Kwan Yin

Kwan Yin is the divine energy of compassion and wisdom, the embodiment of pure intention and mercy in action.  She listens to everyone who speaks her name and provides support and comfort to all.  She is inexhaustible and infinite in her capacity to protect, guide and help those in need.

Kuan Yin has been worshipped for centuries in many countries and many cultures: known as Avalokiteswara or Chenrezig in Tibet, Guan Yin or Quan Yin in China, Kannon in Japan, and Tara in India and Tibet.   Her name means “she who listens to the cries of the world”.  She appears in many forms: male and female, miraculous and mundane. She is often seen wearing flowing white robes, holding a white lotus flower and pouring healing waters from a vase. Sometimes she is in a position of royal ease, or sitting on a lotus in a meditative pose practicing mudras - esoteric hand gestures. She can also manifest as a being with multiple heads, eyes, arms and hands - enabling her to see, hear and assist all sentient beings who call on her.

Quan Yin is the Great Celestial Bodhisattva of Compassion.  A bodhisattva is a human who has reached enlightenment but has decided not to enter Nirvana and instead vows to live a life of compassionate service. In the Sutra named "The Mahayana Marks of the Treasure King " it says that Kuan-yin is greater than any buddha, and has created the world. She is the divine mother.

       OM MANI PADME HUM

Her prayer, Om Mani Padme Hum, is said to contain the essence of all the teachings of the Buddha and will help one achieve perfection in the six practices: generosity, pure ethics, tolerance and patience, perseverance, concentration, and wisdom.  The Dali Lama, who is believed to be the current living incarnation of Kwan Yin, says, "From my own limited experience I have found that the greatest degree of inner tranquility comes from the development of love and compassion."

Statues, paintings, icons and photographs of Guan Yin can be used for meditation and inspiration. They are also worshipped and prayed to as a source of divine intervention.  Having these sacred items in your home or place of work is a way to bring the spirit of compassion into your life on a daily basis. 

Each of us carries the seeds of compassion, perfection and enlightenment within.  Every person’s heart is touched by random and intentional acts of loving kindness.  Those who sincerely work for the benefit of others without concern for fame, profit, social position, or recognition honor and reflect the divine essence of Kwan Yin.