Hands Pressed Together (合掌手): Always Respect and Cherish

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

Original text

若為一切眾生常相恭敬愛念者。 當於合掌手。《千手千眼觀世音菩薩廣大圓滿無礙大悲心陀羅尼經》 (Great Compassion Dharani Sutra of the Thousand-Handed, Thousand-Eyed Guanyin Bodhisattva; Tang dynasty, translated by Bhagavaddharma, T1060)

Plain-language explanation

This lesson is about the Hands Pressed Together (合掌手). The Great Compassion Dharani Sutra (《大悲心陀羅尼經》) has this line: 「若為一切眾生常相恭敬愛念者。當於合掌手。」

First, the original meaning of the scripture. The vow in this line is to “always respect and cherish.” To respect is to hold the other person in mind and not look down on them; to cherish is to keep them in thought and care for them. The line begins with 「若為一切眾生」, so its scope is not limited to people we know, nor to any particular group. As for how the hand is to be used, the scripture says only 「當於合掌手」 and does not explain further.

Next, the place of this hand. According to this site's Compassion Map, the Hands Pressed Together belong to the Lotus Family (蓮華部), the method falls under the Respect and Affection practice (敬愛法), the principal deity is Guanyin Bodhisattva Who Manifests Respect (現敬觀自在菩薩), and it is thirty-fourth in the scripture.

As for how this kind of practice is done, the ritual manual translated by Amoghavajra (不空), in the second fascicle of the sutra, places the Respect and Affection practice under the goal of “respect and affection.” It mentions that when a household is not in harmony, or a country is not in harmony, those who wish to bring mutual respect and peace can seek harmony through the practice; it also mentions making relatives and friends close in kindness and loyalty. This is what the ritual manual itself says, and belongs to the field of practice methods. This lesson does not introduce the details of the ritual, and explains only the original meaning of the scripture.

The gesture of pressing the hands together is itself easy to understand: two palms joined is a posture that expresses respect. But the scripture itself speaks only of the vow and the name of the hand, and does not explain the meaning of the gesture item by item, so this is only a general understanding, not something the scripture states.

Finally, this site's modern reading. This site matches the Hands Pressed Together to: promoting mutual respect; friendliness across groups. This is a summary made by this site for modern readers; it is not original scripture, and readers may take it as one point of reference.

In short: the scripture writes of a vow, that people always respect one another and keep one another in mind; this site's reading turns it into mutual respect and friendliness for today. Keeping the two layers of meaning apart makes them less likely to be mixed together.

Key terms

合掌手

One of the Forty Hands, thirty-fourth in the order given in the scripture. The scripture says only 「當於合掌手」, and uses it to answer this one vow: 「常相恭敬愛念」.

恭敬愛念

From 「若為一切眾生常相恭敬愛念者」. To respect (恭敬) is not to look down on others; to cherish (愛念) is to keep someone in mind and care for them.

一切眾生

The scripture does not limit this to any one group of people. The scope is all sentient beings (一切眾生).

One line to remember

若為一切眾生常相恭敬愛念者

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.