Kuan Yin and Compassion

In August of 2017, I was meditating on which new direction to take when Kuan Yin (Quan Yin, Guanyin or Kwan Yin), the Goddess of Compassion made her presence known. It was a little surprising, since I hadn’t worked with her before, nor was she particularly on my mind. You can find images by clicking on Kuan Yin or Guanyin.

Who is Kuan Yin?

I knew Kuan Yin was the goddess of Compassion, but I didn’t know much more than that. I started doing research on this gentle goddess. What could her calling mean?

Kuan Yin, as I knew her, is a Bodhisattva, an ascended being in Buddhism, who chose to remain on this plane of existence and vowed never to rest until all sentient beings were freed from suffering and the cycle of rebirth. That’s a pretty big deal, honestly. To have the option of eternal bliss and freedom from all suffering (sounds a lot like heaven) and to decide instead to stay until every person on earth had also ascended and could join you? That could take a very long time.

Here’s a pretty good description of Kuan Yin from The Seven Worlds.

“… but it is not so much the arrangement of letters <of her name> as it is the effect that her spoken name produces on those with a Buddhist background, similar to a reaction in the West when one is speaking of the Virgin Mary. In both cases, it invokes the feeling of compassion and unconditional love. Indeed, her force is compared to Mother Mary in the West, Green Tara in the Tibetan culture, the Virgin of Guadeloupe in Mexico, and many other ancient goddesses …”

She is the embodiment of the Mother’s energy of compassion. Just as some believe in a heavenly Father, I also believe in a Mother, and that the two are ultimately the same Source. The creative Source of this world (call it what you will).

Those versed in the arts of the goddess, will also recognize she resonates with the Mother element of the triple goddess.

All to say, this lady is all about some motherly love and compassion.

What did it mean?

At the time, I took Kuan Yin’s appearance to mean I needed to have more compassion in my life. She was calling, so I decided I needed a better definition of the word “compassion”. What was I being called to do?

I started with Merriam-Webster: compassion is

“sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it”

Alright, so be conscious and want to help other people. I had a good start, but it seemed like there was more involved. I mean, wanting to help others is nice, but what about the part where you actually do the helping?

Another article by the Greater Good Science Center has this to say:

Compassion literally means “to suffer together.”

So honestly, was I being called to suffer? That didn’t seem quite right either.

The same article above has some excellent tips for cultivating compassion, and taking compassionate action. So this feels more like it. Some of the ideas include:

• Seeing yourself as the same as others by looking for commonalities
• Calm your inner worrier when faced with other’s pain (e.g. What if it happens to me?) by calling upon a compassionate response
• Notice and savor how good it feels to be compassionate
• See people as individuals instead of abstractions

So really, compassion seemed more like a state of mind, or perhaps a way of approaching those in need. This felt more concrete. Something I could practice perhaps, and get a better feel for what exactly this, previously abstract, concept means.

Was I ready?

Kuan Yin’s attempts to contact me quickly convinced me this was a path I needed to pursue. Something I would need, or want in my life. Alright, Kuan Yin, I’m on board.

I wanted a way to symbolize her presence in my life, so I started browsing online for a small statue. I really like the classic look and purchased this one from Amazon called Buddhist Avalokiteshvara Kuan Yin Buddhism Statue. On the website, the image looked like this:

While this may not be for everyone, it was perfect for my needs. My first thought was a small shelf-shrine. Research indicated she ideally should be place near running water, which for me would mean the kitchen or one of the two bathrooms.

I decided that wasn’t quite the look or feel I was going for. Finally, I put her on the top shelf of my computer desk, were I could easily find her, and she could watch me as I worked.

Next steps

In order to invite Kuan Yin into my life, I did a small ceremony where I asked her to join me and give direction on who needed my attention. What is our mission here, Lady of Compassion? Where do I start? The answer surprised me.

She said “Start with yourself“.

Conclusion

Just like you have to stay hydrated to function, you need to keep yourself spiritually nourished in order to thrive and share your own heart’s service.

Putting this experience down into words has allowed me to re-examine the point of first contact. Over time, Kuan Yin’s message had cleared and changed slightly “Practice on yourself“. A lot of the spiritual work I am doing lately has encouraged me to hold myself gently and with compassion. I’m becoming aware of and more in tune with the energy of compassion, and I can see my newly discovered muscles beginning to twitch.

I can see in myself the ability to hold the energy of compassion for other people as well.

What do you think is more important, to have compassion for yourself, or to have compassion for others?