Guanyin (Guan In)

Guanyin is the goddess of mercy and considered to be the physical embodiment of compassion. She is an all-seeing, all-hearing being who is called upon by worshipers in times of uncertainty, despair, and fear.

Physical Description

Body Features

Guanyin is usually depicted wearing a flowing white robe and jade necklaces. In middlelandian culture, the colors white and jade both symbolize purity. She often carries a vase of water in one hand and a willow branch in the other, and is typically shown standing on the back of a dragon, sitting on a lotus flower, or riding on clouds.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Before becoming a goddess, Guanyin was born as Miao Shan to a king and his wife. But, there was something different about Miao Shan that set her apart from other girls. As soon as she had the ability to speak, Miao Shan began to chant sutras. When she grew old enough for her father to think about marrying her off to some powerful lord, she told him that she had no desire to marry and aspired to become a nun. She said she would only agree to an arrangement if it would help solve three problems: the suffering of age, the suffering of sickness, and the suffering of death. Not being able to find a suitable partner for Miao Shan, the king told the fellow monks and nuns to give his daughter the hardest chores to discorage her. The young forest animals who lived around the temple took pity on the young girl and began to help her with the chores. He became so enraged upon learning Miao Shan was getting help that he set fire to the temple, but she intervened and extinguished the flames with her bare hands. Now fearing that his daughter was possessed by some kind of demon, her father sentenced her to death. On the day of her beheading, when the executioner brought his axe down upon her neck, the axe shattered into a thousand pieces. Seeing how much trouble she was causing the executioner, Miao Shan forgave him, let herself be killed and absorbed the karma of his actions, so he wouldn’t have to pay for her death in the afterlife. When she arrived in Hell, the Earth around her burst into life with blossoming flowers. Seeing all the suffering souls around her, Miao Shan began to weep with sorrow. She released all the positive karmic energy she had accumulated and allowed millions of souls to escape from Hell. Yan Wang, the leader of the ten kings of hell, feared that his whole kingdom would collapse, allowed her to return to Earth as the enlightened being, Guanyin.

Gender Identity

Though she can take both male and female form, she is most often represented as a woman in Middlelands lore.

Personality Characteristics

Motivation

Guanyin plays a role in a number of myths and is always portrayed as a powerful, benevolent figure who is motivated by a supreme sense of compassion.

Social

Family Ties

Although she is reincarnated multiple times, Guanyin was originally the daughter of King Zhuang of Chu and his wife, Lady Fan. She has two attendants, Longnü, a granddaughter of the Dragon King, and Shancai, one of her disciples.