Of course, those who would follow the bodhisattva way should see great bodhisattvas as models for us and not be looking to gods or goddesses for special favors.

A Chinese poem of unknown origins says:

The Dharma-body of Kwan-yin
Is neither male nor female.
If even the body is not the body,
What attributes can there be? …’
Let it be known to all Buddhists:
Do not cling to form.
The bodhisattva is you:
Not the picture or the image.