| Inside the Front Shrine (also called the Great Compassion Shrine) stands a prominent statue of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, known as Guan Yin in Chinese. |  |
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Avalokitesvara can be loosely translated as "the compassionate sage who sees," referring to this Bodhisattva's ability to see all the suffering in the world and thus come to people's aid. She is said to have one thousand eyes and hands with which to save all sentient beings. Guan Yin takes a variety of forms; the Front Shrine's primary statue portrays her with a third eye in the middle of her brows, and multiple hands. |