Once there was, and once there was not, a great being who used his life force to help others.  It was his mission to bring bliss and freedom to all beings, and he worked tirelessly in giving blessings forth in this pursuit.  His name was Avalokiteshvara, meaning “Lord who looks down.”  

Avalokiteshvara spent himself granting mercies to all people who asked, bringing illumination and peace where needed, even rescuing the demons out of hell itself.  His determination to bring peace and unity was echoed by his wish that if he ever became too disheartened in his mission, his body itself would crack into a thousand pieces.

One day, he set out to finally rid the realms of suffering for good.  Fervently, Avalokiteshvara worked, bringing people out of misery, spreading happiness and joy where wished for, and removing the afflictions of all the earth.  When his work was finished, he rested and turned to look at the many beings he helped, expecting to see abundance and peace spread throughout all the lands.  

However, what he saw was again masses of people, spirits, and beings flooding back through into the gates of hell.  Those he had rescued from troubles had already forgotten this bliss and had fallen again into blindness and despair.  At this, Avalokiteshvara grew troubled for the state of the world, and true to his words, his body shattered into many pieces in utter sadness.

Just then, Amitabha, the Buddha of wisdom, life, and perception came upon Avalokiteshvara in this broken state.  He took compassion on him, and fashioned his body back together, crafting one thousand hands holding one thousand eyes out of the shattered pieces.  

Slowly, with Amitabha as his guide, Avalokiteshvara became strong again, learning to use this new body, with many hands for helping others and many eyes for clear seeing.  It is in this way that Avalokiteshvara became the Buddha and symbol of compassion for all beings, having faced defeat and despair in his cause to help others, being broken in this pursuit, but having been reborn through wisdom and enlarged compassion after dying himself.

It is said that we may see Avalokiteshvara from time to time, as he is everywhere at all times.  His body is like that of a rainbow, both here and not, reminding us of the unity between all things and the blessings waiting to be given to those who ask.  

I would like to propose an application of this story in the treatment of trauma.  The underlying archetype is similar to that of the wounded healer, and indeed, what triggered me to explore this theme was just that in a fellow Social Worker.  This particular woman has worked with Child Protective Services for many years.  As you know or can imagine, this is one of the most difficult jobs that a Social Worker can have, since it involves seeing the worst of the worst in terms of abuse and neglect, and also possibly the removal of children from the home.  One day this woman was in a clients’ home and the situation became volatile, then violent.  The parent shot at this woman, and although missing her, left her deeply shaken.  This was several years ago, and the woman stills suffers from PTSD.  Despite these symptoms, she refuses to quit the job, as she feels it would let the trauma “win.”

I thought: what is the story at play here?  And what could be done to expand her idea of what it means to be strong?  Around the time I heard about this woman, we also spoke in our discussion group about many people’s fixed idea of the “hero” or “warrior” image.  I think these two things coincide nicely and can be tied into the story of Avalokiteshvara.

The treatment of trauma often follows three steps. These are based on the work of Judith Herman (1997).  The first step is usually focusing on self-soothing and emotional regulation.  If trauma survivors are experiencing out-of-control emotions, it is necessary to help them to recognize those physical aspects of their body’s trauma reaction and teach them how to relax without having to “numb” or “split off” from the experience.  Safety is the key to this step.  Often, psychoeducation belongs here also.  This way, the survivor can cognitively name what he or she is experiencing and can start to “process” the experience on a conscious level, rather than just as a jumble of overwhelming emotions and memories.  

The second step in this treatment involves the actual discussion and processing of memories of the trauma.  As the person has, in theory, learned how to remain calm, they are ready to move deeper into the discussion of their traumatic experience.  This can include experiencing the emotions that they had not felt before, and beginning to explore and shape a narrative.  

Lastly, the survivor would find meaning and resolution of the trauma to a degree enough to reconnect with others and the world in a way that feels safe and empowered.  Some people use their energies at this point to use their trauma as a “cause,” pushing forward as a voice and force to help others in their situation.

The myth of Avalokiteshvara demonstrates the story line of a healer who is wounded while working in service of others.  Primary or secondary trauma can be a real risk encountered by those working for a cause, getting “down and dirty” to aid others in a physical, emotional, or practical way.  Because of this, and the individual woman I mentioned before, one might apply this myth in the real world by creating a therapeutic group following the story line.  Using this structure might define a positive direction to the trauma experience while containing the experience in a deeper, mythic framework.  

This would be most useful in steps 2 and 3 of running the group.  Like Avalokiteshvara, many people come into service professions with an idea of being a “hero,” bringing energy and idealistic strength.  Avalokiteshvara declared that if his love ever waned for helping others, his body would break into pieces. It could be this kind of single-minded rigidity that opened him up for disappointment.  

Indeed, no one asks for or ever deserves for something traumatic to happen, but it could be said that this type of an incident in a service worker’s life might also cause them the “shatter,” ironically opening up the possibility for growth.  It is an encounter with the dynamics of power versus powerlessness, and causes one to redefine themselves in relationship to others and the world in this way.  While one is “broken,” many obstacles must be faced and overcome, including answering questions about what the loss of power says about oneself, what it says about the world (and the safety therein), where blame might lie, and how to proceed in the future.  

These questions, preceded by the trauma itself, cause the deep dissonance, the breaking apart of the old containment.  As long as these questions and emotions remained unanswered, the person remains “split.”  It would be herein that the experiences of being either a “victim” or “survivor/warrior” might come in, depending on how the person perceived the situation.  The victim archetype might be explored in the group to the extent that it allowed members to talk about their experience of loss of power, but I would sway away from identifying wholly with that if possible, or looking at the dynamics between being both a victim and a survivor.  

In the story, when Avalokiteshvara breaks, it is the Buddha of “infinite life” who comes to him.  This Buddha, Amitaba, also represents wisdom and perception.  It is he who becomes Avalokiteshvara’s guide, and rebuilds his physical body in a way that literally allows him to embody his ideals in an entirely new way.  Though his old self died, he was physically reborn with the power to “see all” and to give to others in a way that was magnified thousand-fold. Thus, Avalokitesvara became known as the Buddha of boundless compassion.  

In the story of the trauma survivor, this type of expansion of the soul may also ring true.  In processing the experience, facing one’s own powerlessness, and regaining power by choice, one may gain many tools useful to continue their journey.  Their gift may be the awareness of a thousand seeing eyes, or the tender-heartedness of one who has been touched by suffering, or the resourceful hands of one who now intuitively knows how to help.

There is also something to be said of Avalokitesvara’s body being made of a rainbow.  The rainbow is a symbol of unity, of non-duality, and of a merging of heaven with material.  It is a symbol of rebirth, and could be used as symbol of resolution for the trauma survivor.  Because of their plight, their “death,” and moving through the dissonance of having to address many things gone unquestioned before, it could be said that survivors find some sort of new unity within themselves.  Their wisdom is vastly deepened, but their souls are more beautiful for it.  

In application for this group, many different modalities of therapy could be used, including art therapy, talk therapies, education, etc.  I imagine constructing art projects discussing Avalokiteshvara’s many eyes, and identifying and discussing how the individuals’ experiences had changed their “seeing” or opened up different perceptions for them.  In the third treatment step, projects could also be done around Avalokiteshvara’s hands and how participants could transform their experience into positive action.  Also, I love the image of the rainbow.  I would like to incorporate this into the end of the group, where participants could reinforce the strength, beauty, and courage of each person and their story.

Resources

Herman, J. (1997).  Trauma and recovery: The aftermath of violence--from domestic abuse to political terror.  Basic Books: New York.    

Avalokiteshvara story based on the following articles:

Buddhanet.net (2008).  How Avalokiteshvara Attained Her 1000 Arms. Found online on September 29th, 2014 at http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/history/guanyin.htm

Encyclopedia Britannica. (2014).  Amitabha.  Found online on September 29th, 2014 at http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/20850/Amitabha

Wikipedia.com. (2014).  Avalokiteśvara. Found online on September 29th, 2014 at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avalokite%C5%9Bvara

Images:

Rainbow image found at get-covers.com with search word “rainbow light”

Avalokiteshvara image found at  greenagene.tumblr.com