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Topic of the Week: Who is a Bodhisattva?[edit]
The term Bodhisattva is commonly used in Buddhism and has now entered most of the English dictionaries. Who, then, is a Bodhisattva or what makes someone a Bodhisattva. In early Buddhism, a Bodhisattva is considered to be a rare being with exceptional calibre who can become a buddha. Not many beings are said to have the Bodhisattva spiritual gene and possess the capacity to become a buddha.
The rise of Mahāyāna Buddhism changed this narrative. Some Mahāyāna traditions argued that those capable of seeking enlightenment would have one of the three dispositions to pursue a Śrāvaka arhathood, Pratyekabuddha arhathood or Buddhahood. Many beings of superior calibre and disposition became Bodhisattvas to seek Buddhahood for the sake of all sentient beings. As the opportunity to become a Bodhisattva increased, the pantheon of Bodhisattvas also grew. Thus, we find many names and numbers of Bodhisattvas in the Mahāyāna sūtras. Other Mahāyāna traditions took this even further and argued that all beings have the capacity to become a buddha and would eventually become one if they followed the path. Thus, any sentient being could become a Bodhisattva and the Bodhisattva disposition was not restricted to any specific type of beings. Anyone who generated Bodhicitta - the thought of enlightenment - and engaged in the practice of the six perfections is a Bodhisattva. A Bodhisattva, in brief, is a buddha in making.
The Ratnagotravibhāga, the main text on buddha-nature, explains that a Bodhisattva or an heir of the Buddha is someone who is born from the seed of faith in the supreme vehicle and the womb of blissful samadhi, and whose mother is wisdom, and nanny, compassion. To discover more on this, read Verse I.34.
Weekly quote[edit]
Even those born as animals have the Buddha-Nature.~ Asaṅga
