The Thousand Arms

One of the highlights of my recent visit to Berkeley, California was the great honor of spending time with Joanna Macy, a Buddhist scholar, eco-philosopher, and root teacher of the Work That Reconnects.

On several occasions, we sat at her kitchen table in intimate conversation. I shared my deep gratitude for the inspiration I’ve found in her work, and we discussed the enduring timeliness of her writings and insights spanning seven decades.

At one point, Joanna asked me to read aloud the legend of Avalokiteshwara, a Buddhist story that powerfully illustrates the challenge of maintaining bodhichitta - the desire, born of compassion, to contribute to the upliftment of all beings. It’s a story that reveals the complexity of sustaining compassion in the face of overwhelming suffering:

There is a legend that tells how unthinkable and profound such courage can be, and shows that it is not easy to maintain such courage in the face of challenges.

Once, the legend says, Avalokiteshvara made a very strong commitment never to give up bodhichitta and to continuously bring all beings to absolute liberation. In his mind, he thought he had helped all the beings in the universe to find inner peace, to find freedom from samsara.

But as he returned to his paradise, Potala, he looked back and saw that the world of samsara hadn’t changed at all. There were still an infinite number of beings lost and confused and tormented. Seeing this, he became exhausted, and wanted to give up his commitment, his hope; he just wanted to find peace for himself.

Because of the power of his bodhichitta aspiration, the moment he had the thought of giving up, his head fell into ten pieces and his body fell into a thousand pieces. 

At that moment, Buddha Amitabha showed up and touched Avalokiteshvara’s broken body with his hand, blessing him and transforming him into the eleven-headed Avalokiteshvara with a thousand arms. Then Avalokiteshvara rose again, in order to continuously help others.

This legend shows the profound courage of bodhichitta and also shows it is not easy, because the suffering of the world is overwhelming.

from: The Fragrance of Emptiness by Anam Thubten

Following the reading, we sat in silence, eyes locked, while Joanna slowly nodded her head as if to say, “Yes, this is how it is, the pain and the love continue to walk side by side.”

This story captures the conundrum of living with sensitivity and compassion: it’s hard to remain open-hearted while witnessing the immense suffering of our world. Yet, we also can’t not look, because to do so would betray our commitment to making a positive difference.

Perhaps we are like Avalokiteshwara, repeatedly falling apart and being reconstructed. His story teaches us that in vulnerability lies our greatest strength. By choosing to remain engaged, even when the weight of the world threatens to break us, we discover unexpected reserves of strength and courage.

Our practices, then, become the reparative, healing balm that allow us to metabolize suffering, turning our pain into purposeful action. We are continually invited to bear witness, to help, to connect—reaching out with our thousand arms to weave moments of profound humanity from the very fabric of our shared vulnerability.