In Buddhist traditions, bodhisattvas are enlightened beings who have achieved nirvana or enlightenment, but have delayed entering paradise in order to help others achieve enlightenment, thus easing human suffering. Avalokiteshvara is the Sanskrit name of one such bodhisattva, which comes from the Lotus Sutra, one of the most important texts of Mahayana Buddhism. Avalokiteshvara is a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all buddhas, thus making him one of the more prominent figures in Buddhism. Chinese Buddhism translates his name is Guanyin (sometimes Guan Yin or Kuan Yin). 

Avalokiteshvara is referred to as male in the Lotus Sutra, and representations of him in China prior to the Song Dynasty (960-1279 CE) are masculine. Somewhere around the 12th century, portrayals of Guanyin shifted from being masculine to more feminine. Since bodhisattvas have achieved enlightenment, many have supernatural powers allowing them to change appearances in accordance with how they choose. Because Guanyin is the bodhisattva of compassion, one of their powers is the ability to bestow children. It is this power that may have led to the shift in representation of showing Guanyin in a more feminine form. 

During this shift in representation, Guanyin became the patron goddess of mothers and seamen, and was often depicted holding a child. This led to connections being drawn between Guanyin and the Virgin Mary or Madonna figure from Christianity. For instance, from the 1600s-1800s in Japan during the Edo era, Christianity was banned and punishable by death. Some underground Christian groups would produce figures of the Virgin Mary disguised as Guanyin, known as Maria Kannon, with a cross hidden somewhere in the statue to denote her as such. Today, scholars continue to explore the connections between Mary and Guanyin and the ways in which their depictions in art and visual culture continue to overlap despite geographical and religious differences.