In Search of the Goddess of Compassion: Mystical Cult of Kuan Yin by John Blofeld
Kuan Yin is the celestial Bodhissatva of Compassion, the Chinese goddess of love and compassion. In this book on the mysticism of Buddhist China and Tantra in Tibet, John Blofeld explores the many-faceted cult that surrounds Kuan Yin and the rites and rituals associated with her. Worshipped as a charming and benign folk goddess she is believed in by peasants and fishermen throughout the Far East. Yet she can also be depicted as a symbolic personification of divine compassion or as a yogic vehicle through which it is possible to attain Enlightenment and perceive the ultimate nature of reality. Illustrated with reproductions of Chinese and Tibetan sacred art, the book includes a number of devotional poems and yogic texts translated by the author and descriptions of contemplative meditation techniques.