[note 1] 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"[6] 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.

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).

This chapter is devoted to Avalokitesvara, describing him as a compassionate bodhisattva who hears the cries of sentient beings, and who works tirelessly to help those who call upon his name.

If innumerable hundreds of thousands of myriads of koṭis of sentient beings who experience suffering hear of Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara and wholeheartedly chant his name, Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara will immediately perceive their voices and free them from their suffering"The Lotus Sutra describes Avalokiteśvara as a bodhisattva who can take the form of any type of god including Indra or Brahma; any type of Buddha, any type of king or Chakravartin or even any kind of Heavenly Guardian including Vajrapani and Vaisravana as well as any gender male or female, adult or child, human or non-human being, in order to teach the Dharma to sentient beings.

[18] Additionally, Tan Chung notes that according to the doctrines of the Mahāyāna sūtras themselves, it does not matter whether Guanyin is male, female, or genderless, as the ultimate reality is in emptiness (Skt.

In China, Guanyin is generally portrayed as a young woman wearing a flowing white robe, and usually also necklaces symbolic of Indian or Chinese royalty.

In Chinese art, Guanyin is often depicted either alone, standing atop a dragon, accompanied by a white cockatoo and flanked by two children or two warriors.

The two warriors are the historical general Guan Yu from the late Han dynasty and the bodhisattva Skanda, who appears in the Chinese classical novel Fengshen Yanyi.

In Pure Land Buddhist traditions, Guanyin is often depicted and venerated with the Buddha Amitabha and the Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta as part of a trio collective called the "Three Saints of the West" (Chinese: 西方三聖; Pinyin: Xīfāng sānshèng).

Avalokiteśvara's myth spread throughout China during the advent of Buddhism and mixed with local folklore in a process known as syncretism to become the modern day understanding of Guanyin.

[21] The twenty-fifth chapter of the Lotus Sutra, one of the most popular sacred texts in the Buddhist canon, describes thirty-three specific manifestations that Guanyin can assume to assist other beings seeking salvation.

These forms encompass a Buddha, a pratyekabuddha, an arhat, King Brahma, Sakra (Indra), Isvara, Mahesvara (Shiva), a great heavenly general, Vaiśravaṇa, a Cakravartin, a minor king, an elder, a householder, a chief minister, a Brahmin, a bhikkhu, a bhikkhunī, a Upāsaka, a Upāsikā, a wife, a young boy, a young girl, a deva, a nāga, a yaksha, a gandharva, an asura, a garuḍa, a kinnara, a Mahoraga, a human, a non-human and Vajrapani.

[27] In the Karandavyuha Sutra, the Thousand-Armed and Thousand-Eyed Guanyin (Chinese: 千手千眼觀音; pinyin: Qiānshǒu Qiānyǎn Guānyīn) is described as being superior to all gods and buddhas of the Indian pantheon.

In certain Chinese Buddhist temples, visitors are also allowed to have their license plates enshrined in front of an image of this deity to invoke his protection over their vehicle.

[32] In iconographic form, she is depicted with eighteen arms, all wielding different implements and weaponry that symbolize skillful means of the Dharma, sitting on a lotus flower.

Another story from the Precious Scroll of Fragrant Mountain (香山寶卷) describes an incarnation of Guanyin as the daughter of a cruel king Miaozhuang Wang who wanted her to marry a wealthy but uncaring man.

When Jiang penned the work, he believed that the Guanyin we know today was actually a princess called Miaoshan (妙善), who had a religious following on Fragrant Mountain.

According to the story, after the king asked his daughter Miaoshan to marry the wealthy man, she told him that she would obey his command, so long as the marriage eased three misfortunes.

The story concludes with Miaoshan being transformed into the Thousand Armed Guanyin, and the king, queen and her two sisters building a temple on the mountain for her.

After her return to Earth, Guanyin was said to have stayed for a few years on the island of Mount Putuo where she practised meditation and helped the sailors and fishermen who got stranded.

Longnü is seen either holding a bowl or an ingot, which represents the Pearl of Light, whereas Shancai is seen with palms joined and knees slightly bent to show that he was once crippled.

In popular iconography, the parrot is coloured white and usually seen hovering to the right side of Guanyin with either a pearl or a prayer bead clasped in its beak.

The story continues with how Chen Jinggu grew up, studied at Lüshan, and eventually saved Northern Fujian from drought while defeating the white demon snake, but at the cost of sacrificing her own child.

Aside from religious veneration, many of these manifestations also tended to appear in medieval and modern Chinese Buddhist miracle tales, fantasy fiction novels and plays.

Unlike much of other East Asia Buddhism where Guanyin is usually portrayed as female or androgynous, Chenrezig is revered in male form.

In Chinese culture, the popular belief and worship of Guanyin as a goddess by the populace is generally not viewed to be in conflict with the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara's nature.

With specific reference to Avalokitesvara, he is stated both in the Lotus Sutra (Chapter 25 "Perceiver of the World's Sounds" or "Universal Gateway"), and the Śūraṅgama Sūtra to have appeared before as a woman or a goddess to save beings from suffering and ignorance.

One example of this comparison can be found in Tzu Chi, a Taiwanese Buddhist humanitarian organisation, which noticed the similarity between this form of Guanyin and the Virgin Mary.

The motion picture was filmed onsite on Mount Putuo and featured several segments where monks chant the Heart Sutra in Chinese and Sanskrit.