X
MOV File
Online Collections

bodhisattva


Details
Term Type

Art & Architecture Thesaurus

Preferred Term

bodhisattva

Details

In Mahayana Buddhism, one who attains the enlightenment of a Buddha but chooses to postpone entering nirvana and instead stays in the world for the compassionate purpose of helping lesser beings attain enlightenment. In Theravada Buddhism, the term is exclusively used to identify historical Buddhas in their previous lives.

Variations

bodhisatta

Enlightenment-Being

P'u-sa

Bosatsu

Posal

byang.chub sems.dpa

Hero of the Thought of Enlightenment

Related Events
Related People
Related Literature
Related Terms
Related Artworks
Media
IMLS logoNEA logoNEH logo

The Portland Art Museum’s Online Collections site is brought to you thanks to support provided by the State of Oregon through its second Culture, History, Arts, Movies, and Preservation funding program and generous awards from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the National Endowment for the Arts.