Guanyin on Mt. Potalaka with Sudhana

Guanyin, the Chinese name of the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, the compassionate savior in Buddhism, was originally worshipped in the form of an Indian prince. Beginning in the Song period (960–1279), however, the Chinese transformed the bodhisattva into the Goddess of Mercy, depicted as a beautiful Chinese woman. In the Buddhist scripture the Garland Sutra (Huayan jing), the devout youth Sudhana visited fifty-three teachers including Guanyin. He is shown here as the small child in the lower right attending the goddess at Mount Potalaka (or Putuo Island) in the southern sea, which was considered a spiritual abode of Guanyin.