Guanyin, also spelled Kwan Yin, is called the Chinese goddess of mercy. She is a manifestation in female form of Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, which in Sanskrit means "The Lord Who Looks Down in Pity" or "He Who Hears the Cries of the World."
In China, the bodhisattva was portrayed as male until the time of the early Sung Dynasty (960–1126). From the 12th century on, however, in much of Asia, Avalokiteshvara took the form of a mother-goddess of mercy.
Guanyin is venerated as the ideal of karuna. Karuna is the activity of compassion in the world and the willingness to bear the pain of others.