, a pratyekabuddha, a voice-hearer, King Brahma, the god Shakra, the heavenly being Freedom, the heavenly being Great Freedom, a great general of heaven, the god Vaishravana, a petty king, a rich man, a householder, a chief minister, a Brahman, a monk, a nun, a layman, a laywoman, the wife of a rich man, the wife of a householder, the wife of a chief minister, the wife of a Brahman, a young boy, a young girl, a heavenly being, a dragon, a yaksha, a gandharva, an asura, a garuda, a kimnara, a mahoraga, and a vajra-bearing god.
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