對於明代帝王而言，觀音信仰是他們「君權神授」的來源。如明成祖因為發動靖難篡位，即時常欲合法化自己的政權，故想到利用佛教流行的觀音信仰，編造一部《大明仁孝皇后夢感佛說第一希有大功德經》，宣說他的政權乃經菩薩授記，亦獲得觀音保護。因此，觀音信仰對明成祖來說，祂為政權的保護者，為其政權神授的來源。及至明神宗時期，神宗編撰《佛說大慈至聖九蓮菩薩化身度世尊經》等偽經，用來宣稱他的母親即為觀音化身－九蓮菩薩，與嫡母仁聖太后做區別，抬高生母慈聖太后的地位。然而，神化了慈聖，亦等於神化了自己，進而滅除庶出繼承大統的不確定感。他們編造觀音經典，為了讓人們相信經典所說的內容為真，皆會把佛教教義融入其間，像是《大明仁孝皇后夢感佛說第一希有大功德經》宣說中觀、如來藏、緣起和唯識等思想，而《佛說大慈至聖九蓮菩薩化身度世尊經》則傳揚十二因緣和往生淨土之教義，據此，則開展出豐富的觀音信仰內涵，可窺見觀音信仰於明朝帝王間，祂的地位轉變。 For the Ming emperors, the faith of Guanyin was what legitimized their authority as being vested by god. Yongle Emperor took the throne by initiating the Jingnan Rebellion. Legitimizing his reign was on his mind constantly. He thus thought of using the popular faith in Guanyin and compiled "Sutra of Merit and Virtue - Ming Empress Renxiao's Dream of Buddha". With it, he claimed that his reign was authorized and protected by Guanyin. For Yongle Emperor, Guanyin bestowed the power upon him and was also the protector of his power. When Wanli Emperor reigned, he compiled pseudo-scriptures such as "Sutra of Incarnation of the Benevolent Savior Lotus Bodhisattva" to back up the claim that his mother was the incarnation of Guanyin that is, Lotus Bodhisattva herself. This act elevated his mother, Empress Cisheng's status and distinguished her from the empress consort, Empress Renxiao. By deifying his mother, he also deified himself as well. He eliminated all uncertainties associated with him for becoming the emperor but not being the child of the empress consort. They also made up Guanyin Scriptures. In order to make people believe that the contents in the scriptures were true, Buddhist doctrines were also incorporated. For example, "Sutra of Merit and Virtue - Ming Empress Renxiao's Dream of Buddha" includes the teachings of Madhyamaka, Buddha Nature (Buddha-dhatu), Dependent Origination (Pratītyasamutpāda) and Conscious-only (Yogacara). "Sutra of Incarnation of the Benevolent Savior Lotus Bodhisattva" also teaches the doctrines of the Twelve Nidanas (Twelve Causes) and Entry to the Pure Land. The faith of Guanyin thus flourished. From the emperors of Ming Dynasty, one can see the status changes of the faith of Guanyin.
