Names: Kwan Yin, Goddess of Mercy, Patron bodhisattva of P’u-t’o Shan, Guanyin is short for Guanshi'yin, Gwan-eum, Kuan Eim, Prah Mae Kuan Eim, Kwun Yum, Kwan Im, Dewi Kwan Im, Quán Âm (many of these are simply the localized pronunciations) Kanjizai and Kanzejizai The name "Kwan Yin" is a derivation of a Chinese name for the goddess that is this energy of motherly compassion. This is really a description of her energy ("she who hears the cries of the people") which has become accepted as her name on earth.

Associations: Kwan Yin is Mistress of the Southern Sea, Patroness of Fishermen, protectress of women, sailors, merchants, craftsmen, and those under criminal prosecution, and is invoked particularly by those desiring progeny. Although there are variations, the feeling is the same. She responds to the heartfelt needs and anguish of the people of earth regardless of background or belief.

Being one of the "mother" goddesses, she is especially connected to those in need of any kind of help, be they sick, lost, frightened or simply in unfortunate circumstances. She is a great protector and benefactor of the weak, the ill and especially the children and the babies. Many erect alters to Kwan Yin, the "bestower of children" -- the one who hears the prayers of anyone wanting to conceive a child -- to increase their fertility. There is a connection with the care of souls, both during birth and after death. Taoists invoke her presence to free newly departed souls from the judgment of the underworld. She guards the souls of the newborn and guides them to their new parents.

Symbols: Symbols characteristically associated with Kwan Yin are a willow branch, with which she sprinkles the divine nectar of life; a precious vase symbolizing the nectar of compassion and wisdom, the hallmarks of a bodhisattva; a dove, representing fecundity; a book or scroll of prayers which she holds in her hand, representing the dharma (teaching) of the Buddha or the sutra (Buddhist text) which Miao Shan is said to have constantly recited; and a rosary adorning her neck with which she calls upon the Buddhas for succor. She is also often depicted standing on the head of a dragon.

How she is depicted: She is one of the most beautiful of all the goddesses. The paintings of Kwan Yin depict her in many forms, each one revealing a unique aspect of her merciful presence. As the sublime Goddess of Mercy whose beauty, grace and compassion have come to represent the ideal of womanhood in the East, she is frequently portrayed as a slender woman in flowing white robes who carries in her left hand a white lotus, symbol of purity. Ornaments may adorn her form, symbolizing her attainment as a bodhisattva, or she may be pictured without them as a sign of her great virtue.

Over centuries, Kwan Yin's visual depictions have highlighted her lithe, flowing form, much like the willow tree itself, which has the ability to bend during the most ferocious winds and then spring back into shape again. Indeed, who wants to stand rigid like the tall oak that cracks and collapses in a storm? Instead, one needs to be flexible like the willow, which survives the tempest. Or perhaps, Kuan Yin merely uses the willow branch to sprinkle the divine nectar of life on her devotees, which is stored in the vase she holds in her other hand.

She is often shown crossing the sea seated or standing on a lotus or with her feet on the head of a dragon.

Like Avalokitesvara she is also depicted with a thousand arms and varying numbers of eyes, hands and heads, sometimes with an eye in the palm of each hand, and is commonly called "the thousand-arms, thousand-eyes" bodhisattva. In this form she represents the omnipresent mother, looking in all directions simultaneously, sensing the afflictions of humanity and extending her many arms to alleviate them with infinite expressions of her mercy.

Kwan Yin is regarded as an emanation of The Amitabha Buddha and as an embodiment of compassion, the quality which Amitabha himself embodies in the highest sense. Many figures of Kwan Yin can be identified by the presence of a small image of Amitabha in her crown. It is believed that as the merciful Kwan Yin expresses Amitabha's compassion in a more direct and personal way and prayers to her are answered more quickly.

Guanyin is the Chinese name for the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. However, folk traditions in China and other East Asian countries have added many distinctive characteristics and legends. Avalokitesvara was originally depicted as Buddha when he was still a prince, and therefore wears chest-revealing clothing and may even sport a moustache. However, in China, Guanyin is usually depicted as a woman. Additionally, some people believe that Guanyin is both man and woman (or perhaps neither)

In some Buddhist temples and monasteries, Guanyin's images are occasionally depicted as a young man dressed in Northern Song Buddhist robes sitting gracefully. He is usually depicted looking or glancing down, symbolizing that Guanyin continues to watch over the world.

It is relevant here to observe that Kuan Yin is often depicted in art holding a leafy twig, derived from the 'weeping willow' tree, known so due to its trailing leafy branches that droop to the ground and along which raindrops trickle down like tears.

The willow also has a deeper and direct connection with Chinese culture and it is believed that Lao Tzu, the author of Tao-te Ching, loved to meditate under its shade (6th century BC). It was under the same tree that the younger Confucius had his famous interview with Lao Tzu, telling his disciples afterwards: "I know how birds fly, fishes swim and animals run. But there is the dragon - I cannot tell how he mounts on the winds through the clouds, and rises to heaven. Today, having seen Lao Tzu, I can only compare him to the dragon."

Origins: Buddhism legends say that Kwan Yin was 'born' from a ray of white light which The Amitabha Buddha emitted from his right eye while he was deep in spiritual ecstasy.

Guanyin's origin is debated among scholars. The root of this debate lies in the history of religion in China. China's indigenous religion is Taoism. It is possible that Guanshi'yin originated as a Taoist deity, the Queen Mother of the West. With the introduction of Mahayana Buddhism to China in around the fourth to fifth centuries AD, Taoism and Buddhism became religious rivals in China. The Buddhist tactic was to change, and even supplant, indigenous Taoist deities in favor of Buddhist deities. Over the centuries, this trend has had the effect that it is now virtually impossible to determine Guanshi'yin's true origin. The official Buddhist view is that Guanyin originated with the male Avalokitesvara, though Guanyin's origin may be more complex than this simple, linear derivation. While it is certain that the name "Guanshi'yin" is derived from the name "Avalokitesvara", the image of the Chinese/Korean/Japanese/Vietnamese Bodhisattva (along with her femininity) may be at least partly derived from other sources.

Legends/Myths: It is believed that Kwan Yin frequently appears in the sky or on the waves to save those who call upon her when in danger. Personal stories can be heard in Taiwan, for instance, from those who report that during World War II when the United States bombed the Japanese-occupied Taiwan, she appeared in the sky as a young maiden, catching the bombs and covering them with her white garments so they would not explode.

In China, popular gods always been real people who had once lived in specific times and places, even mythical figures were turned into historical cultural heroes who were then venerated as the founding fathers of Chinese civilization. Unlike Greece, where human heroes were transformed into Olympian gods, in China the reverse held true and if a god or goddess was not perhaps originally a human being, there was often an effort to turn her or him into one. Kuan Yin thus again had to change from a goddess into a living woman, so that she could be worshipped as a Chinese goddess. Truly, the human character of Chinese deities is one of the most distinctive features of their religion, and like ordinary mortals they too have birthdays, ancestries, careers and titles. Therefore, even though Kuan Yin is not given a date of birth in any of the Buddhist sutras, her birthday is widely celebrated on the nineteenth day of the second month of the lunar calendar.

The legend describing how Kuan Yin was once a woman gives a fascinating insight into the working of the Chinese genius and the process by which she was given a distinctively local flavor and absorbed into their pantheon:

It is said that in the past, there once lived a king under whose rule the people led a peaceful existence governed by Confucian ethics. He had three daughters; the eldest two having already married the grooms of their father's choice. The youngest offspring however, was unlike any other normal child. Firstly, when she was born, her body glowed with an almost unearthly light so much so that the palace seemed on fire. She was thus befittingly named Miao Shan (Wonderful Goodness).

Secondly, as she grew up, she wore only dirty clothes and never did display any urge to adorn herself. Further, she would subsist on only a single meal every day. In her conversations she would talk about the impermanence of material things and how human beings suffer because of their attachment to such objects. Naturally worried about their daughter's detached inclinations, her parents proposed that (as per the Confucian ideals of filial piety) she too marry a husband of their choice. To this she replied:

"I would never, for the sake of one lifetime of enjoyment, plunge into aeons of misery. I have pondered on this matter and deeply detest this earthly union (marriage)." Nevertheless, when her parents insisted, she agreed to comply with their wishes if only her future mate would save her from the following three misfortunes:
1). When people are young, their face is as fair as the jade-like moon, but when they grow old, the hair turns white and faces become wrinkled; whether walking, resting, sitting, or lying down, they are in every way worse off than when they were young.
2). Similarly, when our limbs are strong and vigorous one may walk as if flying through air, but when we suddenly becomes sick, we are confined to the bed.
3). A person may have a large group of relatives and be surrounded by his flesh and blood, but when death comes, even such close kin as father and son cannot take the person's place. Finally she concluded:

"If indeed my future husband can ensure my deliverance against these misfortunes, I will gladly marry him. Otherwise, I vow to remain a spinster all my life. People all over the world are mired in these kinds of suffering. If one desires to be free of them, the only option is to leave the secular world and enter the gate of Buddhism."

Worship: Today Kwan Yin is worshipped by Taoists as well as Mahayana Buddhists--especially in Taiwan, Japan, Korea and once again in her homeland of China, where the practice of Buddhism had been suppressed by the Communists during the Cultural Revolution (1966-69). She is the protectress of women, sailors, merchants, craftsmen, and those under criminal prosecution, and is invoked particularly by those desiring progeny. Beloved as a mother figure and divine mediatrix who is very close to the daily affairs of her devotees, Kwan Yin's role as Buddhist Madonna has been compared to that of Mary the mother of Jesus in the West.

The Goddess Kwan has great healing powers. Many believe that even the simple recitation of her name will bring her instantly to the scene. One of the most famous texts associated with the bodhisattva, the ancient Lotus Sutra whose twenty-fifth chapter, dedicated to Kwan Yin, is known as the "Kwan Yin sutra," describes thirteen cases of impending disaster--from shipwreck to fire, imprisonment, robbers, demons, fatal poisons and karmic woes--in which the devotee will be rescued if his thoughts dwell on the power of Kwan Yin. The text is recited many times daily by those who wish to receive the benefits it promises.

Devotees also invoke the bodhisattva's power and merciful intercession with the mantra OM MANI PADME HUM-- "Hail to the jewel in the lotus!" or, as it has also been interpreted, "Hail to Avalokitesvara, who is the jewel in the heart of the lotus of the devotee's heart!"

Throughout Tibet and Ladakh, Buddhists have inscribed OM MANI PADME HUM on flat prayer stones called "mani-stones" as votive offerings in praise of Avalokitesvara. Thousands of these stones have been used to build mani-walls that line the roads entering villages and monasteries.

Thus altars dedicated to the Goddess of Mercy are found everywhere--shops, restaurants, even taxicab dashboards. In the home she is worshipped with the traditional "pai pai," a prayer ritual using incense, as well as the use of prayer charts--sheets of paper designed with pictures of Kuan Yin, lotus flowers, or pagodas and outlined with hundreds of little circles.

With each set of prayers recited or sutras read in a novena for a relative, friend, or oneself, another circle is filled in. This chart has been described as a "Ship of Salvation" whereby departed souls are saved from the dangers of hell and the faithful safely conveyed to Amitabha's heaven. Kwan Yin is a Goddess who stands at the meeting place of two great archetypal rivers: the very ancient Chinese Great Mother and the Bodhisattva of Compassion, who appears elsewhere as a masculine figure. She is also one of those very rare deities who quietly belong to several religions at once. Always changing, always Herself, her image can be seen on Buddhist shrines throughout the world as well as in Taoist places of worship. Her calm gaze watches over countless ancestors on Confucianist shrines in China, Shintoist shrines in Japan, often found close to Her own. As the Great Mother, Her compassion radiates in harmony with the blessings of Tibetan Tara, All over the world, women have always prayed to the Great Mother for the healing of a sick child or to find solace from life’s troubles. Always She hears, and Her Presence consoles the grieving, cools the burning brow, relieves the pain. Kwan Yin means “She who hears the cries of sentient beings.”

In Her sanctuary, Kwan Yin awaits you. In Her hands she holds the vessel of nectar which She pours on the world’s suffering. The wheel of Her mantra, Om Mani Padme Hum, revolves infinitely, emanating light in all directions. Take the time to bow before Her and allow your heart to express its sincere wish. Allow Her subtle presence to reach out to you.

It’s perfectly all right to ask for oneself, but isn’t it even sweeter to ask for a loved one?

Other Images
http://www.tybro.com/assets/images/Quan_Yin_Eight02.jpg
http://www.mother-god.com/images/quan-yin.jpg\
http://www.luisprada.com/Protected/IMAGES/kwanyin4.jpg
http://amethystd.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/_kwanyin.jpg
http://luthar.com/images/hs_magazine/hs_v3/articles/kwanyin2.jpg
http://www.china-cart.com/bookpic/20087/2008714105435.jpg

All information taken from:
http://www.tybro.com/html/the_divine_goddess_kwan_yin.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guan_Yin
http://www.exoticindiaart.com/article/kuanyin/
http://www.mykwanyin.com/kwgoddess.html http://amethystd.wordpress.com/2008/05/09/goddess-of-the-week-kwan-yin-the-ultimate-mother/

Written by Sagesse Abiona