བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ། | Glossary of Terms

The Tibetan translators consistently understand the word bodhisattva as bodhi-satva and render it byang chub sems dpa’ (“awakening thought hero”).

A person who is dedicated not merely to attaining liberation through attaining the state of an arhat, but to becoming a buddha.

One who practices according to the Vehicle of the Bodhisattvas, aiming at complete buddhahood; “awakening hero,” “one who has a wish for awakening,” “one who awakens sentient beings.”

A being who is dedicated to the cultivation and fulfilment of the altruistic intention to attain manifestly perfect buddhahood, traversing the five bodhisattva paths and ten bodhisattva levels. Bodhisattvas purposely opt to remain within saṃsāra to liberate all sentient beings, instead of simply seeking personal freedom from suffering. Philosophically, they realize the two aspects of selflessness, with respect to afflicted mental states and the nature of all phenomena.

Literally, “awakening being”; a being on the path to awakening who has generated bodhicitta for the benefit of all beings.

Here, “Bodhisattva” is also used to refer specifically to the Buddha prior to his awakening, both during this life, as Prince Siddhārtha, and during his previous life, as Śvetaketu, in the Heaven of Joy.

Someone who practices according to the Vehicle of the Bodhisattvas; one who aims for complete buddhahood; “awakening hero;” “one who has a wish for awakening;” “one who awakens sentient beings.”

A person who is dedicated not merely to gaining liberation through attaining the state of an arhat, but to becoming a buddha. A name created from the Sanskritization of the middle-Indic bodhisatto, the Sanskrit equivalent of which was bodhisakta, “one who is fixed on enlightenment.”

Someone who has the intent to achieve full enlightenment for the benefit of sentient beings.

A person who is dedicated not merely to attaining liberation through attaining the state of an arhat, but to becoming a buddha. A name created from the Sanskritization of the middle-Indic bodhisatto, the Sanskrit equivalent of which was bodhisakta, “one who is fixed on enlightenment.”

A person who is dedicated not merely to attaining liberation through attaining the state of an arhat, but to becoming a buddha. A name created from the Sanskritization of the middle-Indic bodhisatto, the Sanskrit equivalent of which was bodhisakta, “one who is fixed on enlightenment.”

A practitioner who, motivated by altruistic feelings, vows not to enter nirvāṇa until each and every being has been liberated first.

A being who is dedicated to the cultivation and fulfillment of the intention to attain perfect buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings.

A person who is dedicated not merely to gaining liberation through attaining the state of an arhat, but to becoming a buddha. A name created from the Sanskritization of the Middle-Indic bodhisatto, the Sanskrit equivalent of which was bodhisakta (“one who is set on awakening”). Some contemporary scholars maintain that the word derives from bodhisatvan (“warrior of awakening”).

A being who is dedicated to the cultivation and fulfilment of the altruistic intention to attain spiritual awakening, traversing the five bodhisattva paths and ten bodhisattva levels. Bodhisattvas purposely opt to remain within saṃsāra to liberate all sentient beings, instead of simply seeking personal freedom from suffering. Philosophically, they realize the two aspects of selflessness, namely, the nonexistence of any individuating principle (self) in persons and phenomena.

A living being who has produced the spirit of enlightenment in himself and whose constant dedication, lifetime after lifetime, is to attain the unexcelled, perfect enlightenment of Buddhahood.

Someone who practices according to the Vehicle of the Bodhisattvas and who aspires to attain complete buddhahood.

A person who is dedicated not merely to attaining liberation through attaining the state of an arhat, but to becoming a buddha for the benefit of all beings.

A being who has produced the intent to achieve full awakening for the benefit of sentient beings.

According to the Mahāyāna, an individual with the intent to achieve awakening for the sake of all beings.

Someone who vows to achieve the complete enlightenment of a buddha for the benefit of all sentient beings.

One dedicated to perfect awakening in order to liberate all living beings.

Someone who practices according to the vehicle of the bodhisattvas, those who aim at complete buddhahood; the term is explained as “awakening hero,” “one who has a wish for awakening,” or also “one who awakens sentient beings.”

A buddha in training. Also sometimes used as a title when referring to the Buddha in a previous incarnation, i.e., “the Bodhisattva.”

A being who is dedicated to the cultivation and fulfilment of the altruistic intention to attain perfect buddhahood according to the Mahāyāna tradition. Instead of simply seeking personal freedom from suffering, bodhisattvas purposely opt to remain within cyclic existence in order to liberate all sentient beings.

A person/being (sattva) who has vowed to attain awakening (bodhi) in order to free all beings from cyclic existence.

A person who is dedicated not merely to attaining liberation through attaining the state of an arhat, but to becoming a buddha. The designation was created through the Sanskritization of the Middle Indic bodhisatto, the Sanskrit equivalent of which might actually have been bodhisakta, “one who is fixed on enlightenment.”

A person who is dedicated not merely to attaining liberation through attaining the state of an arhat, but to becoming a buddha. The designation was created through the Sanskritization of the Middle Indic bodhisatto, the Sanskrit equivalent of which might actually have been bodhisakta, “one who is fixed on enlightenment.”

A fully or partially realized being who delays their own nirvāṇa to first liberate all sentient beings.