Forms of Compassion

If there are sentient beings who need someone in the form of a Buddha in order to be liberated, Chenrezig (Avalokiteshvara, Kwan Yin, Kannon) immediately manifests as a Buddha and speaks the Dharma for them. If they need someone in the form of a Solitary Realizer to be liberated, the Bodhisattva immediately manifests as a Solitary Realizer and exemplifies the Dharma for them. If they need a Disciple to be liberated, the Bodhisattva immediately manifests as a Disciple and speaks the Dharma for them. 

If they need a powerful god, a great general, a heavenly king, a worldly king, an elder, a layperson, a minister, a priest, a monk, a nun, a female elder, a female layperson, a female minister, a priestess, a young boy, a young girl, a celestial being, a dragon, a human being, a non-human being, or an indestructible deity to be liberated, the Bodhisattva immediately manifests as a powerful god, a great general, a heavenly king, a worldly king, an elder, a layperson, a minister, a priest, a monk, a nun, a female elder, a female layperson, a female minister, a priestess, a young boy, a young girl, a celestial being, a dragon, a human being, a non-human being, or an indestructible deity and speaks the Dharma for them. 

—Buddha Shakyamuni, The Lotus Sutra, Chapter of the Universal Gate