Avalokiteshvara, known as Chenrezig in Tibetan, is the bodhisattva of compassion who vowed never to rest while beings suffer. The four-armed form holds a wish-fulfilling jewel at the heart, with counting beads and lotus in the outer hands; the thousand-armed form extends help in every direction at once.

His six-syllable mantra, Om Mani Padme Hum, is carved on stones and spun in prayer wheels across the Himalaya. Artists paint his white, moon-like body with gentle downcast eyes, a moon disc and lotus halo behind him, in soft mineral whites and golds.