HAYWIRE Issue 2 Fall 2013
become a nun in a temple, and he had her
killed. Guan Yin had to go down to the
underworld, although she herself had not
sinned in her life, because she had taken all
her father’s sins upon her and so made him
guiltless. “But when she got there, she recited
the holy books, and that prevented the god of
the underworld from torturing the dead
souls ... he didn’t like that, and so he sent
Guan Yin back to be alive again. When Guan
Yin came back to life, she spent all her time
studying Buddhist ideas, and so the Buddha
made her immortal” (Carr). Peter J. Allen and
Chas Saunders write that Guan Yin was about
to enter heaven because of her good deeds,
purity, and saintliness when she heard the
cries of the souls on Earth. Filled with
compassion, she swore to not rest until she
had helped every soul attain Buddhahood.
Thus, “Guan Yin is often loved beyond the
other deities, for she postponed