Avalokiteśvara

This paper deals with two primary topics:  (1) the names of the bodhisattva known (in later centuries) as Avalokiteśvara, as found in early Chinese Buddhist translations (in both transcription and translation), and (2) this bodhisattva's role in these texts, in particular his succession to the status of presiding Buddha of Sukhāvatī after the death of the Buddha Amitābha.  The paper also contains an Appendix which offers a simple set of guidelines for determining the authenticity of translator attributions.

Avalokiteśvara in Cambodian Temples Avalokiteśvara is one of the 108 avatars; one notable avatar being Padmapani, the one who holds the lotus (padma). This bodhisattva is variably depicted, described and portrayed in different cultures as either male or female. Hindu tradition.In Hindu tradition, he has been depicted as an emanation of Shiva. It is therefore not surprising that this form of the Buddha found a representation in the Shiva temples of Angkor as a successor The name Avalokiteśvara combines the verbal prefix ava "down", lokita, a past participle of the verb lok "to notice, behold, observe", here used in an active sense; and finally īśvara, "lord", "ruler", "sovereign" or "master". In accordance with sandhi (Sanskrit rules of sound combination), a+īśvara becomes eśvara. Combined, the parts mean "lord who gazes down (at the world)". The word loka ("world") is absent from the name, but the phrase is implied. It does appear in the Cambodian form of the name, Lokesvarak.