Song For Guan Yin

Guān Yīn (literal meaning: "Observes the sounds (of the world)"), also written Kuan Yin or Kwan-yin, is the bodhisattva of compassion as venerated by East Asian Buddhists. Guan Yin is also reverenced by Chinese Taoists as an Immortal.

In Japanese, Guan Yin is called Kannon or more formally Kanzeon; the spelling Kwannon, resulting from an obsolete system of romanization, is sometimes seen. In Korean, she is called Kwan-um or Kwan-se-um.

Guan Yin is one of the most beloved deities and Asian peoples have been worshipping her as the Goddess of mercy and compassion for many centuries.

ThroughoutAsia altars dedicated to this Mother of Mercy can be found in temples, homes and wayside grotto's and prayers to her Presence and her Flame are incessantly on the lips of devotees as they seek her guidance and succor in every area of life

A motherly figure said to bestow children on the faithful, protect all children and be there for anyone in need of compassion and love

Guan Yin is certainly one of the most adored of Goddesses, not only among her own people, the Chinese, but the world Many who worship her believe she is still, and always, looking after those in need of her care

Quan Yin; Likened to the worship of Mary in the West, is the Holy Mother of Compassion and Mercy

She was, and is, a Buddhist Bodhisattva (a mortal who has achieved enligtenement and earned the right to enter Heaven or Nirvana), who, when at the gates of Heaven, heard someone on Earth cry and so turned back, vowing that she would stay on Earth to do all she could to ease our suffering
She vowed not enter Heaven until everyone could go there with her

This bodhisattva's main attraction for people lies in her efforts to eliminate suffering and to make people live in peace and harmony.

"I am cultivating this method of great compassion and hope to save all living beings," Kuan Yin said. "Any living being who calls my name or sees me will be free from all fear and danger".."I will activate that being's spiritual awareness and maintain it forever"..

The iconography of Kuan Yin depicts 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

Symbols characteristically associated with Kuan 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 peace and 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.