Bodhisattva

[ boh-duh-suht-vuh ]

/ ˌboʊ dəˈsʌt və /

noun Buddhism.

a person who has attained prajna, or Enlightenment, but who postpones Nirvana in order to help others to attain Enlightenment: individual Bodhisattvas are the subjects of devotion in certain sects and are often represented in painting and sculpture.

Compare Arhat.

Origin of Bodhisattva

1820–30; < Pali, Sanskrit

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for bodhisattva

In many respects the virtues of the Bodhisattva are those of the Arhat.
Hinduism And Buddhism, Volume II. (of 3)|Charles Eliot
One of the most famous images of this Bodhisattva is at Zenkô-ji, Nagano.
The Religions of Japan|William Elliot Griffis
Fire may freeze, water may burn, the roughened earth may grow soft and pliant, but ye cannot hurt the Bodhisattva!
Sacred Books of the East|Various
Have you not heard the story of the adorable Bodhisattva in his former birth as a boar?
The Kath Sarit Sgara|Somadeva Bhatta

He dared no longer look in the face of the Bodhisattva, and soon he disappeared with his hell.
The Gtakaml|rya Sra

British Dictionary definitions for bodhisattva

Bodhisattva

/ (ˌbəʊdɪˈsætvə, -wə, ˌbɒd-, ˌbəʊdiːˈsʌtvə) /

noun

(in Mahayana Buddhism) a divine being worthy of nirvana who remains on the human plane to help men to salvationCompare arhat

Word Origin for Bodhisattva

Sanskrit, literally: one whose essence is enlightenment, from bodhi enlightenment + sattva essence

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012