One prominent Buddhist scripture tells the story of Avalokiteśvara vowing never to rest until she had freed all sentient beings from saṃsāra. Despite strenuous effort, she realised that there were still many unhappy beings yet to be saved. After struggling to comprehend the needs of so many, her head split into eleven pieces, to help her hear the cries of those who are suffering. Upon hearing these cries, Avalokiteśvara attempted to reach out to all those who needed aid, but found that her two arms shattered into pieces. Once more, Amitābha came to her aid and appointed her a thousand arms to let her reach out to those in need.
The project “A Thousand Eyes, a Thousand Hands” is a robotic sculpturethat visualizes this story. By using a passive infrared sensor and a linear actuator, one of the arms will directly interact with a viewer, who approach the sculpture. The hand then leaves a stamp of an eye on the viewer’s palm. It’s the idea that people who believe in buddhism may become the last pair of arms and eyes, and will help Avalokiteśvara reach out to all those who need aid.
