Three Kwan Yin

I became interested in the Goddess of Compassion, Kwan Yin, 15 years or so ago when I was doing some significant forgiveness work. I was surprised to find myself attracted to an Asian goddess, as Buddhism wasn't much on my radar at the time - I'd been digging around in my Celtic Pagan roots. But her message of compassion and mercy was what I needed at that time, and so I opened up to her and began seeing images of her everywhere.

This explains a bit about her, from the website MyKwanYin.com:

Known as The Goddess of Mercy, Gentle Protectoress, Bodhisattva of compassion, even the savior of seamen and fishermen, she holds many titles. The spelling of her name varies, but it is not so much the arrangement of letters as it is the effect that her spoken name produces on those with a Buddhist background, similar to a reaction in the West when one is speaking of the Virgin Mary. In both cases, it invokes the feeling of compassion and unconditional love. Indeed, her force is compared to Mother Mary in the West, Green Tara in the Tibetan culture, the Virgin of Guadeloupe in Mexico, and many other ancient goddesses, the matriarchy of old. You might call her the Buddhist Madonna, or, as She calls Herself, "The Mother of all Buddhas".

I collected a few figures of her over the years. The purple statue was the first one I bought - I love the dragon on the base, and the crystal ball, which I think represents the Earth.

Then I remembered a small statue my mom had for many years - a white porcelain figure that she always referred to as a Geisha. I suspected it was actually Kwan Yin, and I doubted Mom had ever heard of her. Mom had died by then, but I asked my dad if he still had the figurine; he found it and gave it to me. It is a significant piece to me, as much of the forgiveness work I was doing had to do with my mom. It was fitting that I had this piece that she loved but didn't understand or see for what it really was.

The third Kwan Yin in the photo is visible out the window between the other two (the dragon's tail points to her). She was a wedding gift for Laurie and me; she lives in the courtyard at the side of our house, underneath the witch hazel, which is the yellow flower you can see. (It's a winter bloomer, and has the most amazing scent - I wish this blip could share the fragrance.)

After the earthquake and tsunami in Japan last year, I created this collage as a prayer for the people: "She Who Hears the Cries of the World."

View large to see more detail (and dust!).