At one time in the past, the Lord of Great Compassion, the Noble Avalokiteshvara, raised the Idea of Enlightenment, bodhicitta, and then for countless kalpas (eons) accumulated merit. After passing through the ten Bodhisattva levels, he received the special Great Light empowerment. Then, as he entered the ranks of the Noble Sons of the Buddha, he made this vow: "Throughout the samsaric world realms in the limitless space of the ten directions, I will benefit beings. I must liberate all beings from samsara. Not until all beings are established on the level of Buddhahood, not even one left behind in samsara, will I myself enter Buddhahood. Only when all beings without exception have been guided to Buddhahood, will it be well for me to achieve it. Until then I will remain in samsara for the benefit of all beings. And to ensure it, may my body be shattered into a thousand pieces if I break this vow." From then on, Avalokiteshvara resided on Potala Mountain. Through his limitless emanations, at every moment he accomplished the ripening and liberating of innumerable sentient beings -- to an extent beyond our means to express. And in this manner he passed uncountable years -- many, many kalpas.

About the name, Avalokiteshvara The Sanskrit epithet Avalokiteshvara literally means Worldward-looking Lord. It is transliterated into our alphabet from Tibetan: phags-mchog spyan-ras-gzigs and, as Tibetan spelling is a bit like English in that letters have become silent or are pronounced in a surprising fashion, the phrase comes out P'hagpo Chenrezi. (Often in respect of the Tibetan spelling, there is a final letter -g or -k but it is not generally pronounced.) Geshe Palden Dakpa explains that Chenrezi is the very embodiment of all compassionate motivation. His activity takes many different physical forms including deities and other spiritual beings, teachers and helpers of all kinds including animals and even objects.

The Avalokiteshvara spans many lands and cultures. Pictured as a male figure in his homeland of Tibet, he is embodied in female form in China and Southeast Asia as Kuan Yin