AVALOKITESVARA 2020 Samoa 155g piedfort antiqued copper coin: Avalokitesvara is known by different names in Asia. The different names and identities the bodhisattva assumed reflect the fact that different cultures made different choices in representing him. In Tibet, Sri Lanka, and Southeast Asia, Avalokitesvara has been very much identified with royalty. But in China and countries having historical and cultural connections with China, such as Japan, Korea and Vietnam, Guanyin is regarded as the exemplar of wisdom for meditators and as the “Goddess of Mercy,” who is particularly kind to women. Although bodhisattvas transcend gender or other worldly distinctions, they, like the Buddha, are depicted in scriptures and art as male. But Guanyin underwent a dramatic transformation from male to female in China, an evolution that accounted for why the bodhisattva acquired this nickname.