Quan Yin, alone among Buddhist gods, is loved rather than feared and is the model of Chinese beauty. Regarded by the Chinese as the goddess of mercy, she was originally male until the early part of the 12th century and has evolved since that time from her prototype, Avalokiteshvara, "the merciful lord of enlightment," an Indian bodhisattva who chose to remain on earth to bring relief to the suffering rather than enjoy the ecstasies of Nirvana.
One of the several stories surrounding Quan Yin is that she was a Buddhist who through great love and sacrifice during her life earned the right to enter Nirvana after death. However, like Avlokiteshvara, while standing before the gates of Paradise she heard cries of anguish from the earth below. Turning back to earth, she renounced her reward of eternal bliss and its place found immortality in the hearts of the suffering.
