Om mani padme hum!

I found this beautiful pix of the Four-Armed Guan Yin, or Avalokiteshvara. Avalokiteshvara (in Sanskrit means "Lord who looks down") is a Bodhisattva who embodies the Compassion of all Buddhas. Avalokiteshvara is often depicted in a female form known as Guan Yin. In Tibetan, Avalokiteshvara is known as Chenrezig.

I have an acute affinity with the Four-Armed Avalokiteshvara. Throughout many trials, I found that Avalokiteshvara is often by my side, either manifesting in my dreams or in other coincidental incidents.

In Tibetan Buddhism, Chenrezig is renowned as the embodiment of the compassion of all the Buddhas, the Bodhisattva of Compassion. He is the earthly manifestation of Buddha Amitabha 南無阿彌陀佛. He guards this world in the interval between the historical Shakyamuni Buddha, and the next Future Buddha - Maitreya.

Chenrezig made a vow that he would not rest until he had liberated all sentient beings in all the realms of suffering. After working diligently at this task for a very long time, he looked out and realized the immense number of sentient beings yet to be saved. Seeing this, he became despondent and his head split into thousands of pieces. Amitabha Buddha put the pieces back together as a body with very many arms and many heads, so that Chenrezig could work with myriad beings all at the same time. Sometimes Chenrezig is visualized with eleven heads, and a thousand arms fanned out around him. The Dalai Lamas and Karmapas, who are considered living Buddhas, are emanations of Chenrezig.

Whenever we are compassionate, or feel love for anyone, or for an animal or some part of the natural world, we experience a taste of our own natural connection with Chenrezig. Although we may not be as consistently compassionate as some of the great meditation masters, it is believed that we all share, in our basic nature, unconditional compassion and wisdom that is no different from what we see in Chenrezig and in these lamas.

We might have trouble believing that we are no different than Chenrezig - but learning about the nature of compassion, and learning about Chenrezig, repeating his mantra Om Mani Padme Hum and imagining that we would like to be like Chenrezig, pretending that we really are just like Chenrezig, we actually can become aware of increasing compassion in our lives, and ultimately, awaken as completely wise and compassionate buddhas.