page_title: Bodhisattva
section_title: School doctrines
hierarchical_section_title: Bodhisattva / In Mahāyāna Buddhism / School doctrines
caption_attribution_description: English: Mural of Avolokitesevara (Bodhisattva Guanyin), Worshipping Bodhisattvas and Mendicant. Early Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.). Cave 57, south wall.Français&#160;: Peinture murale du Bodhisattva Guanyin, des orants, des bodhisattvas et des mendiants. Début de la dynastie Tang (618-907 après J.-C.). Grotte 57, mur sud. Guanyin porte une coiffe signifiant qu'elle est sur le point d'arriver à l'état de bouddha. Référence&#160;: Fan Jinshi (rédac. en chef) et al. (photogr. Zhang Weiwen), Les œuvres remarquables de l'art de Dunhuang, coll. «&#160;Patrimoine mondial&#160;», 2007, 128 p., 28 cm (ISBN 978-7-80069-775-3), p. 54.
context_page_description: In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is any person who is on the path towards Buddhahood.
  In the Early Buddhist schools as well as modern Theravada Buddhism, a bodhisattva refers to anyone who has made a resolution to become a Buddha and has also received a confirmation or prediction from a living Buddha that this will be so.
  In Mahayana Buddhism, a bodhisattva refers to anyone who has generated bodhicitta, a spontaneous wish and compassionate mind to attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings.
  The elaborate concept refers to a sentient being or sattva that develops bodhi or enlightenment — thus possessing the boddisattva's psyche; described as those who works to develop and exemplify the loving-kindness, compassion, empathetic joy and equanimity. These four virtues are the four divine abodes, called Brahmavihara.
context_section_description: Some sutras said a beginner would take 3–22 countless eons (mahāsaṃkhyeya kalpas) to become a buddha. Pure Land Buddhism suggests buddhists go to the pure lands to practice as bodhisattvas. Tiantai, Huayan, Zen and Vajrayāna schools say they teach ways to attain buddhahood within one karmic cycle.
  Various traditions within Buddhism believe in specific bodhisattvas. Some bodhisattvas appear across traditions, but due to language barriers may be seen as separate entities. For example, Tibetan Buddhists believe in various forms of Chenrezig, who is Avalokiteśvara in Sanskrit, Guanyin in China, Gwan-eum in Korea, Quan Am in Vietnam, and Kannon in Japan. Followers of Tibetan Buddhism consider the Dalai Lamas and the Karmapas to be an emanation of Chenrezig, the Bodhisattva of Compassion.
  The place of a bodhisattva's earthly deeds, such as the achievement of enlightenment or the acts of Dharma, is known as a bodhimaṇḍa, and may be a site of pilgrimage. Many temples and monasteries are famous as bodhimaṇḍas. Perhaps the most famous bodhimaṇḍa of all is the Bodhi Tree under which Śākyamuṇi achieved buddhahood. In the tradition of Chinese Buddhism, there are four mountains that are regarded as bodhimaṇḍas for bodhisattvas, with each site having major monasteries and being popular for pilgrimages by both monastics and laypeople. These four bodhimandas are:
  Mount Putuo:  Avalokiteśvara, Bodhisattva of Compassion (Chinese: 觀自在菩薩, 觀世音菩薩, 觀音菩薩; pinyin: Guānzìzài Púsà, Guānshìyīn Púsà, Guānyīn Púsà)
  Mount Emei: Samantabhadra, Bodhisattva of Practice (Chinese: 普賢菩薩 普贤菩萨; pinyin: Pǔxián Púsà)
  Mount Wutai: Mañjuśrī, Bodhisattva of Wisdom (Chinese: 文殊菩薩, 文殊师利菩薩, 曼殊室利菩薩, 妙吉祥菩薩; pinyin: Wénshū Púsà, Wénshūshīlì Púsà, Mànshūshìlì Púsà, Miàojíxiáng Púsà)
  Mount Jiuhua: Kṣitigarbha, Bodhisattva of the Great Vow (Chinese: 地藏菩薩 地藏菩萨; pinyin: Dìzàng Púsà)
caption: Mural of bodhisattvas. China, Tang Dynasty, 7th–9th century.
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