Early Mahāyāna standing Maitreya (3rd century),
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (the protector of the Buddha) resembling
Heracles, second-century
Mahāyāna Buddhism (often also called
Bodhisattvayāna, "Bodhisattva Vehicle") is based principally upon the path of a bodhisattva. This path was seen as higher and nobler than becoming an
arhat or a
solitary Buddha. Hayal notes that Sanskrit sources generally depict the bodhisattva path as reaching a higher goal (i.e.
anuttara-samyak-sambodhi) than the goal of the path of the "disciples" (
śrāvakas), which is the
nirvana attained by arhats. For example, the
Lotus Sutra states: To the sravakas, he preached the doctrine which is associated with the four Noble Truths and leads to Dependent Origination. It aims at transcending birth, old age, disease, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress of mind and weariness; and it ends in nirvana. But, to the great being, the bodhisattva, he preached the doctrine, which is associated with the six perfections and which ends in the Knowledge of the Omniscient One after the attainment of the supreme and perfect bodhi. According to Peter Skilling, the Mahayana movement began when "at an uncertain point, let us say in the first century BCE, groups of monks, nuns, and lay-followers began to devote themselves exclusively to the Bodhisatva vehicle." These Mahayanists universalized the bodhisattvayana as a path which was open to everyone and which was taught for all beings to follow. This was in contrast to the Nikaya schools, which held that the bodhisattva path was only for a rare set of individuals. This definition is given as the following: "Because he has
bodhi as his aim, a bodhisattva-
mahāsattva is so called." Mahayana sutras also depict the bodhisattva as a being which, because they want to reach Buddhahood for the sake of all beings, is more loving and compassionate than the sravaka (who only wishes to end their own suffering). Thus, another major difference between the bodhisattva and the arhat is that the bodhisattva practices the path for the good of others (
par-ārtha), due to their
bodhicitta, while the sravakas do so for their own good (
sv-ārtha) and thus, do not have
bodhicitta (which is compassionately focused on others). Mahayana bodhisattvas were not just abstract models for Buddhist practice, but also developed as distinct figures which were venerated by Indian Buddhists. These included figures like
Manjushri and
Avalokiteshvara, which are personifications of the basic virtues of wisdom and compassion respectively and are the two most important bodhisattvas in Mahayana. The development of bodhisattva devotion parallels the development of the Hindu
bhakti movement. Indeed, Dayal sees the development of Indian bodhisattva cults as a Buddhist reaction to the growth of bhakti centered religion in India which helped to popularize and reinvigorate Indian Buddhism. Some Mahayana sutras promoted another revolutionary doctrinal turn, claiming that the three vehicles of the
Śrāvakayāna, Pratyekabuddhayāna and the
Bodhisattvayāna were really just one vehicle (
ekayana). This is most famously promoted in the
Lotus Sūtra which claims that the very idea of three separate vehicles is just an
upaya, a skillful device invented by the Buddha to get beings of various abilities on the path. But ultimately, it will be revealed to them that there is only one vehicle, the
ekayana, which ends in Buddhahood.
Mature scholastic Mahāyāna (the East Asian form of
Avalokiteśvara).
Liao China, 907–1125 Classical Indian mahayanists held that the only sutras which teach the bodhisattva vehicle are the
Mahayana sutras. Thus,
Nagarjuna writes "the subjects based on the deeds of Bodhisattvas were not mentioned in [non-Mahāyāna] sūtras." They also held that the bodhisattva path was superior to the śrāvaka vehicle and so the bodhisattva vehicle is the "great vehicle" (mahayana) due to its greater aspiration to save others, while the śrāvaka vehicle is the "small" or "inferior" vehicle (
hinayana). Thus,
Asanga argues in his
Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra that the two vehicles differ in numerous ways, such as intention, teaching, employment (i.e., means), support, and the time that it takes to reach the goal. Over time, Mahayana Buddhists developed mature systematized doctrines about the bodhisattva. The authors of the various
Madhyamaka treatises often presented the view of the
ekayana, and thus held that all beings can become bodhisattvas. The texts and sutras associated with the
Yogacara school developed a different theory of three separate
gotras (families, lineages), that inherently predisposed a person to either the vehicle of the
arhat,
pratyekabuddha or
samyak-saṃbuddha (fully self-awakened one). For the yogacarins then, only some beings (those who have the "bodhisattva lineage") can enter the bodhisattva path. In East Asian Buddhism, the view of the one vehicle (
ekayana) which holds that all Buddhist teachings are really part of a single path, is the standard view. The term bodhisattva was also used in a broader sense by later authors. According to the eighth-century Mahāyāna philosopher
Haribhadra, the term "bodhisattva" can refer to those who follow any of the three vehicles, since all are working towards
bodhi. Therefore, the specific term for a Mahāyāna bodhisattva is a
mahāsattva (great being)
bodhisattva. According to
Atiśa's 11th century
Bodhipathapradīpa, the central defining feature of a Mahāyāna bodhisattva is the universal aspiration to end suffering for all sentient beings, which is termed
bodhicitta (the mind set on awakening). The bodhisattva doctrine went through a significant transformation during the development of Buddhist tantra, also known as
Vajrayana. This movement developed new ideas and texts which introduced new bodhisattvas and re-interpreted old ones in new forms, developed in elaborate
mandalas for them and introduced new practices which made use of
mantras,
mudras and other tantric elements.
Entering the bodhisattva path in
Ajanta Caves. India, 5th century attended by
White Tara and Bhrikuti, India, Madhya Pradesh, Sirpur, According to David Drewes, "Mahayana sutras unanimously depict the path beginning with the first arising of the thought of becoming a Buddha (
prathamacittotpāda), or the initial arising of
bodhicitta, typically aeons before one first receives a Buddha's prediction, and apply the term bodhisattva from this point."
Bodhisattva conduct (caryā) After a being has entered the path by giving rise to bodhicitta, they must make effort in the practice or conduct (
caryā) of the bodhisattvas, which includes all the duties, virtues and practices that bodhisattvas must accomplish to attain Buddhahood. An important early Mahayana source for the practice of the bodhisattva is the
Bodhisattvapiṭaka sūtra, a major sutra found in the
Mahāratnakūṭa collection which was widely cited by various sources. According to Ulrich Pagel, this text is "one of the longest works on the bodhisattva in Mahayana literature" and thus provides extensive information on the topic of bodhisattva training, especially
the perfections (pāramitā). Pagel also argues that this text was quite influential on later Mahayana writings which discuss the bodhisattva and thus was "of fundamental importance to the evolution of the bodhisattva doctrine." Other sutras in the
Mahāratnakūṭa collection are also important sources for the bodhisattva path. According to Pagel, the basic outline of the bodhisattva practice in the
Bodhisattvapiṭaka is outlined in a passage which states "the path to enlightenment comprises benevolence towards all sentient beings, striving after the perfections and compliance with the means of conversion." This path begins with contemplating the failures of
samsara, developing
faith in the Buddha, giving rise to bodhicitta and practicing the
four immesurables. It then proceeds through all six perfections and finally discusses the four means of converting sentient beings (
saṃgrahavastu). The path is presented through prose exposition, mnemonic lists (
matrka) and also through Jataka narratives. Using this general framework, the
Bodhisattvapiṭaka incorporates discussions related to other practices including super knowledge (
abhijñā), learning, 'skill' (
kauśalya), accumulation of merit (
puṇyasaṃbhāra), the thirty-seven factors of awakening (
bodhipakṣadharmas), perfect mental quietude (
śamatha) and insight (
vipaśyanā). Later Mahayana treatises (
śāstras) like the
Bodhisattvabhumi and the
Mahāyānasūtrālamkāra provide the following schema of bodhisattva practices: •
Bodhipakṣa-caryā, the practice of the 37
bodhipakṣadharmas (the principles conducive to bodhi) which are: the
four applications of mindfulness, the
four right efforts, the
four bases of spiritual power, the
five spiritual faculties, the
five strengths, the
seven factors of awakening and the
noble eightfold path. •
Abhijñā-caryā, the practice of the
super-knowledges (which are mainly developed in order to convert, help and guide others). •
Pāramitā-caryā, the practice of the
perfections, which are:
Dāna (generosity),
Śīla (virtue, ethics),
Kṣānti (patient endurance),
Vīrya (heroic energy),
Dhyāna (meditation),
Prajñā (wisdom),
Upāya (skillful means),
Praṇidhāna (vow, resolve),
Bala (spiritual power), and
Jñāna (knowledge). •
Sattvaparipāka-caryā, the practice of maturing the living beings, i.e. preaching and teaching others. The first six perfections (
pāramitās) are the most significant and popular set of bodhisattva virtues and thus they serve as a central framework for bodhisattva practice. They are the most widely taught and commented upon virtues throughout the history of Mahayana Buddhist literature and feature prominently in major Sanskrit sources such as the
Bodhisattvabhumi, the
Mahāyānasūtrālamkāra, the
King of Samadhis Sutra and the
Ten Stages Sutra. They are extolled and praised by these sources as "the great oceans of all the bright virtues and auspicious principles" (
Bodhisattvabhumi) and "the Teacher, the Way and the Light...the Refuge and the Shelter, the Support and the Sanctuary" (
Aṣṭasāhasrikā). While many Mahayana sources discuss the bodhisattva's training in ethical discipline (
śīla) in classic Buddhist terms, over time, there also developed specific sets of
ethical precepts for bodhisattvas (Skt.
bodhisattva-śīla). These various sets of precepts are usually taken by bodhisattva aspirants (lay and ordained monastics) along with classic Buddhist
pratimoksha precepts. However, in some
Japanese Buddhist traditions, monastics rely solely on the bodhisattva precepts. , a female personification of the perfection of wisdom,
Singhasari period, East Java, Indonesia, 13th century The perfection of wisdom (
prajñāpāramitā) is generally seen as the most important and primary of the perfections, without which all the others fall short. Thus, the
Madhyamakavatara (6:2) states that wisdom leads the other perfections as a man with eyes leads the blind. This perfect or transcendent wisdom has various qualities, such as being non-attached (
asakti), non-conceptual and non-dual (
advaya) and signless (
animitta). It is generally understood as a kind of insight into the true nature of all phenomena (
dharmas) which in Mahayana sutras is widely described as emptiness (
shunyatā). Another key virtue which the bodhisattva must develop is great
compassion (
mahā-karuṇā), a vast sense of care aimed at ending the suffering of all sentient beings. This great compassion is the ethical foundation of the bodhisattva, and it is also an applied aspect of their bodhicitta. Great compassion must also be closely joined with the perfection of wisdom, which reveals that all the beings that the bodhisattva strives to save are ultimately empty of self (
anātman) and lack
inherent existence (
niḥsvabhāva). Due to the bodhisattva's compassionate wish to save all beings, they develop innumerable skillful means or strategies (
upaya) with which to teach and guide different kinds of beings with all sorts of different inclinations and tendencies. Another key virtue for the bodhisattva is
mindfulness (
smṛti), which Dayal calls "the sine qua non of moral progress for a bodhisattva." Mindfulness is widely emphasized by Buddhist authors and Sanskrit sources and it appears four times in the list of 37
bodhipakṣadharmas. According to the
Aṣṭasāhasrikā, a bodhisattva must never lose mindfulness so as not to be confused or distracted. The
Mahāyānasūtrālamkāra states that mindfulness is the principal asset of a bodhisattva, while both
Asvaghosa and
Shantideva state that without mindfulness, a bodhisattva will be helpless and uncontrolled (like a mad elephant) and will not succeed in conquering the mental afflictions.
Length and nature of the path Just as with non-Mahayana sources, Mahayana sutras generally depict the bodhisattva path as a long path that takes many lifetimes across many aeons. Some sutras state that a beginner bodhisattva could take anywhere from 3 to 22 countless eons (
mahāsaṃkhyeya kalpas) to become a Buddha. The
Mahāyānasaṃgraha of
Asanga states that the bodhisattva must cultivate the six paramitas for three incalculable aeons (
kalpāsaṃkhyeya).
Shantideva meanwhile states that bodhisattvas must practice each perfection for sixty aeons or
kalpas and also declares that a bodhisattva must practice the path for an "inconceivable" (
acintya) number of kalpas. Thus, the bodhisattva path could take many billions upon billions of years to complete. Later developments in Indian and Asian Mahayana Buddhism (especially in
Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism) lead to the idea that certain methods and practices could substantially shorten the path (and even lead to Buddhahood in a single lifetime). Some of early depictions of the Bodhisattva path in texts such as the
Ugraparipṛcchā Sūtra describe it as an arduous, difficult monastic path suited only for the few which is nevertheless the most glorious path one can take. Three kinds of bodhisattvas are mentioned: the forest, city, and monastery bodhisattvas—with forest dwelling being promoted a superior, even necessary path in sutras such as the
Ugraparipṛcchā and the
Samadhiraja sutras. The early
Rastrapalapariprccha sutra also promotes a solitary life of meditation in the forests, far away from the distractions of the householder life. The
Rastrapala is also highly critical of monks living in monasteries and in cities who are seen as not practicing meditation and morality. The
Ratnagunasamcayagatha also says the bodhisattva should undertake ascetic practices (
dhūtaguṇa), "wander freely without a home", practice the
paramitas and train under a guru in order to perfect his meditation practice and realization of
prajñaparamita. The twelve
dhūtaguṇas are also promoted by the
King of Samadhis Sutra, the
Ten Stages Sutra and Shantideva. Some scholars have used these texts to argue for "the forest hypothesis", the theory that the initial Bodhisattva ideal was associated with a strict forest
asceticism. But other scholars point out that many other Mahayana sutras do not promote this ideal, and instead teach "easy" practices like memorizing, reciting, teaching and copying Mahayana sutras, as well as meditating on Buddhas and bodhisattvas (and reciting or chanting their names). That a bodhisattva has the option to pursue such a lesser path, but instead chooses the long path towards Buddhahood is one of the five criteria for one to be considered a bodhisattva. The other four are: being human, being a man, making a vow to become a Buddha in the presence of a previous Buddha, and receiving a prophecy from that Buddha. Over time, a more varied analysis of bodhisattva careers developed focused on one's motivation. This can be seen in the
Tibetan Buddhist teaching on three types of motivation for generating bodhicitta. According to
Patrul Rinpoche's 19th-century
Words of My Perfect Teacher (''Kun bzang bla ma'i gzhal lung''), a bodhisattva might be motivated in one of three ways. They are:
Bodhisattva stages According to James B. Apple, if one studies the earliest textual materials which discuss the bodhisattva path (which includes the translations of
Lokakshema and the
Gandharan manuscripts), "one finds four key stages that are demarcated throughout this early textual material that constitute the most basic elements in the path of a bodhisattva". These main elements are: Drewes notes that Mahāyāna sūtras mainly depict a bodhisattvas' first arising of bodhicitta as occurring in the presence of a Buddha. Furthermore, according to Drewes, most Mahāyāna sūtras "never encourage anyone to become a bodhisattva or present any ritual or other means of doing so." Within the framework of the Bodhisattva path, various Buddhist scriptures identify different stages at which non-retrogression is attained. Some sources associate it with the path of preparation (
prayogamārga), where a bodhisattva solidifies their commitment and will no longer turn back to pursue the path of an arhat. Others link it to the first
bhūmi (stage) of the bodhisattva path or, in later systematic presentations, to the eighth
bhūmi, after which full Buddhahood becomes inevitable. The
Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, particularly in its early Chinese translation by
Lokakṣema, emphasizes
avaivartika as a pivotal attainment. It describes how the bodhisattva, upon reaching the state of
anutpattikadharmakṣānti (the realization of the
unborn nature of phenomena), becomes irreversible in their journey toward complete enlightenment. Unlike later Mahāyāna texts, which integrate this stage within the structured
bhūmi system, Lokakṣema's version presents it more fluidly, portraying the
avaivartin as one of a few key categories of bodhisattvas. In
Pure Land traditions, rebirth in Amitābha Buddha's
Pure Land (
Sukhāvatī) is equated with entering the stage of non-retrogression. It is believed that those who attain birth in Sukhāvatī are assured of progressing toward enlightenment without the risk of falling back into lower states of existence. The
Śūraṅgama Sūtra recognizes 57 stages. Various
Vajrayāna schools recognize additional grounds (varying from 3 to 10 further stages), mostly 6 more grounds with variant descriptions. A bodhisattva above the 7th ground is called a
mahāsattva. Some bodhisattvas such as
Samantabhadra are also said to have already attained Buddhahood.
Sōtō Zen As part of the
Sōtō Zen school of Mahāyanā,
Dōgen Zenji described
Four Exemplary Acts of a Bodhisattva: • Offering Alms: Not being covetous or greedy; • Kind Speech: Feeling genuine affection for other sentient beings and offering words that are neither harsh nor rude. • Benevolence: Working out skillful methods to benefit sentient beings, be they of low or high station. • Manifesting Sympathy: Not making differences, not treating yourself as different and not treating others as different. == Mahayana bodhisattvas ==