Guanyin
Kannon (Japan), Avalokiteśvara
Chinese Living tradition
These figures are honored in living Chinese folk religion, Buddhism and Taoism.
The bodhisattva of compassion, 'the one who hears the cries of the world'.
Strictly a bodhisattva rather than a goddess, Guanyin is among the most loved figures in East Asian Buddhism and folk religion. She vowed to help every suffering being, and is often shown in white robes, pouring the water of compassion from a small vase with a willow branch.
Symbols
Vase of pure water Willow branch Lotus
In the ancient sources
Buddhist scripture and Chinese records
- Guānshìyīn
- “the one who perceives the sounds of the world” Lotus Sutra 25
- Lotus Sutra, chapter 25 (24 in the Sanskrit) Whoever calls the bodhisattva's name is saved from fire, flood, shipwreck, bandits and chains; women who pray for a child will bear a son or daughter.
- Lotus Sutra, chapter 25 (Kumarajiva's Chinese, 406 CE) The bodhisattva takes whatever form will help each being, thirty-three in all, several of them women.
- Stele by Jiang Zhiqi (1100), Xiangshan Temple Tells of Princess Miaoshan, who refuses to marry, gives her own eyes and arms to cure her cruel father, and is revealed as Guanyin with a thousand arms and eyes.
In India and early China Avalokiteśvara was usually shown as a man. The female Guanyin spread from about the 10th–12th centuries, helped by the Miaoshan legend.
Cross-checked against these texts and records, in public-domain or freely available versions where they exist. Line, section and chapter numbers follow the standard editions, so a particular translation may differ slightly.
Correspondences Explore all
- Colors
- White
These come from the tradition itself, and practice differs between regions, lineages and houses. To go deeper, learn from the people and communities who keep this tradition.