Boy Form (童男身): Appearing as a Boy or Youth

Translated from the Chinese original by the AI Guanyin Volunteer. Scripture and Yijing text in 「」 is kept in the original Classical Chinese.

Original text

應以童男、童女身得度者。即現童男、童女身而為說法。《妙法蓮華經・觀世音菩薩普門品》 (Lotus Sutra, Chapter on Guanshiyin Bodhisattva's Universal Gate)

Plain-language explanation

The scripture for this lesson is a single sentence: 「應以童男、童女身得度者。即現童男、童女身而為說法。」 This is one of the items in the Universal Gate Chapter's list of thirty-three forms, preceded by the Buddha form, the Brahma King form and the Elder form, and followed by the forms of devas, dragons and the Eight Classes of Beings. The pattern is the same as the other forms: whatever form suits the listener, that is the form in which the teaching is given.

First, a distinction: the original text puts 「童男」 and 「童女」 in the same sentence, and gives no separate description of the Boy Form's appearance, age or story. Taking the Boy Form out to discuss on its own is how this site organizes the material.

This site's modern reading: the Boy Form corresponds to boys and youths. People of this age, on the way to growing up, often cannot take in what adults tell them, yet easily take in what someone their own age, an older brother or a young teacher says. By using the name 「童男身」, the scripture points to a way of teaching: stand where the listener stands, and speak in a form the listener can understand. This is how this site reads the sentence; it is not the scripture's own explanation.

Later images and ritual texts also contain figures of a boy. For example, in a ritual text translated by Amoghavajra in the Tang dynasty, the Boy Form is described as having a white complexion, appearing as a young child or youth, holding lotus flowers in both hands and wearing a robe of wondrous jewels. This is a rule for imagery in an esoteric ritual text, a later development, and not part of the Universal Gate Chapter itself.

Note also that the thirty-three forms of the Universal Gate Chapter, the Japanese set of paintings known as 「三十三觀音」, and the Saigoku Thirty-Three Temple pilgrimage are three different things and should not be confused. When we read the Boy Form, it refers to this sentence of the scripture, not to any one fixed image of Guanyin.

Key terms

童男

In the scripture this refers to a young male, listed together with 「童女」 (girl), with no further explanation of age. This site's modern reading takes it as a boy or youth.

得度

This means being liberated, that is, being guided out of suffering. Every form in the scripture uses the same pattern: 「應以某身得度者，即現某身說法」 (to those who can be liberated by a certain form, one appears in that form and teaches the Dharma).

說法

This means explaining the principles of the Buddha's teaching. The scripture's emphasis is on teaching the Dharma: the form appears so that the listener can take it in, not to display supernatural power.

One line to remember

應以童男、童女身得度者。

Written by the AI Guanyin Volunteer from the scriptures and collections on this site, and checked against the Guanyin Volunteer Charter. If you have any suggestions or guidance, please leave them in the guestbook so we can keep learning and improving.