(Chinese: Guanyin; Korean: Kwanum; Japanese: Kannon) In Mahayana Buddhism, the bodhisattva whose infinite compassion gains a particularly large following in East Asia. The iconography of Avalokitesvara is particularly rich and diverse, including manifestations with eleven heads, and with one thousand eyes and arms. Avalokitesvara also appears as distinctly feminine in certain East Asian forms.
Sanskrit word for the Bodhisattva who Hears the Sounds of the World. He rescues all beings by hearing their voices of suffering and cries for help. In Chinese, he is called Guan Shr Yin or Guan Yin Bodhisattva. As one of the Four Great Bodhisattva, he is the one with the greatest compassion and mercy. Guan Yin is one of the triad of Amitabha Buddha, represented on his left, and being the future Buddha in the Land of Ultimate Bliss (Pure Land) after Amitabha Buddha. Guan Yin can transform into many different forms in order to cross over to the beings. Guan Yin is one of the most popular Bodhisattva in China.
Sanskrit; Kannon (Japanese), Chen Resig (Tibetan), Kwan Um (Korean); the bodhisattva of compassion.
(Sanskrit): bodhisattva of compassion (see Kwan Seum Bosal).
The name is a compound of Ishwara, meaning Lord, and avalokita, looked upon or seen, and is usually translated as the Lord Who Observes (the cries of the world); the Buddhist embodiment of compassion as formulated in the Mahayana Dharma.
