Prajna boat

[from Sanskrit prajna, transcendental wisdom, insight, divine intuition] Boat of wisdom, the vehicle or means by which one crosses the ocean of birth and death, the means of attaining nirvana. The fifth vow of Kuan Yin, taken from the Great Compassion Heart Dharani Sutra and included in Kuan Yin’s Crystal Rosary, is “I desire/I vow to quickly board the prajna boat.”

In Buddhist tradition, Kuan Yin is sometimes depicted as the captain of the “Bark of Salvation,” ferrying souls across the rough sea of their karma to Amitabha’s Western Paradise, or Pure Land, the land of bliss where souls may be reborn to receive continued instruction toward the goal of enlightenment and perfection.

Sources

Pearls of Wisdom, vol. 31, no. 57.