Thirthirty-four forms ty-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 Freedom, 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.
