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A statue of a Bodhisattva, Akasagarbha.

In Buddhist thought, bodhisattva (Pali: bodhisatta; Thai: phothisat, โพธิสัตว์) literally means "enlightened (bodhi) existence (sattva)" in Sanskrit.

Those who call themselves bodhisattvas are motivated by the wish to benefit other "existences" and to lead them to enlightenment^{[citation needed]}.

The Mahayana encourages everyone to become bodhisattvas and to take the bodhisattva vows. With these vows, one makes the promise to work for the complete enlightenment of all sentient beings. Indelibly entwined with the Bodhisattva Vow is parinamana (Sanskirt; which may be rendered in English as "merit transference").

According to the Theravada tradition however, being a bodhisattva and becoming a fully enlightened Buddha (Sanskrit: Samyaksambuddha) is not possible for the vast majority of beings, so their common path to follow is to strive for becoming an ordinary Arhat (liberated from the sufferings of the cycle of rebirths; the term is applied in Theravada Buddhism to Buddhas as well).

The Bodhisattvas are honored in many famous artworks, including one of the highest sculptures of the Bodhisattva at the Chinese Puning Temple, built in 1755.

The term Bodhisatta (Pali language) was used by the Buddha in the Pali Canon to refer to himself both in his previous lives and as a young man in his current life, prior to his enlightenment, in the period during which he was working towards his own liberation. When, during his discourses, he recounts his experiences as a young aspirant, he regularly uses the phrase "When I was an unenlightened Bodhisatta...". The term therefore connotes a being who is 'bound for enlightenment', in other words, a person whose aim it is to become fully enlightened. Some of the previous lives of the Buddha as a bodhisattva are featured in the Jataka Tales.

While Maitreya (Pali: Metteya) is mentioned in the Pali Canon, he is not referred to as a bodhisattva, but simply the next fully-awakened Buddha to come into existence long after the current teachings of the Buddha are lost.

In later Theravada literature, the term bodhisatta is fairly frequent in the sense of someone on the path to Buddhahood.

In Mahayana Buddhism, a bodhisattva is, at least in a sense, one who aspires to become Buddha for the benefit of all sentient beings. In Mahayana Buddhism this world is compared with a burning home where all sentient beings are resided without the knowledge of house being burnt. A Bodhisattva is the one who has determination to free sentient beings from samsara with the cycle of death, rebirth and suffering. This type of mind is known as bodhicitta; Sanskrit for mind of awakening. Bodhisattvas take bodhisattva vows in order to progress on the spiritual path towards buddhahood. According to some East Asian Mahayana sources a bodhisattva can choose either of three paths to help sentient beings in the process of achieving buddhahood. They are:

1. King-like Bodhisattva - one who aspires to become buddha as soon as possible and then help sentient beings in full fledge;
2. Boatman-like Bodhisattva - one who aspires to achieve buddhahood along with other sentient beings and
3. Shepherd-like Bodhisattva - one who aspires to delay buddhahood until all other sentient beings achieve buddhahood. Bodhisattvas like Avalokiteshvara, Shantideva among others are believed to fall in this category.

Tibetan doctrine (like Theravada, for different reasons) recognizes only the first of these, holding that Buddhas remain in the world for ever, in some sense, able to help others, so there is no point in delay. East Asian doctrinal traditions tend to emphasize the second and/or third, the idea of deliberately refraining from becoming a Buddha, perhaps for ever.

Mahayana Buddhist philosophy sometimes poses the concept of the bodhisattva in contrast to that of the Śrāvakabuddha^{[citation needed]} (conventionally referred to as an arhat). An arhat is liberated from samsara (or the cycle of uncontrolled rebirth), but did not choose to try and save each and every other living being before passing away into nirvana, and thus is not a fully enlightened Buddha.

According to many traditions within Mahayana Buddhism, on the way to becoming a Buddha, a bodhisattva proceeds through ten, or sometimes fourteen, stages or bhumi. Below is the list of ten bhumis and their descriptions from The Jewel Ornament of Liberation, a treatise by Gampopa (an influential teacher of the Tibetan Kagyu school). Other schools give slightly variant descriptions.

Before a bodhisattva arrives at the first ground, he or she first must travel the first two of the five paths:

1. the path of accumulation
2. the path of preparation

The ten grounds of the bodhisattva then can be grouped into the next three paths

1. Bhumi 1 the path of insight
2. Bhumi 2-7 the path of meditation
3. Bhumi 8-10 the path of no more learning

Prince Siddhartha Gautama as a bodhisattva, before becoming a Buddha. He is characteristically depicted as a nobleman, posing with left hand on the hip, Gandhara, 2nd-3rd century.

1. Great Joy
   • It is said that being close to enlightenment and seeing the benefit for all sentient beings, one achieves great joy, hence the name. In this bhumi the bodhisattvas practice all virtues (paramita), but especially emphasizing generosity (dana).
2. Stainless
   • In accomplishing the second bhumi, the bodhisattva is free from the stains of immorality, therefore, this bhumi is named 'Stainless'. The emphasized virtue is moral discipline (śila).
3. Radiant
   • The third bhumi is named 'Radiant', because, for a bodhisattva who accomplishes this bhumi, the light of Dharma is said to radiate from the bodhisattva for others. The emphasized virtue is patience (kṣanti).
4. Luminous
   • This bhumi is called 'luminous', because it is said to be like a radiating light that fully burns that which opposes enlightenment. The emphasized virtue is vigor (virya).
5. Very difficult to train
   • Bodhisattvas who attain this bhumi strive to help sentient beings attain maturity, and do not become emotionally involved when such beings respond negatively, both of which are difficult to do. The emphasized virtue is meditative concentration (dhyāna).
6. Obviously Transcendent
   • "By depending on the perfection of wisdom awareness, he [the bodhisattva] does not abide in either saṃsāra or nirvāṇa, so it is 'obviously transcendent'". The emphasized virtue is wisdom (prajña).
7. Gone afar
   • Particular emphasis is on the perfection of skilful means, or upaya-kaushalya, to help others.
8. Immovable
   • The emphasized virtue is aspiration.
   • This, the 'Immovable' bhumi, is the bhumi at which one becomes able to choose his place of rebirth.
9. Good Discriminating Wisdom
   • The emphasized virtue is power.
10. Cloud of dharma
    • The emphasized virtue is the practice of primordial wisdom.

Chinese wood carving of Guanyin; Shanxi Province (A.D. 907-1125)

After the ten bhumis, according to Mahayana Buddhism, one attains complete enlightenment and becomes a Buddha.

Some Mahayana traditions in East Asia recognize a much larger number of stages, more than fifty.

Various traditions within Buddhism believe in certain specific bodhisattvas. Some bodhisattvas appear across traditions, but due to language barriers may be seen as separate entities. For example, Tibetan Buddhists believe in Chenrezig, who is Avalokitesvara in India, Guanyin (other spellings: Kwan-yin, Kuan-yin) in China and Korea, Quan Am in Vietnam, and Kannon (formerly spelled and pronounced: Kwannon) in Japan. Jizo or Ti Tsang is another popular bodhisattva in Japan and China (Kshitigarba in Sanskrit). Jizo is known for aiding those who are lost. His greatest compassionate Vow being: "If I do not go to the hell to help the suffering beings there, who else will go? ... if the hells are not empty I will not become a Buddha. Only when all living beings have been saved, will I attain Bodhi."

A modern bodhisattva for many is the 14th Dalai Lama, considered by many followers of Tibetan Buddhism to be an incarnation of that same bodhisattva Chenrezig, the Bodhisattva of Compassion.

The bodhisattva is a popular subject in Buddhist art.

The place of a bodhisattva's earthly deeds, such as the achievement of enlightenment or the acts of dharma, is known as a bodhimanda, and may be a site of pilgrimage. Many temples and monasteries are famous as bodhimandas; for instance, the island of Putuoshan, located off the coast of Ningbo, is venerated by Chinese Buddhists as the bodhimanda of Avalokitesvara. Perhaps the most famous bodhimanda of all is the bodhi tree under which Shakyamuni achieved buddhahood.

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• Zhang Jigang organized the now world-famous Thousand Hand Bodhisattva dance, performed by the China Disabled People's Performing Art Troupe.
• Jack Kerouac mentions Bodhisattva in The Dharma Bums several times. In the book, Japhy Ryder (Gary Snyder) tells Ray Smith (Kerouac) that he (Ray) is a "Bodhisattva, a great wise being or great wise angel". Kerouac uses the term several times in the novel, to describe himself and fellow zen Buddhists. In Move Under Ground, where Kerouac is a character, bodhisattva Kilaya accompanies him on his trek to defeat Cthulhu.
• The band Steely Dan has a song entitled "Bodhisattva" on their 1973 album Countdown to Ecstasy.
• The Brian Setzer Orchestra covered Steely Dan's "Bodhisattva" for the soundtrack of Me, Myself and Irene.
• The hip-hop group The Beastie Boys has a song called "Bodhisattva Vow" on their album Ill Communication.
• The Holy Barbarians have a song called "Bodhisattva" on the Cream CD.
• In the manga/anime titled Gensoumaden Saiyuki, the bodhisattva called Kannon appears as a minor, but still relevant, character. In this unorthodox take on Buddhism, Kanzeon Bosatsu (a more formal form of Kannon) is a smart-talking intersexed being who guides the Sanzo-ikkou on their quest to Shangri-La.
• In the manga/anime titled Bleach (Manga), the final release of Kurotsuchi Mayuri's zanpaktou appears to be a bodhisattva. It takes the form of giant golden caterpillar with a giant baby's head and dressed in the way of a buddhist monk.
• On the OST for the anime Hellsing, there is a track titled "Bodhisattva Cathedral."
• In DC Comics, the character Kobra refers to himself as a Bodhisattva in the pages of JSA.
• In the movie Point Break, Patrick Swayze's character is named Bodhi, short for Bodhisattva.
• In the novel Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore, Jesus (called Joshua in the book) travels to China to learn Buddhism in order that he may become a Bodhisattva to his people. He learns meditation, becomes so enlightened as to be rendered invisible for a time, and then is talked out of attaining enlightenment for himself by Biff. Jesus decides, instead, to stay a physical being so that he may help others to achieve enlightenment.
• In Grant Morrison's the Filth, the character Ultra-Humanitarian is an avatar of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, according to the comic's website.

A Chinese wooden Bodhisattva, Jin Dynasty (1115-1234 AD), Shanghai Museum.

• Zhang Jigang (Creator of Thousand Hand Bodhisattva Dance)
• Bodhisattva vows
• List of bodhisattvas
• Karuna ('compassion' in Sanskrit)
• Bodhicharyavatara (A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life)
• Vegetarianism in Buddhism

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Bodhisattvas

• The Bodhisattva Vows as practiced in Tibetan Buddhism
• The group of Eight Great Bodhisattvas at Candi Mendut
• Thousand-hand Bodhisattva Dance
• The Thirty-Seven (37) Practices of Bodhisattvas, all-in-one page with memory aids & collection of different versions/commentaries (PDF & MSWord)
• What A Bodhisattva Does: Thirty-Seven Practices by Ngulchu Thogme with slide show format, useful for auto-demo / stands.
• Access to Insight Library: Bodhi's Wheel409