Compassion radiates from the Guan Yin Statue before us. What stories does this serene figure whisper of mercy and enlightenment?
Let me introduce you to Guan Yin. She is more than just a statue. She is a symbol of compassion worshipped across Buddhism Hinduism Taoism and Chinese folk religions.
Imagine traveling through Asia. You might find a Guan Yin statue in China Burma Japan or even Vietnam. Finding Guan Yin everywhere feels like meeting a dear friend.
Guan Yin’s origins trace back to Avalokiteshvara the bodhisattva of compassion in Sanskrit. A bodhisattva chooses to remain in the cycle of existence to save others. They believe that as long as one being suffers all beings suffer.
Guan Yin is known by many names. She may be called Guanshiyin Guan Yin Hangul or Kuan Im. Legend says green and white tara were born from her tears to help alleviate the pain of all beings.
You can spot Guan Yin in various forms and sizes. Sometimes she watches upward from the bottom of a Marble Mountain in Vietnam. Sometimes she towers in the skies of Thailand. She might be dressed in white sitting on a lotus flower or standing. She may carry a willow branch a vase filled with water or a child. Occasionally she stands over a dragon or a turtle.
In Chinese tradition Guan Yin has a special bond with dragons. She protected them and returned them to the sea. In return they became loyal often appearing by her side or as her mount.
That is why some stairway bannisters are shaped like white dragons. They are a symbol of high spirituality wisdom strength and divine transformation. They are the Chinese equivalent of the east-Asians nagas. These serpentine creatures guard treasures associated with rivers lakes seas and oceans.
Meeting another Guan Yin statue evokes a special feeling. It feels like encountering a wise friend who has always been with you. It feels like someone is watching over you casting a protecting energy.
Guan Yin’s birthday is celebrated three times a year. One day marks her mortal birth. Another marks her religious initiation. The third marks her attainment of nirvana. These holy days honor the goddess of mercy who delayed her own nirvana until every creature is free from suffering.
Celebrating multiple births in a life is quite unique. Perhaps we should remind ourselves that we are meant to change and celebrate it. We can change our minds our lives our ways starting new cycles. When we cannot change we should look honestly into ourselves and face our limits with compassion.
It may take a lifetime or more to change your mind. It may take just as long to be aware of your limits without blaming others. Perhaps that is what we are here to learn.
If you were blown away by the variety of Guan Yin you have met imagine how many you have not met yet.
How many names will Guan Yin have on people’s lips and in their prayers? How many statues and figurines will there be? There is so much to learn that we are eager to see her again and again.
Everything every encounter can be meaningless or full of meaning depending on our disposition. We can choose whether situations are stepping stones toward questions answers and more questions or whether they are just coincidences.
Life is walking in and out of awareness. Just as Guan Yin can be multiple so can we. Things like gender name and number have nothing to say that is real about anyone. Compassion is the most revolutionary thing you can feel for your fellow human being or living creature.
She who perceives the sound of the world the bodhisattva of compassion and goddess of mercy until we meet again.