Quan Yin

This lady from the east is                                                                                            considered the last resort of barren women.  The men                                                                                            pray to her for their sons.  She is ultimate compassion                                                                                        The many stories told of her are always of sacrifice for                                                                                            others, including those who meant her harm.



It is relevant here to observe                                                                                      that Kuan Yin is often depicted in art holding a leafy                                                                                    twig, derived from the 'weeping willow' tree, known                                                                                      so due to its trailing leafy branches that droop to the                                                                                         ground and along which raindrops trickle down like                                                                                         tears.



The goddess Kuan Yin is a symbol, not only of the Chinese assimilation of Buddhism, but also of the many hued flavor of karuna, expressed through the softer wisdom of a woman. She is a pointer to the re-emergence of the goddess and the gender transformation of Avalokiteshvara in China represents perhaps a universal imperative, which is similarly reflected in the emanation of the goddess Tara from the compassionate tears of the same bodhisattva. Though often images are encountered, which show her sporting a moustache, emphasizing masculinity; this is negated by the softness of her demeanor.

Can anything be more subtly female than her graceful poise - modest and inward looking, yet potent enough to generate and compassionately nourish the whole outside world? In the words of Martin Palmer: "The divine feminine cannot be suppressed for long. In China, it emerged by the transformation of the male into the female," only god (or the goddess) knows how it will transpire in other cultures.