bodhisattva
/ˌbɒdɪˈsatvə/ noun
Forms bodhisattvas boddhisatva bodhisvatta
- noun (Buddhism) A person who has taken specific lay or monastic vows and who is on the road to perfect knowledge; specifically, one who foregoes personal nirvana in order to help others achieve enlightenment.
- noun (Buddhism) An enlightened being existing in a form of existence beyond the ordinary forms of physical reality understood and acknowledged by scientific thought, resembling the Western notion of angels, but with a wealth of its own nuances and expectations. These include the compassionate working for enlightenment of all sentient beings.
Synonyms
Etymology
Borrowed from Sanskrit बोधिसत्त्व (bodhisattva, “enlightened existence”).
Webster’s 1913
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “bodhisattva”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details