This goddess was at one time a real person, though at some point in her shift from India to China she apparently underwent a sex change. Avalokitesvara, the original Guan Yin (Kwun Yam), was an Indian prince turned Boddhisattva, a person who had attained enlightenment like the Buddha but who chose to remain on earth to relieve the suffering of others. Pictures of Avalokitesvara often show him looking like a Buddha with a moustache and much of his chest revealed.
First introduced to China around the 3rd century, Guan Yin's image gradually changed, though she still retained a royal look. A Buddhist monk who translated the Lotus Sutra in the 5th century started referring to Guan Yin as a female. By the Song Dynasty (about 1,000 years ago), Guan Yin had definitely developed a more womanly appearance with flowing white robes fully covering her body and sometimes carried a baby. This may be when she acquired devotees desiring children.
In fact, it doesn't really matter what form Guan Yin takes. A Boddhisattva is able to assume any form – male, female, child or animal – whatever is appropriate in effort to save a being. She is often depicted as having one thousand hands and eyes, indicating an omnipresence that could understand and alleviate misery.
In China, the real person associated with this goddess is Miao Shan, a princess who lived for nine years in the early 8th century in Putuo Island, Zhejiang Province. She was immortalized in a 12th century tale, for her miraculous healing and saving of shipwrecked sailors. Putuo Island became, and still is, a place of pilgrimage for the devout.
Statues of Guan Yin for home or office use often depict her carrying a willow branch in her left hand to spread the heavenly nectar from the jar in her right hand, or holding a lotus, the symbol of purity and enlightenment. In temples, she simply holds her hands in gestures of calmness and protection.
There are three major annual celebrations for Guan Yin: her birthday, her enlightenment and the end of her life.
Local Celebrations for Guan Yin’s Day of Enlightenment (the 19th day of the 6th lunar month or 30 July, 2010) at the Guan Yin Temple at Pak Sha Wan, Sai Kung:
July 27-31, 2010: Opera Theatre performances at the temporary matshed opera house across the street from the temple (which is undergoing refurbishment at present).