Japan: 'White-robed Kannon, Bodhisattva of Compassion', Hanging scroll painting by Kano Motonobu (28 August 1476 - 5 November 1559), early 16th century. Guan Yin (Guanyin), also known as Kuan Yin and Guanshiyin, is the bodhisattva of mercy and compassion in Buddhism. The East Asian equivalent of Avalokitesvara, she is particularly popular in Chinese folk religion. She was called the 'goddess of mercy' by Jesuit missionaries in China. She was a central character in the Chinese mythological epic 'Journey to the West'. In Japan, she is known as Kannon, Kwannon or more formally Kanzeon.

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Guanshiyin or Avalokitesvara is the bodhisattva associated with compassion as venerated by East Asian Buddhists, usually as a female. The name Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin which means 'Observing the Sounds (or Cries) of the World'. Some Buddhists believe that when one of their adherents departs from this world, they are placed by Guanyin in the heart of a lotus then sent home to the western pure land of Sukhāvatī. It is generally accepted (in the Chinese community) that Guanyin originated as the Sanskrit Avalokiteśvara, which is her male form. Commonly known in English as the Goddess of Mercy, Guanyin is also revered in Daoism as an Japan, Guanyin is called Kannon.

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