Kwannon

In Buddhism, a form, often regarded as female (and known to the West as ‘goddess of mercy’), of the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. Kwannon is the most important bodhisattva in all main schools of Buddhism, and is an attendant of Amida Buddha. Kwannon is sometimes depicted with many arms extending compassion.

Images of Kwannon were originally based on an idealized Indian prince, and grew gradually more androgynous. Kwannon can be depicted with various attributes. One form has ten small Amida heads on top of its own head; another carries a noose with which to save all beings; yet another turns the wheel of the law. The many-armed Kwannon can have four or six arms, or a thousand. There is also a manifestation in the shape of a horse that saves people from shipwreck.