Bodhisattva in Buddhist Philosophy

Bodhisattva is an important concept in Buddhism. It is broadly understood as the attainment of a mindset (chitta) like Buddha. It believes in Universal liberation and is a concept under Mahayana Buddhism.

• Anyone who has a spontaneous wish to attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all is a Bodhisattva.
• Buddha in his previous births was thought to be Bodhisattva as contemplated in Jataka tales and the stories depict the various attempts of the bodhisattva to embrace qualities like self-sacrifice and morality.

Bodhisattva in Theravada & Mahayana Buddhism

The schools of Theravada Buddhism (early school) and Mahayana Buddhism understand Bodhisattva in different ways.

• Bodhisattva in Theravada Buddhism: It refers to a person who has taken a spontaneous vow to become a Buddha, and in addition to this, such a person is also assured by a living Buddha regarding the fulfilment of the vow. The school focuses on previous lives of Buddha before he attained enlightenment.
• Bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism: It is an object of devotion as Mahayana Buddhism inspires others to walk on the path of Bodhisattva because the school believes that every individual possesses an inherent nature like Budhha and hence, anyone can become Budhha.

To make it simple, while Bodhisattva path is an optional path for a heroic few like Sidharth Gautama Budha in Theravāda (or Hinayana sect) it is a normative path in Mahāyāna.

Four Virtues of a Bodhisattva (The Brahmaviharas)

When a living being (sattva) develops the state of enlightenment (bodhi), that person exhibits four Buddhist virtues, also known as Brahmaviharas. These four Brahmaviharas are as following:

1. Maitri (Loving-kindness): It refers to goodwill towards all.
2. Karuna (Compassion): It denotes identification of the suffering of others as one’s own.
3. Muditaa (Empathetic joy): It is the feeling of bliss as others are happy, even if a person has not contributed to it, it is a form of empathetic joy.
4. Upekshaa (Equanimity): It refers to even-mindedness and serenity, treating everyone impartially.

On the path to become a Buddha, a bodhisattva proceeds through 10 grounds or bhumis namely Great Joy, Stainless, luminous, radiant, very difficult to train, obviously transcendent, gone afar, immovable, Good discriminating wisdom, and Cloud of Dharma. By passing these 10 bhumis, he becomes an enlightened one.

Prominent Boddhisattvas Under Buddhism Include:

1. Avalokitesvara:
   • One of the three protective deities around Buddha, other are Manjusri and Vajrapani. He is described as holding Lotus Flower and is also known as Padmapani.
   • His painting can be found at Ajanta Caves and is the most acknowledged among all the Bodhisattvas.
   • The bodhisattva of compassion, the listener of the world’s cries who uses skillful means to come to their aid.
   • He appears unofficially in Theravada Buddhism in Cambodia under the name Lokesvara.
   • He is depicted as a female also and is said to incarnate as his Holiness The Dalai Lama.
2. Vajrapani:
   • One of three protective deities around Buddha and is also depicted in Ajanta Caves. Vajrapani is contemplated to manifest all the powers of Buddha as well as the power of all five tathagatas namely Vairocana, Akshobhya, Amitabha, Ratnasambhava and Amoghasiddhi.
3. Manjusri:
   • One of three protective deities around Buddha and is also depicted in Ajanta Caves. He is associated with the Wisdom of Buddha and is a male Bodhisattva with a wielding sword in his hand.
   • To conclude, Avalokitesvara manifests Buddha’s compassion, Vajrapani manifests Buddha’s Power and Manjusri contemplates Buddha’s wisdom.
4. Samantabhadra:
   • Associated with practice and meditation. Together with the Buddha and Manjusri, he forms the Shakyamuni trinity in Buddhism.
5. Ksitigarbha:
   • He is depicted a Buddhist monk and took vow not to achieve Buddhahood till the hell is completely emptied.
6. Maitreya:
   • A Future Buddha who will appear on Earth in the future, achieve complete enlightenment, and teach the pure dharma. Budai or Laughing Buddha is claimed to be an incarnation of Maitreya. Budai was a Chinese Zen monk who lived during the Later Liang Dynasty (907–923 CE) in China. In Japanese, he is called Hotei and is one of the seven Lucky Gods of Japan.
7. Akasagarbha:
   • Associated with element of space.
   • Akasagarbha is boundless as space. He is known as twin brother of Ksitigarbha. He is manifestation of wisdom.
8. Tara:
   • Associated with Vajrayana Buddhism and represents the virtues of success in work and achievements.
9. Vasudhara:
   • Associated with wealth, prosperity, and abundance. Popular in Nepal.
10. Skanda:
    • Guardian of viharas and the Buddhist teachings.
11. Sitatapatra:
    • She is contemplated as a protector against supernatural danger and is worshipped in both Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions.

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