Bodhisattva

This article is about Buddhism. For the 2010 film, see Bodhisattva (film). For the song by Steely Dan, see Countdown to Ecstasy.
Bodhisattva
A relief depicting Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva in Plaosan temple, 9th century Central Java, Indonesia.
Sanskritबोधिसत्त्व (bodhisattva)
Pāliबोधिसत्त (bodhisatta)
Burmeseဗောဓိသတ် (bɔ́dḭθaʔ)
Chinese菩薩/菩提薩埵, (pinyin: púsà/pútísàduǒ), (Jyutping: pou4 saat3/pou4 tai4 saat3 do3), (Wade–Giles: p'u2-sa4)
Japanese菩薩/菩提薩埵 (romaji: bosatsu/bodaisatta)
Khmerពោធិសត្វ (UNGEGN: poŭthĭsât)
Korean보살, 菩薩 / 보리살타, 菩提薩埵 (RR: bosal / borisalta)
Sinhalaබෝධි සත්ත්ව (bodhisatva)
TagalogBodisatta
ᜊᜓᜇ᜔ᜑᜒᜐᜆ
Thaiโพธิสัตว์ (phothisat)
Tibetanབྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ་ (jang chup sem pa)
VietnameseBồ Tát菩薩/Bồ-đề-tát-đóa菩提薩埵
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Venerated byTheravāda, Mahāyāna, Vajrayāna, Navayāna
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In Buddhism, a bodhisattva (English: /ˌboʊdiːˈsʌtvə/ BOH-dee-SUT-və; Sanskrit: बोधिसत्त्व, romanized: bodhisattva; Pali: बोधिसत्त, romanized: bodhisatta) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood.[1]

In the Early Buddhist schools, as well as modern Theravāda Buddhism, bodhisattva (or bodhisatta) refers to someone who has made a resolution to become a Buddha and has also received a confirmation or prediction from a living Buddha that this will be so.[2]

In Mahāyāna Buddhism, a bodhisattva refers to anyone who has generated bodhicitta, a spontaneous wish and compassionate mind to attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings.[3] Mahayana bodhisattvas are spiritually heroic persons that work to attain awakening and are driven by a great compassion (mahākaruṇā). These beings are exemplified by important spiritual qualities such as the "four divine abodes" (brahmavihāras) of loving-kindness (maitrī), compassion (karuṇā), empathetic joy (muditā) and equanimity (upekṣā), as well as the various bodhisattva "perfections" (pāramitās) which include prajñāpāramitā ("transcendent knowledge" or "perfection of wisdom") and skillful means (upāya).[4][5][6]

In Theravāda Buddhism, the bodhisattva is mainly seen as an exceptional and rare individual. Only a few select individuals are ultimately able to become bodhisattvas, such as Maitreya. Mahāyāna Buddhism generally understands the bodhisattva path as being open to everyone, and Mahāyāna Buddhists encourage all individuals to become bodhisattvas.[7][8] Spiritually advanced bodhisattvas such as Avalokiteshvara, Maitreya, and Manjushri are also widely venerated across the Mahāyāna Buddhist world and are believed to possess great magical power which they employ to help all living beings.[9]

  1. ^ Skilling, Peter (2021). Questioning the Buddha: A Selection of Twenty-Five Sutras, Introduction, Simon and Schuster.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Drewes-2017 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ The Bodhisattva Vow: A Practical Guide to Helping Others, page 1, Tharpa Publications (2nd. ed., 1995), ISBN 978-0-948006-50-0.
  4. ^ Flanagan, Owen (2011-08-12). The Bodhisattva's Brain: Buddhism Naturalized. MIT Press. p. 107. ISBN 978-0-262-29723-3.
  5. ^ Pye, Michael (1978). Skillful Means – A concept in Mahayana Buddhism. London: Gerald Duckworth & Co. Ltd. ISBN 0-7156-1266-2.
  6. ^ Williams, Paul (2008). Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations, pp. 50–51. Routledge.
  7. ^ Samuels, Jeffrey (July 1997). "The Bodhisattva Ideal in Theravāda Buddhist Theory and Practice: A Reevaluation of the Bodhisattva-Śrāvaka Opposition". Philosophy East and West. 47 (3). University of Hawai'i Press: 399–415. doi:10.2307/1399912. JSTOR 1399912.
  8. ^ Skorupski, Tadeusz. The Historical Spectrum of the Bodhisattva Ideal. The Middle Way. Journal of the Buddhist Society. August 2000. Vol. 75, No.2, 95–106.
  9. ^ Williams 2008, pp. 220–221