Synopsis

In western pure land, Great Bliss, the embodiment of all the Buddha's compassion, Quan-yin (Skt. Avalokitesvara) is entertained by the singing and dancing of her attending goddesses, but her heart, however, is perturbed. She is contemplating the welfare of beings and upon hearing their laments…..
 
On earth a war is raging. Under the influence of demons a cruel general is, along with his henchmen, destroying all who oppose him. In the battles, homes, families, and loved ones are all being destroyed causing immense suffering In the midst of this turmoil Quan-yin manifests in the guise of a majestic and awesome, wise old man. He fearlessly guides the villagers in their defeat and ultimate overthrow of the general, thwarted the general and his men scatter under the darkness of night. The villages are dissuaded from following and slaughtering them through the intervention of The Wise Old Man who counsels them in forgiveness and compassion.
 
The villages try to return to their old, idyllic lifestyles. However, due to the battle and the influence of the general and his henchmen, who are now living as outcastes, bandits, and thieves, the villagers become subject to robbery, abuse, and thievery; and now live in constant fear and anxiety. Some villagers, having lost everything during the fighting, resort to alcohol and become drunks, some even join with the disposed general and go and live with him and his men at their encampment in the hills.
 
Quan-yin decides to help the situation by teaching the villagers and bandits, by teaching the benefits of love, compassion, patience, tolerance and concern. She manifests herself as a lady dressed in white clothes, who appears in the market place trying to sell a small copper mirror for a very high price. Everyone, villagers and bandits alike, are surprised at the price she is asking for such a small trinket, and they gather around her trying to glimpse it. When nobody comes forward to buy the mirror she offers to let people look into it for a small fee. Curiosity getting the better of him, a soldier approaches and asks to look at the mirror. The lady in white agrees, and for a small fee he may look into the mirror; which he does. Horrified he turns away from it, and urges the others to look into the mirror. Slowly the rest of the people approach and, taking it in turns, look into the mirror. This is the magic mirror which allows you to see your past karma and its future result. Those who have performed good deeds see a beautiful future, those who have done negative ones see the horrors that will inevitably befall them, and those who have done both good and bad see a mixed future. As such, some leave their mirror viewing happy, some with a mixture of happiness and concern, and some leave clutching their chests with anxiety. After some time the lady in white decides to move on, but just before she departs the cruel general arrives. He ridicules the lady in white and her magic mirror and moves to strike her, whilst those who have found trust and solace in the lady move to protect her. In the ensuing scuffle a young girl dies protecting an elderly man/her father. Seeing this sacrifice the demons and the humans put an end to their turmoil. The lady in white, holding the girl's body, disappears. At the place of its disappearance some see a peaceful face, others a semi-wrathful face, and others still a ferocious face. It slowly dawns on the assembled people that the lady in white was none other than Quan-yin appearing, through her great compassion, in order to help and heal the people of the village.