An enlightened person or being; one who is on the road to perfect knowledge; specifically, one who foregoes personal nirvana in order to help others achieve enlightenment
Bodhi (perfect wisdom) + sattva (an intelligent being whose actions make for harmony) Sages who have reached the point of illumination and have decided not to retire into nirvana, but to help other living beings until all are free
(Sanskrit, lit "Wisdom Being") One who has developed the altruistic motive of attaining Enlightenment to help all sentient beings There are ten stages in the Bodhisattva process Those who have reached the tenth stage and delay entering complete Enlightenment so they can help others are sometimes referred to as Mahasattvas
literally, wisdom-being, one on the way to enlightenment; an enlightened being (Buddha) who renounces Nirvana to aid all human beings to achieve enlightenment
Literally, "He whose consciousness has become intelligence or buddhi " Those who need but one more life to become perfect buddhas Name of office Lord Maitreya, known in the west as the Christ The World Teacher is the Master of Masters and teacher of angels and humanity
An individual who postpones his or her own entry into nirvana out of compassion for the suffering of others Such an individual dedicates himself to assisting others attain enlightenment
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a Teacher who has reached Self-Realization but voluntarily chosen to renounce Nirvana, or Absolute Liberation, until all others also have achieved that high place Thus, such Teachers are said to have decided to remain behind, as it were, for the benefit of other seekers, and they are revered for that sacrifice and service The graphic in The Quiet Room (choose "Bodhisattva" from the menu) is scanned from a photograph in the September 1997 issue of Smithsonian magazine, to whom we offer our thanks
"enlightenment being " One who seeks Buddhahood but who renounces entering nirvana until all living beings are liberated The actions and thoughts of a bodhisattva are motivated solely by Bodhichitta
A Buddhist saint who has taken a vow to lead all sentient beings to the ultimate goal of enlightenment They have generated the altruistic mind of bodhicitta and are on the path to full enlightenment
A Buddha in the making, a spiritually advanced being who delays his entry into Nirvana in order to stay in the world and save other sentient beings Often worshiped in popular Buddhism Because bodhisattvas are still in the world, they are often portrayed with princely garments, jewelry, and elaborate coiffure The most important bodhisattva is Avalokiteshvara (Padmapani, or Lotus-Bearer), the bodhisattva of compassion Another important bodhisattva is Vajrapani (Vajra-bearer), the bodhisattva of wisdom The two together, wisdom and compassion, make up the essence of a Buddha Bharat Kala Bhavan, attending Buddha (Sanchi), requirements of bodhisattva (Sanchi), Maitreya (Delhi NM), seated, Pala period (10th century)
In Mahayana Buddhism, any being who has forestalled their enlightenment until they have completed a vow to bring all other beings into nirvana through the realization of sunyata and the practice of the six perfections
From the Sanskrit, "Bodhi," meaning Enlightenment, illumination or Transcendental understanding In Mahayana (Great Boat) Buddhism, a Bodhisattva is one who has taken a vow to sacrifice one's own personal enlightenment to work for the enlightenment of others The Mahayana tradition teaches that all sentient beings are destined to achieve Nirvana or Samadhi See Ascended Master
A being who has achieved awakening and has chosen to reincarnate so as to help alleviate the suffering of all beings Generally thought of as waiting to achieve nirvana until all other beings have reached enlightenment Kuan Yin is one of the most well-loved Bodhisattva
a Future Buddha who is a being destined to Buddhahood Bodhi means Enlightenment and Sattva means Sentient and Conscious Therefore Bodhisattva refers to the sentient being of or for the great wisdom and enlightenment Bodhisattva's vow/aim is the pursuit of Buddhahood and the salvation of others and of all He seeks enlightenment to enlighten others He will sacrifice himself to save the others He is devoid of egoism and devoted to help the others The way and discipline of Bodhisattva is to benefit the self and the others, leading to Buddhahood
in Mahayana Buddhism, a figure or personality of profound compassion who, having already attained enlightenment, postpones his/her entrance into Nirvana in order to assist others along the way
(Skt , = Tib changchÃub sempa) For the Early Schools and the Theravadins, the term bodhisattva refers primarily to the historical Buddha Shakyamuni in his previous lives For the Mahayana schools, it has a wider meaning, and refers to (1) anyone who has irreversibly entered on the path to Buddhahood through arousing within himself or herself the central Mahayana motivation of BODHICITTA (q v ); (2) certain highly-attained beings such as Avalokiteshvara or Manjushri who can be contacted in ritual for aid and who are, in effect, deities or sambhogakaya forms of the Buddha (see TRIKAYA DOCTRINE)
A manifestation of a Buddha, or one who is cultivating the path to become a Buddha, whose life is guided by the aspiration to establish all beings in buddhahood, free from suffering
Sanskrit; Bosatsu (Japanese), Bosal (Korean); one who postpones his or her own enlightenment in order to help liberate other sentient beings from cyclic existence; compassion, or karuna, is the central characteristic of the bodhisattva; important bodhisattvas include Avaloikitesvara, Manjusri, and Jizo
means one who aspires to Buddhahood and also refers to the ninth of the Ten Worlds The ideal of the bodhisattva is one who practices for oneself and others Compassion is the greatest characteristic of a bodhisattva A bodhisattva is said to postpone their own enlightenment in order to save others Ref 1
'Awakened Being' One cycles through rebirths to help liberate beings from suffering and further establish the Dharma in the world The bodhisattva was devised by the Mahayana Buddhists as an intermediary stage between the Arhat (the saint who has cut the bonds of existence and attained his own liberation) and the Buddha The bodhisattva's most distinctive feature is the motivation of compassion to forsake one's own immediate liberation to further the Buddhist teachings in samsara By doing so, the Mahayana both deprecates the depth of awakening possessed by the Arhat and re-affirms the Buddhist concern with the suffering of others, as well as that of one's own self
or "Awakened being " bodhisattvas are dedicated toward a single goal, of freeing all sentient beings from suffering Spared from automatic rebirth as a result of achieving enlightenment in a previous life, bodhisattvas voluntarily return as humans only to serve
A person who has generated spontaneous bodhichitta but who has not yet become a Buddha From the moment a practitioner generates a non-artificial, or spontaneous, bodhichitta, he or she becomes a Bodhisattva and enters the first Mahayana path, the path of accumulation An ordinary Bodhisattva is one who has not realized emptiness directly, and a Superior Bodhisattva is one who has attained a direct realization of emptiness See Joyful Path of Good Fortune and Meaningful to Behold
Term for the historical Buddha Gautama prior to his enlightenment as well as for other individuals destined to become buddhas. In Mahayana Buddhism the bodhisattva postpones attainment of nirvana in order to alleviate the suffering of others. The ideal supplanted the Theravada Buddhist ideals of the arhat and the self-enlightened buddha, which Mahayana deemed selfish. The number of bodhisattvas is theoretically limitless, and the title has been applied to great scholars, teachers, and Buddhist kings. Celestial bodhisattvas (e.g., Avalokitesvara) are considered manifestations of the eternal Buddha and serve as savior figures and objects of personal devotion, especially in East Asia