高僧
觉光长老 (1919 - 2014)
简历
觉光长老1919 年生于中国辽宁海城。他1928 年赴上海海会寺出家， 1930 年赴宁波天童寺受戒，法名觉光。1939 年，长老赴香港亲近宝静大师，接受天台宗教义，成为天台宗笫四十六代传人。
觉光长老在日战后的香港，兴建香海正觉莲社，重组香港佛教联合会。1945 年，长老与十多位高僧大德联合发起创办香港佛教联合会。觉光长老历任佛联会第一届董事、两任弘法主任、18 年总务主任，数十年来都被推选为香港佛教联合会会长。
觉光长老任内成功争取每年农历四月初八佛诞日为香港公共假期，并先后迎请佛牙舍利和佛指舍利在港供奉，为广大四众弟子所称颂。觉光长老出家七十多年，致力于弘法、教育、慈善、养老事业，功绩卓著，成为香港著名佛教领袖。
长老经常勉励大众要报四恩、知荣辱、学圣贤、修止观，为佛教献身，为社会献力，其高风亮节的人格典范受到全社会、教内外广大民众的拥戴和敬仰。
觉光长老于2014年11 月16 日凌晨4 时51 分于香港安详往生，世寿95 岁。
工艺品
工艺品描述
Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara is depicted with numerous arms (holding implements) and eleven heads, resplendent with jewellery and adorned in flowing garments. At the top of his crown (consist of heads) sits the head of Buddha Amitabha.
With a serene and motherly expression, His two hands are in Dhyana (meditation) mudra nestled with the pearl jewel at the His abdomen, while the other two arms are raised upwards to his chest in Anjali (divine offering) position.
历史背景
The worship of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara was introduced into China as early as the 1st century C.E., where this Bodhisattva was originally male but became venerated in female form. Such a form of worship expanded to East Asia, including Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan and Japan.
The Chinese name for Avalokitesvara is known as Kuan-yin (Perciever of Sounds), or Kuan-shih-yin (Perceiver of the World's Sounds). Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara is also regarded as the epitome of compassion and virtue, as he delayed his entry to Nirvana to ease the sufferings of sentient beings.
Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara is known as the future Buddha succeeding Buddha Amitabha and is said to dwell on the mythical mountain known as Potalaka, where he would alleviate the sufferings of sentient beings till the future Buddha, Maitreya, arrives on Earth.
In the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha told the Bodhisattva Inexhaustible Intent and recounts the Bodhisattva's ability to adopt many forms - man, women, child, monk, layperson - or performs various services - granting childfren, dispelling bandits, quelling storms, or eradicating wild beasts - for those who seek refuge in the Bodhisattva.
参考书目
Chun-fang Yu, Kuan-yin: The Chinese Transformation of Avalokitesvara , 2001, ISBN 0231502753 9780231502757
Karen Lucic, Embodying Compassion in Buddhist Art: Image, Pilgrimage, Practice , 2015, ISBN 978-0-9820606-5-0