The Amitabha Buddha gave this deity extra limbs so that she could hear and reach those who were suffering.
Although this figure is not the Virgin Mary, she is syncretized with the Fujianese sea-goddess Mazu. This figure made a disabled boy hobble off a cliff as a test of devotion. In some art, this figure is depicted flanked by two child disciples, with a white cockatoo, or holding a willow branch. In one story, this figure's father tried to horribly bully her into a marriage, but she later sacrificed her (*) eyes and arms to heal him. Supplication to a male version of this deity is described in a late chapter of the Lotus Sutra. The Amitabha Buddha gave this deity extra limbs so that she could hear and reach those who were suffering. For 10 points, name this eleven-headed, thousand-armed androgynous deity of compassion.
Although this figure is not the Virgin Mary, she is syncretized with the Fujianese sea-goddess Mazu.
Guanyin [prompt on “Avelokitesvara”]