Bodhisattvas

Bodhisattva is a sanskrit term which is translated as: Bodhi (enlightenment) and Sattva (being). Bodhisattvas are the beings who are not completely enlightened but are on the verge of being completely enlightened.Bodhisattvas symbolize the various attributes of the Buddha. They originally appear as the attendants of the Buddhas. Bodhisattvas can simply be understood as the beings who postpone their own Nirvana & will undergo any type of suffering to help each & every sentient being & put them on the path to enlightenment. Two modern bodhisattvas of the present time are the 14th Dalai Lama & the Karmapa, both considered as an incarnation of the same bodhisattva Avalokitesvara (Chenrezig). Some of the important Bodhisattvas are Avalokitesvara (Guan Yin in Chinese), Manjushree, Samantabhadra, Ksitigarbha, Maitreya, Vajrapani.