Traditional Liuli Crystal Thousand-armed Avalokitesvara Guanyin Bodhisattva Statue

Thousand-armed Avalokitesvara

One prominent Buddhist story tells of Avalokitesvara vowing never to rest until he had freed all sentient beings from samsara. Despite strenuous effort, he realizes that many unhappy beings were yet to be saved. After struggling to comprehend the needs of so many, his head splits into eleven pieces. Amitabha, seeing his plight, gives him eleven heads with which to hear the cries of the suffering. Upon hearing these cries and comprehending them, Avalokitesvara tries to reach out to all those who needed aid, but found that his two arms shattered into pieces. Once more, Amitabha comes to his aid and invests him with a thousand arms with which to aid the suffering multitudes.