Bodhisattva Thangka Paintings

"...karuna is central to the entire Buddhist tradition. It is frequently described as a love for all beings, equal in intensity to a mother\'s affection for her child... the defining symbol of...the Chinese assimilation of Buddhism...is the goddess...Kuan Yin...who with her sweet and merciful disposition, has won the hearts of not only the Chinese, but also profoundly affected even those who, belonging to a foreign tradition, have only had a fleeting interaction with her... Kuan Yin is the Chinese version of the male god Avalokiteshvara, whom the ancient texts eulogize as the patron deity of compassion... (She) is a symbol...of the many hued flavor of karuna, expressed through the softer wisdom of a woman... Though often images are encountered, which show her sporting a moustache, emphasizing masculinity; this is negated by the softness of her demeanor... Can anything be more subtly female than her graceful poise - modest and inward looking, yet potent enough to generate and compassionately nourish the whole outside world?"

"A bodhisattva wishes to help all beings attain nirvana. He must therefore refuse to enter nirvana himself, as he cannot apparently render any services...after his own nirvana... A bodhisattva can never love the body for its own sake... he cherishes it...because he will...save someone sometime somewhere... in the moment of tribulation."