Bodhisattva is one of the important terms in the world of
Buddhism. In general,
Bodhisattva is the enlightened beings who devout
themselves for the sole purpose of helping all sentient beings in the world. The
word "
Bodhisattva" is considered as the compound word and is formed from
two basic words i.e.
Bodhi and
Sattva.
Bodhi is basically the process of
spiritual awakening i.e.
enlightenment, and
Sattva is being with spiritual
essence. So basically
Bodhisattva is the spiritual beings who have gone through
the spiritual awakening and attained
Enlightenment.
According to Buddhist tradition, Bodhisattva possess three
different meanings i.e. principle meanings of Bodhisattva. They are:
- In Early Buddhism, Bodhisattva are referred as the previous
lives of a Buddha.
- In Mahayana Buddhism, Bodhisattva is referred as the beings
who dedicated their life to seek Enlightenment for the sole purpose of helping
all the other sentient beings to be free from the cycle of life, death and
rebirth.
- In Mahayana Buddhism, Bodhisattva are also referred as the
objects of devotion to Buddhism i.e. Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, Bodhisattva
Manjushree etc.
Important Bodhisattva in Buddhism
In
Buddhism, Bodhisattva are also known by the name
Arhat,
Pratyekabuddha etc. The meanings and its importance may be different according
to various
Buddhist traditions in the world. But the following bodhisattvas are
considered the most important in
Buddhism. They are:
Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara
Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara is considered as the
Thousand Hand Avalokiteshvara
in
Buddhism and is one of the most respected and widely revered
Bodhisattva in
Theravada as well as
Mahayana Buddhism.
Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara is
basically translated as "
The lord Who Looks Down in Pity", and "
The
One who hears the cries of the World". According to legend,
Avalokiteshvara postponed attainment of
Buddhahood in order to help all the
sentient Beings who cries for the help. And Avalokiteshvara is known to be the manifestation
of
Amitabha Buddha.
Bodhisattva Manjushree
One of the most iconic figure among the
Bodhisattvas in
Mahayana Buddhism is
Bodhisattva Manjushree. He is also known as the Bodhisattva of Great Wisdom. The
word Manjushree is translated as "
He who is noble and gentle" and is
the representation of spiritual insight and awareness. It is believed that
Bodhisattva
Manjushree sees all the phenomena of spiritual essence and boundless nature of
self.
Manjushree is depicted as holding
Vajra Sword Of Discriminating Light in
his right and his left hand wields beautiful blue lotus flower.
Bodhisattva Kshitigarbha
As one of the principal
Bodhisattvas in
East Asian Mahayana Buddhism,
Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha is known for his Buddhist vow i.e. vow to neglect
Buddha until all sentient beings in hell are escaped and the hell is empty. Ksitigarbha
is generally translated as "
Earth Treasury", "
Earth womb"
and "
Earth matrix". Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha is mostly depicted as the
simple Buddhist monks with shaved heads and wields wish fulfilling jewel in one
hand and six rings staff. The six rings in the staff means that
Bodhisattva
Ksitigarbha protects all
six realms.
Bodhisattva Samantabhadra
As the protector of all those who teach
Dharma,
Bodhisattva Samantabhadra is
the part of trinity with
Gautama Buddha and
Bodhisattva Manjushree.
Bodhisattva
Samantabhadra is also known by the name Fugen in Japan and Puxian in China. He
is referred as "
He who is All Pervadingly Good".
Bodhisattva
Samantabhadra was mostly associated with those who are involved with
Buddhist
practice as well as
meditation.
