Bodhisattva Lokesvara Transformed into Siva at the Guimet Museum, Paris

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Avalokiteshvara is a bodhisattva embodying compassion of all Buddhas. This bodhisattva is depicted in various cultures as either male or female and is portrayed differently in different cultures. In Chinese Buddhism, Avalokiteshvara has become the somewhat different female figure Guanyin. In Cambodia, he appears as Lokesvara. Avalokiteshvara is one of the more widely revered bodhisattvas in mainstream Mahayana Buddhism, as well as unofficially in Theravada Buddhism. The Tibetan tradition views Avalokiteshvara as arising from two sources. One source is the relative source, where a devoted compassionate Buddhist monk became a bodhisattva in a previous eon and transformed into Avalokiteshvara in the present kalpa. That is not in conflict with the ultimate source, which is Avalokiteshvara as the universal manifestation of compassion. The bodhisattva is viewed as an anthropomorphised vehicle for the actual deity serving to bring about a better understanding of Avalokiteshvara to humankind. Tibetan traditions assert that Avalokiteshvara is actually the Brahma who convinced Sakyamuni Buddha to teach rather than stay in seclusion after his enlightenment. He then became one of the two major disciples of the Buddha from the Deva realms, along with Indra King of the Gods who became known as Vajrapani. This object is part of "Scan The World". Scan the World is a non-profit initiative introduced by MyMiniFactory through which we are creating a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures artworks and landmarks from across the globe for public access. Scan the World is an open source community effort, if you have interesting items around you and would like to contribute email stw@myminifactory.com to find out how you can help.