Guan Yin is sometimes called “The Goddess of Mercy” in Chinese Buddhism. Yet, it is more accurate to call her a bodhisattva—someone who can reach nirvana, but delays doing so in order to be able to save those who are suffering. Folks pray to Guan Yin for a number of reasons. They may ask for guidance or relief from suffering. Some may seek protection from misfortune. Others may ask for various types of healing or direction in making important decisions. Finally, she may be prayed to for blessings involving fertility and childbirth.

Although originally male in India, Guan Yin began to be represented as a female figure in Chinese Buddhism around the Tang dynasty (618–907 CE) and became more and more identified as female during the Song dynasty (960–1279 CE). This change reflected the fact that the qualities of compassion and mercy were culturally associated with femininity.

What may be confusing is that many folks conceive of Buddhism as a type of system for self-development, focusing on mindfulness and meditation. This approach exists and is especially prominent in Theravada Buddhism, which is widely practiced in countries such as Sri Lanka, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.

Chinese Buddhism, on the other hand, incorporates a range of practices and beliefs which can include the veneration of various bodhisattvas and celestial beings. Chinese Buddhism is primarily a part of the Mahayana tradition, which emphasizes the role of bodhisattvas like Guan Yin, who help others achieve enlightenment. This can include practices that seem like or are devotional worship. Over the centuries, Chinese Buddhism has even incorporated aspects of Daoism and folk religion, and, thus, it sometimes involves rituals, offerings, and prayers to bodhisattvas and deities for advice, protection, and blessings.

While meditation and mindfulness are practiced in Chinese Buddhism, an emphasis on rituals, chanting sutras, and communal activities exists. Monasteries often play a central role in community life. Therefore, although self-development through mindfulness and meditation is a core aspect of Buddhism, Chinese Buddhism also leans toward a more devotional and ritualistic aspect.

Within this context, Guan Yin is believed to assist people in their spiritual journey by providing guidance and compassion. Although she does not grant enlightenment directly, she works to alleviate suffering and steer devotees towards the right way, which can assist them in their progress toward a higher level of more humane and meaningful being.

Surprisingly, in one corner of Daan Park in Taipei, that city’s version of Central or Hyde Park, there is a quite large, white statue of Guan Yin. One would not normally expect to find a religious statue in a public park and, in fact, one can see a sign nearby that declares it is a work of “public art” and not government supported religion. Indeed, there was a huge controversy around whether the statue (created by Yuyu Yang in 1979) should have been torn down once the land on which it stood was to be developed into a public park in the 1980s. Some public figures went on a hunger strike to preserve the statue and when vandals desecrated it, the public angrily rallied to its cause and compelled that it remain in a “Don’t go, Guan Yin!” campaign.

Despite the sign which admonishes folks not to pray and engage in religious activities near the statue, people who pass by it will often stop, bow their heads, and offer up prayers. A group even planted a bamboo grove around the statue as a type of home for the bodhisattva.

The Guan Yin I came across at Daan Park is called a Willow Branch Guan Yin. She holds a vase upside down and a twig or branch from a willow tree. The vase is meant to contain pure water. Guan Yin's act of pouring the water is a gesture of blessing or purifying, and alleviating suffering. The flow of water represents the outpouring of her compassion and mercy to all beings.

In traditional Chinese culture, the willow tree is associated with flexibility and resilience. Guan Yin uses the willow branch to sprinkle the pure water from the vase, conveying her ability to heal and soothe. So you ask, “But if she’s pouring the water, why does she need to sprinkle it as well?” I am guessing that the act of sprinkling the water with the willow branch is a more delicate and precise way to offer blessings and healing, showcasing the goddess’ gentle nature, making sure that everyone gets what she can offer. The willow's flexibility also represents the adaptability of a compassionate nature that can bend without breaking, signifying strength in tenderness.

As I was walking toward the statue one afternoon, thinking about what people might be praying for from her, and chuckling that folks were openly disregarding the nearby sign, it suddenly struck me that an approach to this bodhisattva could be quite different from the usual supplication or veneration.

There are people in deep need who seek her assistance, and that’s understandable, but what if Guan Yin’s role was also to stand as a type of beacon, or a challenge for us to keep examining ourselves and to keep rising? What if she were there to question us and to see how we were doing and how well our work was going for our own positive personal and social change? What if Guan Yin were a form of gentle pressure on us to keep going, keep striving, keep growing, keep challenging each other?

I imagined Guan Yin talking to me. I imagined her saying:

“Hey Dan, nice to see you. Are you still fighting the good fight? Are you still trying to selflessly help others? Do you still care? Are you still trying to rise to a more humane level of life? Have you recognized the acts of harm you may have caused others in the past and become open to changing due to your remorse and new understanding of yourself?

Are you examining how you respond to others who cause harm and showing love and compassion to them, helping them rise to a better life? Are you returning compassion for malice? Are you creating joy in others? Are you helping me to rid the world of suffering? Are you helping to create meaningful pressure in your society for humanitarian change?”

I paused in front of the statue, violating the terms of the government sign myself, gave her my answers and I promised to be braver and try harder.

Einstein once said, “Those who have the privilege to know have the duty to act.” If one is impoverished and hopeless and needs to turn to Guan Yin for help, the Goddess of Mercy will hear them. Those who can must strive to develop the agency that Guan Yin represents, and when we see her, we should be re-galvanized to do this. While many turn to Guan Yin for compassion, guidance, and relief from suffering, she can also serve as a powerful beacon of the qualities we should be open to developing: compassion, self-improvement, and altruism.

Seeing Guan Yin as a standard for behavior and a challenge to rise above our unchallenged predispositions is a deeply meaningful approach. It proposes that spiritual figures and icons often serve not just as deities to be worshiped, but as exemplars of the highest virtues we can strive for in our own lives.

This points to the dynamic personal relationship that individuals can have with spiritual symbols. Guan Yin's presence and the qualities she represents can inspire us to reflect on our own actions and motives, encouraging us to continue "fighting the good fight" and caring for each other.