Bodhisattva: Difference between revisions

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In the Mahayana school of Buddhism, becoming a bodhisattva is the goal of the Path. The path of the bodhisattva is generally divided into ten stages, called ''bhumis''. The bodhisattva strives to progress from one stage to the next until he obtains enlightenment.

Summarizing the bodhisattva ideal in Buddhism, Professors David Lopez and Steven Rockefeller write:

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The Sanskrit term ''bodhisattva'' is composed of two words, ''bodhi'' and ''sattva''. ''Bodhi'' is derived from the verbal root ''budh'', meaning 'wake' so that ''bodhi'' is the state of being awake.

In the context of the Buddhist path, ''bodhi'' is the state of having awakened from the sleep of ignorance; it is enlightenment.  

The second component of the term, sattva, can mean “sentient being,” in which case the compound ''bodhisattva'' would be read as “a being [seeking] enlightenment.”...  

A second meaning of ''sattva'' is “mind” or “intention,” so that a Bodhisattva would be “one whose mind or intention is directed toward enlightenment.”...  

Bodhisattvas are unwilling to be satisfied merely by securing their own liberation and, deeply moved by the sight of the sufferings of other sentient beings, feel compassion for them and determine to become Buddhas so as to be able to provide the maximum benefit to others.  

The Bodhisattva thus vows to become a Buddha in order to free all beings in the universe from suffering regardless of how many beings there are or how many aeons this might require....  

Thus, the Bodhisattva is said to have two aims: the welfare of all sentient beings and the achievement of Buddhahood.  

A Bodhisattva will be endowed with inconceivable wisdom, compassion and power and knowledge of limitless methods for freeing beings from suffering.<ref>''The Christ and The Bodhisattva'', Donald S. Lopez, Jr. and Steven C. Rockefeller, eds., (New York: State University of New York Press, 1987), pp. 24, 25.</ref>

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<blockquote>“Offspring of the Conqueror.” One who has vowed to attain enlightenment for the sake of all living beings. The term ''bodhisattva'' refers to those at many levels: from those who have generated aspiration to enlightenment for the first time, through to those who have actually entered the Bodhisattva path, which is developed through the ten stages and culminates in enlightenment, the attainment of Buddhahood.<ref>Geshe Wangyal, trans., ''The Door of Liberation'' (New York: Lotsawa, 1978), p. 208.</ref></blockquote>

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Scholar Har Dayal writes:

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The ''bodhisattva'' ideal reminds us of the active altruism of the Franciscan friars in the thirteenth century <small>A</small>.<small>D</small>. as contrasted with the secluded and contemplative religious life of the Christian monks of that period. The monk prayed in solitude: the friar “went about doing good.”...

Both the ''[[arhat]]'' [a Buddhist adept or saint] and the ''bodhisattva'' were unworldly idealists; but the ''arhat'' exhibited his idealism by devoting himself to meditation and self-culture, while the bodhisattva actively rendered service to other living beings.<ref>Har Dayal, ''The Bodhisattva Doctrine in Buddhist Sanskrit Literature'' (New York: Samuel Weiser, Inc., 1932), p. 29.</ref>

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[[Maitreya]]

[[Kuan Yin]]

{{MOI}}.

Elizabeth Clare Prophet, “The Age of Maitreya,” October 28, 1990.

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