Are Kannon and Kuan Yin the same?
In the general sense, yes. They are both emanations of Avalokitesvara. There are literally dozens of manifestations of this most blessed of compassionate Bodhisattvas, some male, some female. In China, Kuan Yin (Kuan Shi Yin, he who looks down with compassion, sometimes spelled Guan Yin), is often portrayed as female, to represent compassion. Kannon (or Kwannon, Kanzeon) is the Japanese Kuan Yin, although typically is portrayed as male. In China, Guan Yin was reincarnated in many lives, including a popular tragic princess who is butchered by her own father (a King) for becoming a nun. Also, in China, Guan Yin is popular as the Bodhisattva who eases the suffering of women in childbirth. Over time, Guan Yin reincarnated and manifested many times as a woman, sometimes as a man. In Japan, however, Kannon is almost always male, often depicted with a mustache. In Tibet, where Avalokitesvara is the patron Bodhisattva (the Dalai Lama is the living incarnation of Avalokitesvara), he is always m
