Rather like the Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, who vowed not to become a Buddha until hell was emptied of suffering beings, Kuan-yin has dispensed with the merits of her supreme majesty and transformed herself into a bodhisattva to save living souls in the mortal world. This spirit of self-sacrifice is truly worthy of veneration.
比起發願「地獄不空，誓不成佛」的地藏菩薩，觀音以「佛祖」之尊，紓尊降貴、「倒駕慈航」（成佛後再化身菩薩，入世救人）的精神，就更令人景仰了。