The pledge of Kwan-Yin:
Never will I seek nor receive private, individual salvation; never will I enter into final peace alone; but forever and everywhere will I live and strive for the redemption of every creature throughout the world from the bonds of conditioned existence.

 

Kwan Yin is the Chinese goddess of Compassion. Yet she is so much more. The five major virtues of the goddess Kwan Yin are said to be mercy, modesty, courage, justice, and wisdom. She is one of those very rare deities who quietly belong to several religions at once. Always changing, always Herself, Her image can be seen on Buddhist shrines throughout the world as well as in Taoist places of worship. Her calm gaze watches over countless ancestors on Confucianist shrines in China, Shintoist shrines in Japan, often found close to Her own.

Kwan Yin is a synchretic deity who stands at the meeting place of two great archetypal rivers: the very ancient Chinese Great Mother and the Bodhisattva of Compassion, who appears elsewhere as a masculine figure. As the Great Mother, Her compassion radiates in harmony with the blessings of Tibetan Tara, African Yemaya or South-American Virgén de Guadalupe. In Buddhist tradition she is a bodhisattva. This is a soul who is fully realized and no longer needs to reincarnate, but chooses to do so in order to enlighten others. It is said that when Kwan Yin was ascending into spirit she heard the cries of suffering humans and chose to re-enter physical existence.

Traditionally she appears as a beautiful oriental woman, often seated or standing on a lotus blossom. Sometimes holding a small vial or vase, representing growth.

The legend of Kwan Yin (Kuan Yin, Quan Yin, Guan Yin) reaches far back into the ancient mists of India and China. There are many stories and fables that can be but what is more important is the essence of the Kwan Yin legend. In the simplest words, it goes as follows:

It is said that Kwan Yin was a wonderful, realized being who had lived such a life of merit and goodness that she erased all karma and transcended the cycle of birth and rebirth. Just as it came time for her to step out of the world of suffering and into Nirvana, Kwan Yin stepped back, vowing to remain in this world to aid and comfort all suffering beings. She vowed never to enter Nirvana until she has ferried every suffering being across the ocean of samsara.
Kwan Yin vowed, out of unconditional love for all, to come to the aid of any suffering being, and to do this in whatever manner and form necessary, and within the cultural, spiritual and psychological context best suited to the individual in need.

All over the world, women have always prayed to the White Goddess for the healing of a sick child or to find solace from life's troubles, and a woman who wants a child may pray to her. Always She hears, and Her Presence consoles the griving, cools the burning brow, relieves the pain. Kwan Yin means "She who hears the cries of sentient beings."

In Her sanctuary, Kwan Yin awaits you. In Her hands she holds the vessel of nectar which She pours on the world's suffering. The wheel of Her mantra, Om Mani Padme Hum, revolves infinitely, emanating light in all directions. Take the time to bow before Her and allow your heart to express its sincere wish. Allow Her subtle presence to reach out to you. It's good to ask for oneself, but it's even better to ask for a loved one.

The three yearly festivals held in her honor are on the nineteenth day of the second month (celebrated as her birthday), of the sixth month, and of the ninth month based on the Chinese lunar calendar. And the Goddess calendars say that April 5 is Kwan Yin's day, to be celebrated with gifts of incense.

"To hear her name and see her form delivers beings from every woe."

- LOTUS SUTRA