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Kwan Yin

Guanyin
Kuan-yan bodhisattva, Northern Sung dynasty, China, c. 1025, wood, Honolulu Academy of Arts.jpg
Northern Song Dynasty wood carving of Guanyin, c. 1025. Male bodhisattva depiction with Amitābha's crown.
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese 觀音
Simplified Chinese 观音
Full Chinese name
Traditional Chinese 觀世音
Simplified Chinese 观世音
Literal meaning "[The One Who] Perceives the Sounds of the World"
Burmese name
Burmese ကွမ်ယင်မယ်တော်
IPA [kwàɴ jɪ̀ɴ]
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese Quan Âm
Quán Thế Âm
Thai name
Thai กวนอิม
Korean name
Hangul 관음
관세음
Hanja 觀音
觀世音
Japanese name
Kanji



Sinhalese name
Sinhalese නාථ දෙවියෝ
Tibetan name
Tibetan སྤྱན་རས་གཟིགས

Guanyin or Guan Yin (more at § Names in other Asian languages, below) is an East Asian bodhisattva associated with compassion as venerated by Mahayana Buddhists. She is commonly known as the "Goddess of Mercy" in English. The Chinese name Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin, meaning "[The One Who] Perceives the Sounds of the World". She is also referred to as Guanyin Bodhisattva (traditional Chinese: 觀世音菩薩; simplified Chinese: 观世音菩萨; pinyin: Guān shì Yīn Pú Sà).

Some Buddhists believe that when one of their adherents departs from this world, they are placed by Guanyin in the heart of a lotus, and then sent to the western Pure Land of Sukhāvatī. Guanyin is often referred to as the "most widely beloved Buddhist Divinity" with miraculous powers to assist all those who pray to her, as is said in the Lotus Sutra and Karandavyuha Sutra.

Several large temples in East Asia are dedicated to Guanyin including Shitennoji, Sensoji, Kiyomizu-dera and Sanjusangendo as well as Shaolin. Guanyin is beloved by all Buddhist traditions in a non-denominational way and can be found in some of the most important Buddhist centers in India, including the Mahabodhi Temple, Ajanta Caves and Nalanda Museum as well as most Tibetan temples under the name Chenrezig. Furthermore, Guanyin can also be found in some influential Theravada temples such as Gangaramaya and Kelaniya of Sri Lanka. Statues can also be found in the Asian art sections of most museums in the world as a widely depicted subject of Asian art and sculpture.


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