"Buddhist images are very different from human portraits," avers sculptor Ch'en Han-ch'ing, whose work is by no means restricted to sculptures of Kuan-yin. Secular portraiture is usually Western-influenced, with the emphasis on Physical realism. Yet Buddhist portraiture additionally requires the artist to express a spirit of benevolent compassion and joyful detachment from the things of this world.
「佛像和一般人物像差別很大」，並不止雕塑觀音的陳漢清說，一般人像受西方美學影響，偏重理性、寫實，但佛像除了寫實，還必須表達出慈悲喜捨的精神（慈：予人快樂；悲：解人憂煩；喜：讚嘆他人善行；捨：儘量助人，不執著世間一切）。