Bodhisattva facts for kids

A bodhisattva is a Buddhist who is on their way to become a Buddha. They have attained a certain level of enlightenment, but decide not to enter Nirvana so that they can continue helping living beings in the world.

The word Bodhisattva can also refer to certain specific bodhisattvas such as Avalokiteshvara, Manjushri and Vajrapani.

Many bodhisattvas made a special vow that defines their personality or method of helping people. For example, Kshitigarbha vowed not to attain enlightenment until there were no more beings in hell. Some Buddhas, such as Amitabha, made certain vows when they were bodhisattvas. He became a Buddha when these vows were fulfilled.

Related pages

• Buddha

Images for kids

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  Probable early image of a bodhisattva (Bimaran casket, 50 CE).

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  Gandharan relief depicting the bodhisattva (future Gautama Buddha) taking a vow at the foot of Dipankara Buddha, Art Institute of Chicago.

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  Modern depiction of the bodhisattva resolution (praṇidhāna) in front of Dipankara.

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  6th century painting of Maitreya, Kizil Caves, Cave 224

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  Sinhalese statue of Avalokiteśvara (also known as Natha, Lokeshvara Natha, Natha Deviyo) in Dambulla cave temple

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  Gilded bronze statue of Tara, Sri Lanka, 8th century CE.

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  Bronze statue of the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara. Sri Lanka, c. 750 CE.

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  An altar depicting Burmese Buddhist weizzas. In this esoteric tradition, weizzas consider themselves to be bodhisattvas.

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  Greco-Buddhist standing Maitreya (3rd century), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

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  Bengali Sculpture of Manjushri, the bodhisattva of wisdom, 11th century

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  Wood carving of Avalokiteśvara. Liao China, 907–1125

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  Twenty-five Bodhisattvas Descending from Heaven. Japanese painting, c. 1300

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  Bodhisattva Prajñaparamita, a female personification of the perfection of wisdom, Singhasari period, East Java, Indonesia, 13th century

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  Mural of bodhisattva Padmapani in Ajanta Caves. India, 5th century

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  Green Tara attended by White Tara and Bhrikuti, India, Madhya Pradesh, Sirpur, c. 8th century.

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  Tibetan painting of Vajrapani, 19th-century

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  Japanese statue of Kannon (Guanyin, a popular female form of Avalokiteshvara in East Asia)

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  Mural painting of Manjushri in tantric union with his consort, the bodhisattva Sarasvati (also considered to be a form of Tara).

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  Green Tara and her devotees, Folio from a Bengali manuscript of the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā (Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines), MET.

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  Maitreya, 13th century, Kamakura period, Tokyo National Museum, Important Cultural Property of Japan.

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  Statue of Ksitigarbha, the background art depicts his pure land and attendant bodhisattvas. From a Buddhist temple in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

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  Statue of Guanyin's 'thousand arms' form, the arms symbolize all the skillful means employed by Guanyin to help sentient beings.

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  Statue of Upulvan-Vishnu, Seema Malaka, Sri Lanka

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  A 12th century Japanese illustration of the nāga princess offering the jewel to the Buddha, from the Lotus Sutra.

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  Empress Wu Zetian

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  Japanese illustration of Benzaiten, seated on a white dragon. Some Japanese sources associate this figure with the naga princess in the Lotus sutra.

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  Thangka Depicting Yamantaka, a wrathful manifestation of Manjushri in Tibetan Buddhism

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  Statue of Samantabhadra bodhisattva at Mount Emei

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  Standing bodhisattva. Gandhāra, 2nd–3rd century.

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  Standing bodhisattva. Gandhāra, 2nd–3rd century.

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  Bodhisattva Vajrapani. Mendut near Borobudur, Central Java, Indonesia. Sailendran art c. 8th century.

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  Thousand-armed Bodhisattva, Sanjūsangen-dō, Japan. 13th century.

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  A rock carving of Avalokiteshvara, Weligama, Sri Lanka

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  Silver Manjushri, Sailendra, early 9th century Central Java, National Museum.

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  Bodhisattva Manjushri as Tikshna-Manjushri (Minjie Wenshu), China

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  Wooden gilded statue of Avalokiteśvara, Song Dynasty (960-1279)

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  Jizō Bosatsu, Japan

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  Bodhisattva painting at Dun Huang in the "1000 Buddha cave" (cave 17).

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  Manjushri, 17th–18th century China

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  Padmapani Lokeshvara, Nepal, 11th century

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  Standing Bodhisattva, probably Maitreya, Gandhara

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  Samantabhadra, Yulin Cave 3, Western Xia

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  Nyoirin Kannon, Japan, 1693

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  White Avalokiteshvara (Amoghapasha Lokeshvara), 14th century, Nepal.

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  Maitreya, Himalayan, 15th century

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  Padmapani, India, Gandharan period, 200s AD, schist

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  Gandharan sculpture, head of a bodhisattva

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  Vajrapani, Cambodia, 10th century

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  Lokesvara, Cambodia, 10-11th century

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  Lokeshvara, Bihar, Teladha Vihara

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  Avalokiteshvara, 18th century

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  Guanyin Statue, Nanshan Guanyin Park

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  Maitreya, Bihar, Gaya District, 11th century

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  Manjusri, Nepal, 15th century