Chenrezig literally means, 'the one who looks down."He embodies the compassion of all Buddhas past, present and future. He vowed to never give up helping all sentient beings to become enlightened. He swore if he ever stopped that he would shatters into a thousand pieces. Chenrezig never realized that there were so many beings in samsara. Growing tired and weary of the vast number needing his help he quit in despair and In that very moment he shattered into a 1000 pieces. Amitabha in his grace put Chenrezig back together. He gave him 1000 arms to reach more who suffer. In each palm is an eye representing method and wisdom. Amitabha gave him ten heads to see and hear clearly those suffering and crowned his head at the very top. This is symbolic of Chenrezig coming from his Buddha Family. Having an image of 1000 Armed Chenrezig helps one cultivate and nurture compassion. Having an image of 1000 Armed Chenrezig helps one cultivate and nurture love and compassion.

The Mantra of 1000-Armed Chenrezig: 
NA MO RA TN A TRA YAY A NA MO AR YA JN AN A SA GA RA BE RO TSA NA BA YU HAR AD ZA YA AT AG AT AYA AR HA TE SAM YAK SAM BUD DHA YA NA MA SAR WA TA TA GA TE BH AYA AR HAT BH AYA SAM YAK SAM BUDDHE BHAYA NAMA ARYA AVALOKITESHVARAYA BODHI SATOYA MAHA SA TO YA MAH KAR UNI KAY A TEY AT A OM DHA RA DHA RA DHIRI DHIRI DHUmRU DHUm RU IT TE WI TT TS AL E TS AL E PRA TS ALE PRA TSAM LE KU SU ME KU SU MA WA RE ILI MI LI TS ITI DZO LA MAP AN AYA SVA HA