Guanyin Meaning: The Bodhisattva of Compassion in Chinese Buddhism

Guanyin is the bodhisattva of compassion in Chinese Buddhism and one of the most beloved figures in East Asian religion. The name means "the one who perceives the sounds of the world": Guanyin hears the cries of all who suffer and responds to them.

From Avalokiteśvara to Guanyin

Guanyin is the Chinese form of Avalokiteśvara, the bodhisattva of compassion of Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism. A bodhisattva is a being who has vowed to attain enlightenment for the sake of all others, and Avalokiteśvara embodies that compassion above all.

The Universal Gate

Guanyin's popularity in China owes much to chapter 25 of the Lotus Sutra, the "Universal Gate" chapter, which describes how the bodhisattva rescues those who call on its name from fire, flood, shipwreck, bandits and every other danger. The chapter circulated widely on its own and shaped centuries of devotion.

A male bodhisattva becomes female

Avalokiteśvara is male in Indian art. In China, over the centuries leading up to the Song dynasty, Guanyin increasingly came to be shown as female, and by late imperial times the gentle, white-robed Guanyin, often holding a vase of pure water and a willow branch, had become the familiar image. The island of Putuoshan, off the coast of Zhejiang, became one of her great pilgrimage centres.

Guanyin in jewellery

A Guanyin pendant or charm is a sign of devotion to compassion itself. For many Buddhists it is also a reminder to act with compassion towards others. Take a look at the AURYN Guanyin charm, or read about the abhaya mudra, the gesture of reassurance often made by bodhisattvas.