Thirty-four forms
thirty-four forms
[三十四身] (Jpn sanjushi-shin )
Forms assumed by Bodhisattva Wonderful Sound to save living beings. According to the "Wonderful Sound" (twenty-fourth) chapter of the Lotus Sutra, Bodhisattva Wonderful Sound appears in various forms to instruct and convert living beings. The chapter lists thirty-four forms:
King Brahma,
the god Shakra,
the heavenly being Freedom,
the heavenly being Great Free-dom,
a great general of heaven,
the god Vaishravana,
a wheel-turning king,
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,
a hell dweller,
a hungry spirit,
a beast, and a woman in the women's quarters of the royal palace.
