Guanyin

Guanyin
Wood carving of Guanyin with Amitābha on its crown. Northern Song Dynasty, China, c. 1025.
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	觀音
Simplified Chinese	观音
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Guānyīn Wade–Giles Kuan1-yin1 Wu Shanghainese Romanization Kuoe1-In1 Suzhounese Kue阴平 In阴平 Gan Romanization Guon In Hakka Romanization Guān Rhīm Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Gūnyām Jyutping Gun1 Jam1 Southern Min Hokkien POJ Koan-im
Full Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	觀世音
Simplified Chinese	观世音
Literal meaning	"[The One Who] Perceives the Sounds of the World"
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Guānshìyīn Wade–Giles Kuan1-shih4-yin1 Wu Shanghainese Romanization Kuoe1-Sy2-In1 Suzhounese Kue阴平 Syu阴去 In阴平 Hakka Romanization Guān Shè Rhīm Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Gūnsai Yām Jyutping Gun1 Sai3 Jam1 Southern Min Hokkien POJ Koan-sè-im
Second alternative Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	觀自在
Simplified Chinese	观自在
Literal meaning	"Lord who Gazes down on the World"
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Guānzìzài Wade–Giles Kuan1tzu4tsai4 Yue: Cantonese Jyutping Gun1 Zi6 Zoi6
Burmese name
Burmese	ကွမ်ယင်
IPA	[kwàɴ jɪ̀ɴ]
Tibetan name
Tibetan	སྤྱན་རས་གཟིགས
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabet	Quan Âm (Quán Âm) Quán Thế Âm (Quan Thế Âm) Quán Tự Tại
Chữ Hán	觀音 觀世音 觀自在
Thai name
Thai	กวนอิม, พระอวโลกิเตศวรโพธิสัตว์
RTGS	Kuan Im, Phra Avalokitesuan
Korean name
Hangul	관음, 관세음, 관자재
Hanja	觀音, 觀世音, 觀自在
Transcriptions Revised Romanization Gwaneum, Gwanseeum, Gwanjajae McCune–Reischauer Kwanŭm, Kwanseŭm, Kwanjajae
Mongolian name
Mongolian script	ᠨᠢᠳᠦ ᠪᠡᠷ ᠦᠵᠡᠭᠴᠢ
Japanese name
Kanji	観音, 観世音, 観自在
Hiragana	かんのん, かんぜおん, かんじざい
Transcriptions Romanization Kannon, Kanzeon, Kanjizai
Indonesian name
Indonesian	Kwan Im, Kwan She Im, Awalokiteswara
Filipino name
Tagalog	Guanyin (ᜄᜓᜀᜈᜌᜒᜈ)
Sanskrit name
Sanskrit	अवलोकितेश्वर (Avalokiteśvara)
Khmer name
Khmer	អវលោកិតេស្វរៈ (Avalokitesvarak), អវលោកេស្វរៈ (Avalokesvarak), លោកេស្វរៈ (Lokesvarak)
Hmong name
Hmong	Kabyeeb, Niam-Txiv Kabyeeb, Dabpog, Niam-Txiv Dabpog

Guanyin (Chinese: 觀音; pinyin: Guānyīn) is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. Guanyin is a common Chinese name for Avalokiteśvara (Sanskrit: अवलोकितेश्वर) in Chinese Buddhism and has been appropriated by other Eastern religions, including Taoism and Chinese folk religion.^{[note 1]} She was first given the appellation "Goddess of Mercy" or "Mercy Goddess" by Jesuit missionaries in China.^[1] Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin, which means "[The One Who] Perceives the Sounds of the World."^[2] On the 19th day of the sixth lunar month, Guanyin's attainment of Buddhahood is celebrated.^[3]

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.^[4] Guanyin is often referred to as the "most widely beloved Buddhist Divinity"^[5] with miraculous powers to assist all those who pray to her, as is mentioned in the Pumen chapter of the Lotus Sutra and the Kāraṇḍavyūha Sūtra.

Several large temples in East Asia are dedicated to Guanyin, including Shaolin Monastery, Longxing Temple, Puning Temple, Nanhai Guanyin Temple, Dharma Drum Mountain, Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple, Shitennō-ji, Sensō-ji, Kiyomizu-dera, Sanjūsangen-dō, and many others. Guanyin's abode and bodhimaṇḍa in India are recorded as being on Mount Potalaka. With the localization of the belief in Guanyin, each area adopted its own Potalaka. In Chinese Buddhism, Mount Putuo is considered the bodhimaṇḍa of Guanyin. Naksansa is considered to be the Potalaka of Guanyin in Korea. Japan's Potalaka is located at Fudarakusan-ji. Tibet's Potalaka is the Potala Palace. Vietnam's Potalaka is the Hương Temple.^{[citation needed]}

There are several pilgrimage centers for Guanyin in East Asia. Putuoshan is the main pilgrimage site in China. There is a 33-temple Guanyin pilgrimage in Korea, which includes Naksansa. In Japan, there are several pilgrimages associated with Guanyin. The oldest one of them is the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage, a pilgrimage through 33 temples with Guanyin shrines. Guanyin is beloved by most Buddhist traditions in a nondenominational way and is found in most Tibetan temples under the name Chenrézik (Wylie: Spyan ras gzigs). Guanyin is also beloved and worshipped in the temples in Nepal. The Hiranya Varna Mahavihar, located in Patan, is one example. Guanyin is also found in some influential Theravada temples, such as Gangaramaya Temple, Kelaniya, and Natha Devale, near the Temple of the Tooth in Sri Lanka. Guanyin can also be found in Thailand's Temple of the Emerald Buddha, Wat Huay Pla Kang (where the huge statue of her is often mistakenly called the "Big Buddha"), and Burma's Shwedagon Pagoda. Statues of Guanyin are a widely depicted subject of Asian art and are found in the Asian art sections of most museums in the world.

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