Avalokiteśvara

Avalokiteśvara is a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. 

• He is one of the more widely revered bodhisattvas in mainstream Mahayana Buddhism. 
• In Sanskrit, Avalokitesvara is also referred to as Padmapāni (“Holder of the Lotus”) or Lokeśvara (“Lord of the World”).  

In early Indian Buddhism, the term bodhisattva was primarily used to refer specifically to Gautama Buddha in his former life.

The Jataka tales, which are the stories of the Buddha's lives, depict the various attempts of the bodhisattva to embrace qualities like self-sacrifice and morality.