Today is the 19th of the second lunar month, the day which Chinese celebrate the birthday of the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy, or Kuan Yin. Coincidentally, it is also my lunar birthday today. Sharing the same birthday as a Goddess, many relatives and friends have always deemed me as one blessed child. Well, no matter what, I always see myself as a fortunate person being physically well and with loved ones around me.

Kuan Yin is considered to be the feminine form of Avalokitesvara, the bodhisattva of compassion of Indian Buddhism whose worship was introduced into China in the third century.

In China, Kuan Yin is usually shown in a white flowing robe, and usually wearing necklaces of Indian/Chinese royalty. In the right hand is a water jar containing pure water, and in the left, a willow branch. The crown usually depicts the image of Amitabha Buddha, Kuan Yin's spiritual teacher before she became a Bodhisattva.

Being the Bodhisattva of Compassion, it is believed Kuan Yin has the power to relieve suffering and bestow prosperity; women having trouble conceiving pray to Kuan Yin for children. Kuan Yin is sometimes depicted as having one-thousand hands, each with an eye, enabling her/him to direct a compassionate gaze on all of the world's misery.

Devout followers of Kuan Yin may frequent local temples and make pilgrimages to larger temples on important occasions or when they are burdened with a special problem. The three yearly festivals held in her honor are on the nineteenth day of the second month (celebrated as her birthday), of the sixth month, and of the ninth month based on the Chinese lunar calendar.

I come froma Buddhist family and though I am not a staunch Buddhist, I do believe and abide by certain reglious beliefs or traditions. Today, Mummy made some offerings to the Kuan Yin statue in my house and she even wanted to cook me noodles with red eggs to celebrate my lunar birthday which I rejected immediately. Vegetarian noodles in soup is the traditional food that marks Kuan Yin's birthday and red eggs are usually given during Chinese's birthdays. Well, eventually we went to Causarina Curry for prata instead. Yummy!