More broadly, the Summer of Love encompassed hippie culture, spiritual awakening, hallucinogenic drugs, anti-war sentiment, and free love throughout the West Coast of the United States, and as far away as New York City. An episode of the PBS documentary series American Experience referred to the Summer of Love as "the largest migration of young people in the history of America".
Hippies, sometimes called flower children, were an eclectic group. Many opposed the Vietnam War, were suspicious of government, and rejected consumerist values. In the United States, counterculture groups rejected suburbia and the American way
and instead opted for a communal lifestyle. Some hippies were active in
political organization, whereas others were passive and more concerned
with art (music, painting, poetry in particular) or spiritual and
meditative practices. Many hippies took interest in ancient Indian religions, such as Hinduism and Buddhism.
Background
Culture of San Francisco
Intersection
of Haight Street and Ashbury Street, the upper Haight neighborhood, San
Francisco, celebrated as the central location of the Summer of Love
Inspired by Jack Kerouac's On the Road (1957) and the Beat Generation of authors of the 1950s, who had flourished in the North Beach
area of San Francisco, those who gathered in Haight-Ashbury during 1967
allegedly rejected the conformist and materialist values of modern life
and adhered to the psychedelic movement; there was an emphasis on sharing and community. The Diggers established a Free Store, and Haight Ashbury Free Clinics was founded on June 7, 1967, where medical treatment was provided.
The prelude to the Summer of Love was a celebration known as the Human Be-In at Golden Gate Park on January 14, 1967, which was produced and organized by artist Michael Bowen.
It was at this event that Timothy Leary voiced his phrase, "turn on, tune in, drop out".
This phrase helped shape the entire hippie counterculture, as it voiced
the key ideas of 1960s rebellion. These ideas included experimenting
with psychedelics,
communal living, political decentralization, and dropping out of
society. The term "dropping out" became popular among many high school
and college students, many of whom would abandon their conventional
education for a summer or more of hippie culture.
The event was announced by the Haight-Ashbury's hippie newspaper, the San Francisco Oracle:
A new concept of celebration beneath the human
underground must emerge, become conscious, and be shared, so a
revolution can be formed with a renaissance of compassion, awareness,
and love, and the revelation of unity for all mankind.
The gathering of approximately 30,000 at the Human Be-In helped publicize hippie fashions.
Planning
The term "Summer of Love" originated with the formation of the Council for the Summer of Love
during the spring of 1967 as a response to the convergence of young
people on the Haight-Ashbury district. The council was composed of the Family Dog hippie commune, The Straight Theatre, The Diggers, The San Francisco Oracle,
and approximately 25 other people, who sought to alleviate some of the
problems anticipated from the influx of young people expected during the
summer. The council also assisted the Free Clinic and organized
housing, food, sanitation, music and arts, along with maintaining
coordination with local churches and other social groups.
Psychedelic poster artist Bob Schnepf was commissioned by Chet Helms to
create the official Summer of Love poster, which became a lasting icon
of the era.
College students, high school students, and runaways began streaming into the Haight during the spring break of 1967. John F. Shelley, the then-Mayor of San Francisco and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors,
determined to stop the influx of young people once schools ended for
the summer, unwittingly brought additional attention to the scene, and a
series of articles in the San Francisco Examiner and San Francisco Chronicle alerted the national media to the hippies' growing numbers. By spring, some Haight-Ashbury organizations including Diggers theater and about 25 residents responded by forming the Council of the Summer of Love, giving the event a name.
"You only had to walk out your door to join the fun"—Mike Lafavore
Popularization
The media's coverage of hippie afflux in the Haight-Ashbury drew the attention of youth from all over America. Hunter S. Thompson termed the district "Hashbury" in The New York Times Magazine.
On February 6, 1967, Newsweek printed a four-page four-color article titled "Dropouts on a Mission".
On March 17, 1967, Time magazine printed an article "Love on Haight".
On June 6, 1967, Newsweek printed "The Hippies are Coming".
The activities in the area were reported almost daily.
The event was also reported by the counterculture's own media, particularly the San Francisco Oracle, the pass-around readership of which is thought to have exceeded a half-million people that summer, and the Berkeley Barb.
"San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)"
The musician John Phillips of the band the Mamas & the Papas wrote the song "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)" for his friend Scott McKenzie. It served to promote both the Monterey Pop Festival that Phillips was helping to organize, and to popularize the flower children of San Francisco. Released on May 13, 1967, the song was an instant success. By the week ending July 1, 1967, it reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, where it remained for four consecutive weeks.
Meanwhile, the song charted at number one in the United Kingdom and
much of Europe. The single is purported to have sold more than 7 million
copies worldwide.
Events
New York City
In Manhattan, near the Greenwich Village neighborhood, during a concert in Tompkins Square Park on Memorial Day of 1967, some police officers asked for the music's volume to be reduced. In response, some people in the crowd threw various objects, and 38 arrests ensued. A debate about the "threat of the hippie" ensued between Mayor John Lindsay and Police Commissioner Howard R. Leary. After this event, Allan Katzman, the editor of the East Village Other, predicted that 50,000 hippies would enter the area for the summer.
California
Double
in size of the Tompkins Square Park concert, as many as 100,000 young
people from around the world flocked to San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury
district, as well as to nearby Berkeley and to other San Francisco Bay Area cities, to join in a popularized version of the hippie culture. A Free Clinic was established for free medical treatment, and a Free Store gave away basic necessities without charge to anyone who needed them.
The Summer of Love attracted a wide range of people of various
ages: teenagers and college students drawn by their peers and the allure
of joining an alleged cultural utopia; middle-class vacationers; and
even partying military personnel from bases within driving distance. The
Haight-Ashbury could not accommodate this influx of people, and the
neighborhood scene quickly deteriorated, with overcrowding,
homelessness, hunger, drug problems, and crime afflicting the
neighborhood.
Denver
Chet Helms, Barry Fey and others who were constructing The Family Dog Denver in the summer of 1967 also held a Human Be-In, in Denver's City Park,
with the goal of harnessing the Summer of Love vibe to promote Helm's
new Family Dog Productions venture, which opened in September, 1967.
5,000 people attended the Be-In, with performances by bands like the Grateful Dead, Odetta and Captain Beefheart. Ken Kesey and Timothy Leary were also reportedly in attendance. As Denver native Bruce Bond states in the 2021 documentary The Tale of the Dog, "It's not like the Summer of Love ended in Frisco. It just moved east, to Denver."
Haight Ashbury was a ghetto of bohemians who wanted to do
anything—and we did but I don't think it has happened since. Yes there
was LSD. But Haight Ashbury was not about drugs. It was about
exploration, finding new ways of expression, being aware of one's
existence.
After losing his untenured position as an instructor on the Psychology faculty at Harvard University, Timothy Leary became a major advocate for the recreational use of psychedelic drugs. After starting taking psilocybin in the late fifties, a psychoactive chemical produced by certain mushrooms
that causes effects similar to those of LSD, Leary endorsed the use of
all psychedelics for personal development. He often invited friends as
well as an occasional graduate student to consume such drugs along with
him and colleague Richard Alpert.
On the West Coast, author Ken Kesey, a prior volunteer for a CIA-started LSD experiment in 1959, advocated the use of LSD. Soon after participating, he was inspired to write the bestselling novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
Subsequently, after buying an old school bus, painting it with
psychedelic graffiti and attracting a group of similarly minded
individuals he dubbed the Merry Pranksters,
Kesey and his group traveled across the country, hosting "acid tests"
where they would fill a large container with a diluted low dose form of
the drug and give out diplomas to those who passed their test.
Along with LSD, cannabis
started to be much used during this period. However, new laws were
subsequently enacted to control the use of both drugs. The users thereof
often had sessions to oppose the laws, including The Human Be-In
referenced above as well as various "smoke-ins" during July and August; however, their efforts at repeal were unsuccessful.
Funeral and aftermath
Mock funeral notice
By the end of summer, many participants had left the scene to join the back-to-the-land movement
of the late 1960s, to resume school studies, or simply to "get a job".
Those remaining in the Haight wanted to commemorate the conclusion of
the event. A mock funeral entitled "The Death of the Hippie" ceremony
was staged on October 6, 1967, and organizer Mary Kasper explained the
intended message:
We wanted to signal that this was
the end of it, to stay where you are, bring the revolution to where you
live and don't come here because it's over and done with.
In New York, the rock musical drama Hair, which told the story of the hippie counterculture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, began Off-Broadway on October 17, 1967.
The "Second Summer of Love" (a term which generally refers to the summers of both 1988 and 1989) was a renaissance of acid house music and rave parties in Britain. The culture supported MDMA use and some LSD use. The art had a generally psychedelic emotion reminiscent of the 1960s.
Soviet "Flower Children"
Behind
the Iron Curtain, hippies inspired a counter-cultural movement, "Flower
Children", nicknamed for the flowers typically in their hair.
The hippies' boho fashion style, anti-war, and even expressions, such
as "Make love, not war," were used by the Flower Children.
While they took inspiration from hippies in fashion, beliefs and
protest, they used it to protest the particular repression they faced
under a pre-Perestroika Soviet Union.
40th anniversary
During
the summer of 2007, San Francisco celebrated the 40th anniversary of
the Summer of Love by holding numerous events around the region,
culminating on September 2, 2007, when over 150,000 people attended the
40th anniversary of the Summer of Love concert, held in Golden Gate Park
in Speedway Meadows. It was produced by 2b1 Multimedia and the Council
of Light.
In 2016, 2b1 Multimedia and The Council of Light, once again, began
the planning for the 50th Anniversary of the Summer of Love in Golden
Gate Park in San Francisco. By the beginning of 2017, the council had
gathered about 25 poster artists, about 10 of whom submitted their
finished art, but it was never printed. The council was also contacted
by many bands and musicians who wanted to be part of this historic
event, all were waiting for the date to be determined before a final
commitment.
New rules enforced by the San Francisco Parks and Recreational
Department (PRD) prohibited the council from holding a free event of the
proposed size. There were many events planned for San Francisco in
2017, many of which were 50th Anniversary-themed. However, there was no
free concert. The PRD later hosted an event originally called "Summer
Solstice Party," but it was later renamed "50th Anniversary of the
Summer of Love" two weeks before commencement. The event had fewer than
20,000 attendees from the local Bay Area.
In frustration, producer Boots Hughston put the proposal of what
was by then to be a 52nd anniversary free concert into the form of an
initiative intended for the November 6, 2018, ballot.
The issue did not make the ballot; however, a more generic Proposition
E provides for directing hotel tax fees to a $32 million budget for
"arts and cultural organizations and projects in the city."
During the summer of 2017, San Francisco celebrated the 50th
anniversary of the Summer of Love by holding numerous events and art
exhibitions.
In Liverpool, the city has staged a 50 Summers of Love festival based on
the 50th anniversary of the June 1, 1967, release of the album Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, by the Beatles.
The cells of each of the three germ layers undergo differentiation,
a process where less-specialized cells become more-specialized through
the expression of a specific set of genes. Cell differentiation is
driven by cell signaling cascades.
Differentiation is influenced by extracellular signals such as growth
factors that are exchanged to adjacent cells which is called juxtracrine signaling or to neighboring cells over short distances which is called paracrine signaling. Intracellular signals – a cell signaling itself (autocrine signaling)
– also play a role in organ formation. These signaling pathways allow
for cell rearrangement and ensure that organs form at specific sites
within the organism. The organogenesis process can be studied using embryos and organoids.
Organs produced by the germ layers
Neural
precursor cells fold and elongate to form the neural tube. Mesoderm
cells condense to form a rod which will send out signals to redirect the
ectoderm cells above. This fold along the neural tube sets up the
vertebrate central nervous system.
The endoderm
is the inner most germ layer of the embryo which gives rise to
gastrointestinal and respiratory organs by forming epithelial linings
and organs such as the liver, lungs, and pancreas. The mesoderm or middle germ layer of the embryo will form the blood, heart, kidney, muscles, and connective tissues. The ectoderm or outermost germ layer of the developing embryo forms epidermis, the brain, and the nervous system.
Mechanism of organ formation
While each germ layer forms specific organs, in the 1820s, embryologist Heinz Christian Pander discovered that the germ layers cannot form their respective organs without the cellular interactions from other tissues. In humans, internal organs begin to develop within 3–8 weeks after fertilization. The germ layers form organs by three processes: folds, splits, and condensation.
Folds form in the germinal sheet of cells and usually form an enclosed
tube which you can see in the development of vertebrates neural tube.
Splits or pockets may form in the germinal sheet of cells forming
vesicles or elongations. The lungs and glands of the organism may
develop this way.
A primary step in organogenesis for chordates is the development of the notochord, which induces the formation of the neural plate, and ultimately the neural tube in vertebrate development. The development of the neural tube will give rise to the brain and spinal cord. Vertebrates develop a neural crest that differentiates into many structures, including bones, muscles, and components of the central nervous system.
Differentiation of the ectoderm into the neural crest, neural tube, and
surface ectoderm is sometimes referred to as neurulation and the embryo
in this phase is the neurula. The coelom of the body forms from a split of the mesoderm along the somite axis.
Plant organogenesis
In plants, organogenesis occurs continuously and only stops when the plant dies. In the shoot, the shoot apical meristems regularly produce new lateral organs (leaves or flowers) and lateral branches. In the root, new lateral roots form from weakly differentiated internal tissue (e.g. the xylem-pole pericycle in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana). In vitro and in response to specific cocktails of hormones (mainly auxins and cytokinins), most plant tissues can de-differentiate and form a mass of dividing totipotent stem cells called a callus.
Organogenesis can then occur from those cells. The type of organ that
is formed depends on the relative concentrations of the hormones in the
medium. Plant organogenesis can be induced in tissue culture and used to
regenerate plants.
Categories
Direct organogenesis
Direct
organogenesis is a method of plant tissue culture in which organs like
roots and shoots develop directly from meristematic or non-meristematic
cells, bypassing the callus formation stage. This process takes place
through the activation of shoot and root apical meristems or axillary
buds, influenced by internal or externally applied plant growth
regulators. As a result, specific cell types differentiate to form plant
structures that can grow into whole plants. This technique is commonly
used for propagating various plant species, including vegetables,
fruits, woody plants, and medicinal plants. Shoot tips and nodal
segments are typically used as explants in this process. In some cases,
adventitious structures arise from somatic tissues under specific
conditions, allowing for the regeneration of shoots or roots in areas
where they would not naturally develop. This approach is particularly
effective in herbaceous species, and while adventitious regeneration can
lead to a higher rate of shoot formation, axillary shoot proliferation
remains the most widely used method in micropropagation due to its
efficiency and practicality. The general sequence of organ development
in this process follows the pattern: Primary Explant → Meristemoid →
Organ Primordium.
Indirect organogenesis
Indirect
organogenesis is a developmental process in which plant cells undergo
dedifferentiation, allowing them to revert from their specialized state
and transition into a new developmental pathway. This process is
characterized by an intermediate callus stage, where cells lose their
original identity and become morphologically adaptable, serving as the
foundation for organ formation. The progression of indirect
organogenesis involves several key phases, beginning with
dedifferentiation, which enables the cells to attain competence,
followed by an induction stage that leads to a fully determined state.
Once determination is achieved, the cells undergo morphological changes,
ultimately giving rise to functional shoots or roots. This process
follows a structured developmental sequence: Primary Explant → Callus →
Meristemoid → Organ Primordium, ensuring the organized formation of
plant organs.
Factors affecting organogenesis
Explant
The
ability to regenerate plants successfully depends on selecting the
right explant, which varies among species and plant varieties. In direct
organogenesis, explants sourced from meristematic tissues, such as
shoot tips, lateral buds, leaves, petioles, roots, and floral
structures, are often preferred due to their ability to rapidly develop
into new organs. These tissues have high survival rates, fast growth,
and strong regenerative potential in vitro. Meristems, shoot tips,
axillary buds, immature leaves, and embryos are particularly effective
in promoting regeneration across a wide range of plant species.
Additionally, mature plant parts, including leaves, stems, roots,
petioles, and flower segments, can also serve as viable explants for
organ formation under suitable conditions. Plant regeneration occurs
through the formation of callus, an undifferentiated mass of cells that
later gives rise to new organs. Callus formation can be induced from
various explants, such as cotyledons, hypocotyls, stems, leaves, shoot
apices, roots, inflorescences, and floral structures, when cultured
under controlled conditions. Generally, explants containing actively
dividing cells are more effective for callus initiation, as they have a
higher capacity for cellular reprogramming. Immature tissues tend to be
more adaptable for regeneration compared to mature tissues due to their
increased developmental plasticity. The size and shape of the explant
also influence the success of culture establishment, as larger or more
structurally favorable explants may enhance the chances of survival and
growth. Callus development is primarily triggered by wounding and the
presence of plant hormones, which may be naturally present in the tissue
or supplemented in the growth medium to stimulate cellular activity and
organ formation.
Culture medium, plant growth regulators, and gelling agent
Culture
media compositions vary significantly in their mineral elements and
vitamin content to accommodate diverse plant species requirements.
Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium is distinguished by its high nitrogen
content in ammonium form, a characteristic not found in other
formulations. Sucrose typically serves as the primary carbohydrate
source across various media types.
The interaction between auxins and cytokinins in regulating
organogenesis is well-established, though responses vary by species.
Some plants, such as tobacco, can spontaneously form shoot buds without
exogenous growth regulators, while others like Scurrula pulverulenta, Lactuca sativa, and Brassica juncea strictly require hormonal supplementation. In B. juncea
cotyledon cultures, benzylaminopurine (BAP) alone induces shoot
formation from petiole tissue, similar to radiata pine where cytokinin
alone suffices for shoot induction.
Research indicates that endogenous hormone concentrations, rather
than exogenous application levels, ultimately determine organogenic
differentiation. Among the various cytokinins (2iP, BAP, thidiazuron,
kinetin, and zeatin) used for shoot induction, BAP has demonstrated
superior efficacy and widespread application. Auxins similarly influence
organogenic pathways, with 2,4-D commonly used for callus induction in
cereals, though organogenesis typically requires transfer to media
containing IAA or NAA or lacking 2,4-D entirely. The auxin-to-cytokinin
ratio largely determines which organs develop.
Gibberellic acid (GA3) contributes to cell elongation and
meristemoid formation, while unconventional compounds like
tri-iodobenzoic acid (TIBA), abscisic acid (ABA), kanamycin, and auxin
inhibitors have proven effective for recalcitrant species. Natural
additives like ginseng powder can enhance regeneration frequency in
certain cultures. Since ethylene typically suppresses shoot
differentiation, inhibitors of ethylene synthesis such as
aminoethoxyvinylglycine (AVG) and silver nitrate (AgNO3) are often
employed to promote organogenesis, with documented success in wheat,
tobacco, and sunflower cultures.
Agar is not an essential component of the culture medium, but
quality and quantity of agar is an important factor that may determine a
role in organogenesis. Commercially available agar may contain
impurities. With a high concentration of agar, the nutrient medium
becomes hard and does not allow the diffusion of nutrients to the
growing tissue. It influences the organogenesis process by producing
adventitious roots, unwanted callus at the base, or senescence of the
foliage. The pH is another important factor that may affect
organogenesis route. The pH of the culture medium is adjusted to between
5.6 and 5.8 before sterilization. Medium pH facilitates or inhibits
nutrient availability in the medium; for example, ammonium uptake in
vitro occurs at a stable pH of 5.5 (Thorpe et al., 2008).
Other factors
Season of the year
The
timing of explant collection significantly impacts regenerative
capacity in tissue culture systems, with seasonal variations playing a
crucial role in organ formation success. This phenomenon is clearly
demonstrated in Lilium speciosum, where bulb scales exhibit
differential regenerative responses based on collection season. Explants
harvested during spring and autumn periods readily form bulblets in
vitro, while those collected during summer or winter months fail to
produce bulblets despite identical culture conditions.
Similar seasonal dependency is observed in Chlorophytum borivillianum,
a medicinally valuable species that shows markedly enhanced in vitro
tuber formation during monsoon seasons compared to other times of year.
This seasonal variation in morphogenic potential likely reflects
differences in the physiological state of the source plant, including
endogenous hormone levels, carbohydrate reserves, and metabolic activity
that fluctuate throughout the annual growth cycle.
Oxygen gradient
Oxygen
has a key role in tissue culture, which influences the organ formation.
In some cultures, shoot bud formation takes place when the gradient of
available oxygen inside the culture vessel is reduced, while induction
of roots requires a high oxygen gradient.
Light
Light
conditions, including both intensity and spectral quality, function as
significant morphogenic signals in plant tissue culture systems.
Spectral composition research has revealed distinct wavelength-dependent
responses, with blue light generally promoting shoot organogenesis
while red light wavelengths typically favor root induction. Sequential
photoperiod exposure—blue light followed by red light—has been
documented to effectively stimulate specific organogenetic pathways in
certain species.
The regulatory effect of different wavelengths demonstrates how
light quality can selectively control morphogenic outcomes. Artificial
fluorescent lighting produces variable responses depending on the
species, promoting root formation in some cultures while inhibiting it
in others. Some species exhibit specialized light requirements, as
observed in Pisum sativum (garden pea), where shoot bud initiation occurs optimally in darkness before exposure to light stimulates further development.
For most tissue culture applications, standard lighting protocols
typically recommend illumination of approximately 2,000-3,000 lux
intensity with a 16-hour photoperiod. However, certain species
demonstrate exceptional light intensity requirements, exemplified by Nicotiana tabacum
(tobacco) callus cultures, which require substantially higher light
intensities of 10,000-15,000 lux to induce shoot bud formation or
somatic embryogenesis.
Temperature
Temperature
serves as a critical environmental factor in plant tissue culture
systems, with optimal incubation temperatures varying significantly
among species based on their natural habitat requirements. While 25°C
represents the standard incubation temperature suitable for many plant
species in vitro, species-specific temperature adaptations should be
considered to maximize organogenic potential.
Geophytic species from temperate regions typically require lower
temperature regimes than the standard protocol. Notable examples include
bulbous plants such as Galanthus (snowdrop) which exhibits optimal growth at approximately 15°C, while certain cultivars of Narcissus (daffodil) and Allium (ornamental onion) demonstrate enhanced regeneration efficiency at around 18°C.
Conversely, species of tropical origin generally require elevated
temperatures for optimal growth and organogenesis in culture. Date palm
cultures thrive at 27°C, while Monstera deliciosa (Swiss cheese
plant) exhibits peak regenerative performance at 30°C. These temperature
requirements reflect evolutionary adaptations to the plants' native
environmental conditions.
Ploidy level
Variation
in chromosome number, that is, aneuploidy, polyploidy, etc., in plant
cell culture has been well documented in the past. Chromosome
instability of the cells results in gradual decline of morphogenetic
potentiality of the callus tissue. Therefore, to maintain organogenic
potential of the callus tissue and the chromosome stability, it is
suggested that the time and frequency of subculture should be regularly
followed.
Age of culture
Age
of culture is often the key to successful organogenesis. A young
culture/freshly subcultured material may produce organs more frequently
than the aged ones. The probable reason for this is the reduction or
loss of the organogenic potential in old cultures. However, in some
plants, the plant regeneration capacity may retain indefinitely for many
years
Developmental process
Dedifferentiation
The
ability of cells to undergo organogenesis largely depends on the
application of plant growth regulators (PGRs), which influence the
developmental direction of the tissue. The balance between auxins and
cytokinins plays a critical role in determining whether shoots or roots
will form. A lower auxin-to-cytokinin ratio favors shoot regeneration,
whereas a higher auxin concentration promotes root formation. For
example, in Medicago sativa (alfalfa) cultures, an elevated level
of kinetin combined with a low concentration of 2,4-D (a synthetic
auxin) leads to shoot development, whereas increasing 2,4-D while
reducing kinetin concentration encourages root formation. However,
successful organogenesis is not solely dependent on PGR treatment. The
physical size of the callus or developing tissue must reach a certain
threshold to support proper organ formation, highlighting the importance
of intercellular signaling in coordinating developmental processes.
Induction
The
induction phase in organogenesis represents the transition period
between a tissue achieving competence and becoming fully determined to
initiate primordia formation. During this stage, an integrated genetic
pathway directs the developmental process before morphological
differentiation occurs. Research suggests that certain chemical and
physical factors can interfere with genetically programmed developmental
pathways, altering morphogenic outcomes. In the case of Convolvulus arvensis, these external influences were found to inhibit shoot formation, leading instead to callus development.
The conclusion of the induction phase is marked by a cell or
group of cells committing to either shoot or root formation. This
determination is tested by transferring the tissue from a growth
regulator-supplemented medium to a basal medium containing essential
minerals, vitamins, and a carbon source but no plant growth regulators.
At this stage, the tissue completes the induction process and becomes
fully determined to its developmental fate.
A key concept in this process is canalization, which refers to
the ability of a developmental pathway to consistently produce a
standard phenotype despite potential genetic or environmental
variations. If explants are removed from a shoot-inducing medium before
full canalization occurs, shoot formation is significantly reduced, and
root development becomes the dominant outcome. This phenomenon
highlights the morphogenic plasticity of plant tissues in vitro,
demonstrating their ability to adjust to external conditions and
developmental cues.
Differentiation
During
this phase, the process of morphological differentiation begins,
leading to the formation and development of the nascent organ. The
initiation of organogenesis is characterized by a distinct shift in
polarity, followed by the establishment of radial symmetry and
subsequent growth along the newly defined axis, ultimately forming the
structural bulge that marks organ initiation.
The sequential development of organogenesis can be observed in species such as Pinus oocarpa Schiede,
where shoot buds are regenerated directly from cotyledons through
direct organogenesis. However, the specific developmental patterns may
vary across different plant species grown in vitro. The progression of
organ formation includes distinct morphological changes, beginning with
alterations in surface texture, the emergence of meristemoids, and the
expansion of the meristematic region either vertically or horizontally.
This is followed by the protrusion of the meristematic region beyond the
epidermal layer, the formation of a structured meristem with visible
leaf primordia, and eventually, the full development of an adventitious
bud.
A notable characteristic of in vitro organogenic cultures is the
simultaneous formation of multiple meristemoids on a single explant,
with varying degrees of differentiation. Within the same explant, buds
may exist in different developmental stages, ranging from early
initiation to fully developed structures. Once the elongated shoots
surpass a length of 1 cm, they are transferred to either in vitro or ex
vitro rooting substrates, allowing for the completion of plantlet
regeneration and the establishment of a fully formed plant.
Advantages and limitations
In
the process of direct organogenesis, axillary shoots are generated
directly from pre-existing meristems located at the shoot tips and
nodes, offering a high rate of multiplication. One of the key advantages
of this method is the low likelihood of mutations occurring in the
organized shoot meristems, ensuring that the resulting plants maintain
genetic consistency. This technique is particularly valuable for the
production and conservation of economically and environmentally
significant plants, as it allows for the efficient generation of
multiple shoots from a single explant, maintaining uniformity across the
propagated plants. Furthermore, all plants produced via direct
organogenesis are true-to-type, meaning they are genetic clones of the
original plant.
However, there are some limitations to organogenesis. Somaclonal
variation, which can result in unwanted genetic diversity, is a
potential issue, particularly in the indirect organogenesis process.
Additionally, this technique may not be suitable for recalcitrant plant
species, which are those that do not respond well to in vitro culture or
regeneration protocols. These limitations highlight the need for
ongoing research and optimization of methods for different plant species
to overcome these challenges in plant propagation and conservation.
In the Early Buddhist schools, as well as modern Theravāda Buddhism, bodhisattva (or bodhisatta) refers to someone who has made a resolution to become a Buddha and has also received a confirmation or prediction from a living Buddha that this will come to pass.
In Mahāyāna 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. Mahayana bodhisattvas are spiritually heroic persons that work to attain awakening and are driven by a great compassion (mahākaruṇā). These beings are exemplified by important spiritual qualities such as the "four divine abodes" (brahmavihāras) of loving-kindness (maitrī), compassion (karuṇā), empathetic joy (muditā) and equanimity (upekṣā), as well as the various bodhisattva "perfections" (pāramitās) which include prajñāpāramitā ("transcendent knowledge" or "perfection of wisdom") and skillful means (upāya).
In Theravāda Buddhism,
the bodhisattva is mainly seen as an exceptional and rare individual.
Only a few select individuals are ultimately able to become
bodhisattvas, such as Maitreya. Mahāyāna Buddhism
generally understands the bodhisattva path as being open to everyone,
and Mahāyāna Buddhists encourage all individuals to become bodhisattvas. Spiritually advanced bodhisattvas such as Avalokiteshvara, Maitreya, and Manjushri
are also widely venerated across the Mahāyāna Buddhist world and are
believed to possess great magical power, which they employ to help all
living beings.
In pre-sectarian Buddhism, the term bodhisatta is used in the early texts to refer to Gautama Buddha in his previous lives and as a young man in his last life, when he was working towards liberation. In the early Buddhist discourses,
the Buddha regularly uses the phrase "when I was an unawakened
Bodhisatta" to describe his experiences before his attainment of
awakening. The early texts which discuss the period before the Buddha's awakening mainly focus on his spiritual development. According to Bhikkhu Analayo,
most of these passages focus on three main themes: "the bodhisattva's
overcoming of unwholesome states of mind, his development of mental
tranquillity, and the growth of his insight."
Other early sources like the Acchariyabbhutadhamma-sutta (MN 123, and its Chinese parallel in Madhyama-āgama 32) discuss the marvelous qualities of the bodhisattva Gautama in his previous life in Tuṣita heaven. The Pali text focuses on how the bodhisattva was endowed with mindfulness and clear comprehension while living in Tuṣita, while the Chinese source states that his lifespan, appearance, and glory was greater than all the devas
(gods). These sources also discuss various miracles which accompanied
the bodhisattva's conception and birth, most famously, his taking seven
steps and proclaiming that this was his last life. The Chinese source (titled Discourse on Marvellous Qualities)
also states that while living as a monk under the Buddha Kāśyapa he
"made his initial vow to [realize] Buddhahood [while] practicing the
holy life."
Another early source that discusses the qualities of bodhisattvas is the Mahāpadāna sutta. This text discusses bodhisattva qualities in the context of six previous Buddhas who lived long ago, such as Buddha Vipaśyī.
Yet another important element of the bodhisattva doctrine, the a
prediction of someone's future Buddhahood, is found in another Chinese
early Buddhist text, the Discourse on an Explanation about the Past (MĀ 66). In this discourse, a monk named Maitreya aspires to become a Buddha in the future and the Buddha then predicts that Maitreya will become a Buddha in the future Other discourses found in the Ekottarika-āgama
present the "bodhisattva Maitreya" as an example figure (EĀ 20.6 and EĀ
42.6) and one sutra in this collection also discuss how the Buddha
taught the bodhisattva path of the six perfections to Maitreya (EĀ
27.5).
'Bodhisatta' may also connote a being who is "bound for
enlightenment", in other words, a person whose aim is to become fully
enlightened. In the Pāli canon,
the Bodhisatta (bodhisattva) is also described as someone who is still
subject to birth, illness, death, sorrow, defilement, and delusion.
According to the Theravāda monk Bhikkhu Bodhi,
while all the Buddhist traditions agree that to attain Buddhahood, one
must "make a deliberate resolution" and fulfill the spiritual
perfections (pāramīs
or pāramitās) as a bodhisattva, the actual bodhisattva path is not
taught in the earliest strata of Buddhist texts such as the Pali Nikayas (and their counterparts such as the Chinese Āgamas) which instead focus on the ideal of the arahant.
The oldest known story about how Gautama Buddha becomes a bodhisattva is the story of his encounter with the previous Buddha, Dīpankara. During this encounter, a previous incarnation of Gautama, variously named Sumedha, Megha, or Sumati
offers five blue lotuses and spreads out his hair or entire body for
Dīpankara to walk on, resolving to one day become a Buddha. Dīpankara
then confirms that they will attain Buddhahood. Early Buddhist authors saw this story as indicating that the making of a resolution (abhinīhāra) in the presence of a living Buddha and his prediction/confirmation (vyākaraṇa)
of one's future Buddhahood was necessary to become a bodhisattva.
According to Drewes, "all known models of the path to Buddhahood
developed from this basic understanding."
Stories and teachings on the bodhisattva ideal are found in the various Jataka tale
sources, which mainly focus on stories of the past lives of the
Sakyamuni. Among the non-Mahayana Nikaya schools, the Jataka literature
was likely the main genre that contained bodhisattva teachings. These stories had certainly become an important part of popular Buddhism by the time of the carving of the Bharhut Stupa
railings (c. 125–100 BCE), which contain depictions of around thirty
Jataka tales. Thus, it is possible that the bodhisattva ideal was
popularized through the telling of Jatakas.
Jataka tales contain numerous stories which focus on the past life
deeds of Sakyamuni when he was a bodhisattva. These deeds generally
express bodhisattva qualities and practices (such as compassion, the six
perfections, and supernatural power) in dramatic ways, and include
numerous acts of self-sacrifice.
Apart from Jataka stories related to Sakyamuni, the idea that Metteya (Maitreya), who currently resides in Tuṣita,
would become the future Buddha and that this had been predicted by the
Buddha Sakyamuni was also an early doctrine related to the bodhisattva
ideal. It first appears in the Cakkavattisihanadasutta. According to A. L. Basham, it is also possible that some of the Ashokan edicts reveal knowledge of the bodhisattva ideal. Basham even argues that Ashoka may have considered himself a bodhisattva, as one edict states that he "set out for sambodhi."
Nikāya schools
6th century painting of Maitreya, Kizil Caves, Cave 224
By the time that the Buddhist tradition had developed into various
competing sects, the idea of the bodhisattva vehicle (Sanskrit: bodhisattvayana) as a distinct (and superior) path from that of the arhat and solitary buddha was widespread among all the major non-Mahayana Buddhist traditions or Nikaya schools, including Theravāda, Sarvāstivāda and Mahāsāṃghika. The doctrine is found, for example, in 2nd century CE sources like the Avadānaśataka and the Divyāvadāna. The bodhisattvayana was referred by other names such as "vehicle of the perfections" (pāramitāyāna), "bodhisatva dharma", "bodhisatva training", and "vehicle of perfect Buddhahood".
According to various sources, some of the Nikaya schools (such as the Dharmaguptaka and some of the Mahasamghika sects) transmitted a collection of texts on bodhisattvas alongside the Tripitaka, which they termed "Bodhisattva Piṭaka" or "Vaipulya (Extensive) Piṭaka". None of these have survived. Dar Hayal attributes the historical development of the bodhisattva ideal to "the growth of bhakti (devotion, faith, love) and the idealisation and spiritualisation of the Buddha."
The North Indian Sarvāstivāda school held it took Gautama three "incalculable aeons" (asaṃkhyeyas) and ninety one aeons (kalpas) to become a Buddha after his resolution (praṇidhāna)
in front of a past Buddha. During the first incalculable aeon he is
said to have encountered and served 75,000 Buddhas, and 76,000 in the
second, after which he received his first prediction (vyākaraṇa) of future Buddhahood from Dīpankara, meaning that he could no longer fall back from the path to Buddhahood.
For Sarvāstivāda, the first two incalculable aeons is a period of time
in which a bodhisattva may still fall away and regress from the path. At
the end of the second incalculable aeon, they encounter a buddha and
receive their prediction, at which point they are certain to achieve
Buddhahood.
Thus, the presence of a living Buddha is also necessary for Sarvāstivāda. The Mahāvibhāṣā
explains that its discussion of the bodhisattva path is partly meant
"to stop those who are in fact not bodhisattvas from giving rise to the
self-conceit that they are."
However, for Sarvāstivāda, one is not technically a bodhisattva until
the end of the third incalculable aeon, after which one begins to
perform the actions which lead to the manifestation of the marks of a great person.
The Mahāvastu of the Mahāsāṃghika-Lokottaravādins
presents various ideas regarding the school's conception of the
bodhisattva ideal. According to this text, bodhisattva Gautama had
already reached a level of dispassion at the time of Buddha Dīpaṃkara many aeons ago and he is also said to have attained the perfection of wisdom countless aeons ago.
The Mahāvastu also presents four stages or courses (caryās) of the bodhisattva path without giving specific time frames (though it's said to take various incalculable aeons). This set of four phases of the path is also found in other sources, including the Gandhari “Many-Buddhas Sūtra” (*Bahubudha gasutra) and the Chinese Fó běnxíng jí jīng (佛本行 集經, Taisho vol. 3, no. 190, pp. 669a1–672a11).
The four caryās (Gandhari: caria) are the following:
Natural (Sanskrit: prakṛti-caryā, Gandhari: pragidi, Chinese: 自性行 zì xìng xíng), one first plants the roots of merit in front of a Buddha to attain Buddhahood.
Resolution (praṇidhāna-caryā, G: praṇisi, C: 願性行 yuàn xìng xíng), one makes their first resolution to attain Buddhahood in the presence of a Buddha.
Continuing (anuloma-caryā, C: 順性行 shùn xìng xíng) or "development" (vivartana, G: vivaṭaṇa), in which one continues to practice until one meets a Buddha who confirms one's future Buddhahood.
Irreversible (anivartana-caryā, C: 轉性行 zhuǎn xìng xíng) or
“course of purity” (G: śukracaria), this is the stage at which one
cannot fall back and is assured of future Buddhahood.
Theravāda
Sinhalese statue of Avalokiteśvara (also known as Natha, Lokeshvara Natha, Natha Deviyo) in Dambulla cave templeGilded bronze statue of Tara, Sri Lanka, 8th century CEBronze statue of the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara. Sri Lanka, c. 750 CE
The bodhisattva ideal is also found in southern Buddhist sources, like the Theravāda school's Buddhavaṃsa (1st-2nd century BCE), which explains how Gautama, after making a resolution (abhinīhāra) and receiving his prediction (vyākaraṇa) of future Buddhahood from past Buddha Dīpaṃkara, he became certain (dhuva) to attain Buddhahood. Gautama then took four incalculable aeons and a hundred thousand, shorter kalpas (aeons) to reach Buddhahood.Several sources in the Pali Canon
depict the idea that there are multiple Buddhas and that there will be
many future Buddhas, all of which must train as bodhisattas. Non-canonical Theravada Jataka literature also teaches about bodhisattvas and the bodhisattva path. The worship of bodhisattvas like Metteya, Saman and Natha (Avalokiteśvara) can also be found in Theravada Buddhism.
By the time of the great scholar Buddhaghosa
(5th-century CE), orthodox Theravāda held the standard Indian Buddhist
view that there were three main spiritual paths within Buddhism: the way
of the Buddhas (buddhayāna) i.e. the bodhisatta path; the way of the individual Buddhas (paccekabuddhayāna); and the way of the disciples (sāvakayāna).
An altar depicting Burmese Buddhist weizzas. In this esoteric tradition, weizzas consider themselves to be bodhisattvas
The Sri Lankan commentator Dhammapāla (6th century CE) wrote a commentary on the Cariyāpiṭaka, a text which focuses on the bodhisattva path and on the ten perfections of a bodhisatta. Dhammapāla's commentary notes that to become a bodhisattva one must make a valid resolution in front of a living Buddha. The Buddha then must provide a prediction (vyākaraṇa) which confirms that one is irreversible (anivattana) from the attainment of Buddhahood. The Nidānakathā, as well as the Buddhavaṃsa and Cariyāpiṭaka commentaries makes this explicit by stating that one cannot use a substitute (such as a Bodhi tree, Buddha statue or Stupa)
for the presence of a living Buddha, since only a Buddha has the
knowledge for making a reliable prediction. This is the generally
accepted view maintained in orthodox Theravada today.
According to Theravāda commentators like Dhammapāla as well as the Suttanipāta commentary, there are three types of bodhisattvas:
Bodhisattvas "preponderant in wisdom" (paññādhika), like Gautama, reach Buddhahood in four incalculable aeons (asaṃkheyyas) and a hundred thousand kalpas.
Bodhisattvas "preponderant in faith" (saddhādhika) take twice as long as paññādhika bodhisattvas
Bodhisattvas "preponderant in vigor" (vīriyādhika) take four times as long as paññādhika bodhisattvas
According to modern Theravada authors, meeting a Buddha is needed to
truly make someone a bodhisattva because any other resolution to attain
Buddhahood may easily be forgotten or abandoned during the aeons ahead.
The Burmese monk Ledi Sayadaw
(1846–1923) explains that though it is easy to make vows for future
Buddhahood by oneself, it is very difficult to maintain the necessary
conduct and views during periods when the Dharma has disappeared from
the world. One will easily fall back during such periods and this is why
one is not truly a full bodhisattva until one receives recognition from
a living Buddha.
Because of this, it was and remains a common practice in
Theravada to attempt to establish the necessary conditions to meet the
future Buddha Maitreya
and thus receive a prediction from him. Medieval Theravada literature
and inscriptions report the aspirations of monks, kings and ministers to
meet Maitreya for this purpose. Modern figures such as Anagarika Dharmapala (1864–1933), and U Nu
(1907–1995) both sought to receive a prediction from a Buddha in the
future and believed meritorious actions done for the good of Buddhism
would help in their endeavor to become bodhisattvas in the future.
Over time the term came to be applied to other figures besides
Gautama Buddha in Theravada lands, possibly due to the influence of Mahayana. The Theravada Abhayagiri tradition of Sri Lanka practiced Mahayana Buddhism and was very influential until the 12th century. Kings of Sri Lanka were often described as bodhisattvas, starting at least as early as Sirisanghabodhi (r. 247–249), who was renowned for his compassion, took vows for the welfare of the citizens, and was regarded as a mahāsatta (Sanskrit: mahāsattva), an epithet used almost exclusively in Mahayana Buddhism.
Many other Sri Lankan kings from the 3rd until the 15th century were
also described as bodhisattas and their royal duties were sometimes
clearly associated with the practice of the ten pāramitās. In some cases, they explicitly claimed to have received predictions of Buddhahood in past lives.
Popular Buddhist figures have also been seen as bodhisattvas in Theravada Buddhist lands. Shanta Ratnayaka notes that Anagarika Dharmapala, Asarapasarana Saranarikara Sangharaja, and Hikkaduwe Sri Sumamgala "are often called bodhisattvas". Buddhaghosa was also traditionally considered to be a reincarnation of Maitreya. Paul Williams writes that some modern Theravada meditation masters in Thailand are popularly regarded as bodhisattvas. Various modern figures of esoteric Theravada traditions (such as the weizzās of Burma) have also claimed to be bodhisattvas.
Theravada bhikkhu and scholar Walpola Rahula writes that the bodhisattva ideal has traditionally been held to be higher than the state of a śrāvaka
not only in Mahayana but also in Theravada. Rahula writes "the fact is
that both the Theravada and the Mahayana unanimously accept the
Bodhisattva ideal as the highest...Although the Theravada holds that
anybody can be a Bodhisattva, it does not stipulate or insist that all
must be Bodhisattva which is considered not practical." He also quotes the 10th century king of Sri Lanka, Mahinda IV
(956–972 CE), who had the words inscribed "none but the bodhisattvas
will become kings of a prosperous Lanka," among other examples.
Jeffrey Samuels echoes this perspective, noting that while in
Mahayana Buddhism the bodhisattva path is held to be universal and for
everyone, in Theravada it is "reserved for and appropriated by certain
exceptional people."
Mahāyāna Buddhism (often also called Bodhisattvayāna, "Bodhisattva Vehicle") is based principally upon the path of a bodhisattva. This path was seen as higher and nobler than becoming an arhat or a solitary Buddha. Hayal notes that Sanskrit sources generally depict the bodhisattva path as reaching a higher goal (i.e. anuttara-samyak-sambodhi) than the goal of the path of the "disciples" (śrāvakas), which is the nirvana attained by arhats. For example, the Lotus Sutra states:
To the sravakas, he preached the doctrine which is
associated with the four Noble Truths and leads to Dependent
Origination. It aims at transcending birth, old age, disease, death,
sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress of mind and weariness; and it ends
in nirvana. But, to the great being, the bodhisattva, he preached the
doctrine, which is associated with the six perfections and which ends in
the Knowledge of the Omniscient One after the attainment of the supreme
and perfect bodhi.
According to Peter Skilling, the Mahayana movement began when "at an
uncertain point, let us say in the first century BCE, groups of monks,
nuns, and lay-followers began to devote themselves exclusively to the
Bodhisatva vehicle."
These Mahayanists universalized the bodhisattvayana as a path which was
open to everyone and which was taught for all beings to follow. This
was in contrast to the Nikaya schools, which held that the bodhisattva
path was only for a rare set of individuals. Indian Mahayanists preserved and promoted a set of texts called Vaipulya ("Extensive") sutras (later called Mahayana sutras).
Mahayana sources like the Lotus Sutra
also claim that arhats that have reached nirvana have not truly
finished their spiritual quest, for they still have not attained the
superior goal of sambodhi (Buddhahood) and thus must continue to strive until they reach this goal.
The Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, one of the earliest known Mahayana texts, contains a simple and brief definition for the term bodhisattva, which is also the earliest known Mahāyāna definition. This definition is given as the following: "Because he has bodhi as his aim, a bodhisattva-mahāsattva is so called."
Mahayana sutras also depict the bodhisattva as a being which,
because they want to reach Buddhahood for the sake of all beings, is
more loving and compassionate than the sravaka (who only wishes to end
their own suffering). Thus, another major difference between the
bodhisattva and the arhat is that the bodhisattva practices the path for
the good of others (par-ārtha), due to their bodhicitta, while the sravakas do so for their own good (sv-ārtha) and thus, do not have bodhicitta (which is compassionately focused on others).
Mahayana bodhisattvas were not just abstract models for Buddhist
practice, but also developed as distinct figures which were venerated by
Indian Buddhists. These included figures like Manjushri and Avalokiteshvara,
which are personifications of the basic virtues of wisdom and
compassion respectively and are the two most important bodhisattvas in
Mahayana. The development of bodhisattva devotion parallels the development of the Hindu bhakti movement.
Indeed, Dayal sees the development of Indian bodhisattva cults as a
Buddhist reaction to the growth of bhakti centered religion in India
which helped to popularize and reinvigorate Indian Buddhism.
Some Mahayana sutras promoted another revolutionary doctrinal turn, claiming that the three vehicles of the Śrāvakayāna, Pratyekabuddhayāna and the Bodhisattvayāna were really just one vehicle (ekayana). This is most famously promoted in the Lotus Sūtra which claims that the very idea of three separate vehicles is just an upaya,
a skillful device invented by the Buddha to get beings of various
abilities on the path. But ultimately, it will be revealed to them that
there is only one vehicle, the ekayana, which ends in Buddhahood.
Mature scholastic Mahāyāna
Bengali Sculpture of Manjushri, the bodhisattva of wisdom, 11th centuryWood carving of Avalokiteśvara. Liao China, 907–1125Twenty-five Bodhisattvas Descending from Heaven. Japanese painting, c.1300
Classical Indian mahayanists held that the only sutras which teach the bodhisattva vehicle are the Mahayana sutras. Thus, Nagarjuna writes "the subjects based on the deeds of Bodhisattvas were not mentioned in [non-Mahāyāna] sūtras."
They also held that the bodhisattva path was superior to the śrāvaka
vehicle and so the bodhisattva vehicle is the "great vehicle" (mahayana)
due to its greater aspiration to save others, while the śrāvaka vehicle
is the "small" or "inferior" vehicle (hinayana). Thus, Asanga argues in his Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra
that the two vehicles differ in numerous ways, such as intention,
teaching, employment (i.e., means), support, and the time that it takes
to reach the goal.
Over time, Mahayana Buddhists developed mature systematized doctrines about the bodhisattva. The authors of the various Madhyamaka treatises often presented the view of the ekayana, and thus held that all beings can become bodhisattvas. The texts and sutras associated with the Yogacara school developed a different theory of three separate gotras (families, lineages), that inherently predisposed a person to either the vehicle of the arhat, pratyekabuddha or samyak-saṃbuddha (fully self-awakened one). For the yogacarins then, only some beings (those who have the "bodhisattva lineage") can enter the bodhisattva path. In East Asian Buddhism, the view of the one vehicle (ekayana) which holds that all Buddhist teachings are really part of a single path, is the standard view.
The term bodhisattva was also used in a broader sense by later authors. According to the eighth-century Mahāyāna philosopher Haribhadra, the term "bodhisattva" can refer to those who follow any of the three vehicles, since all are working towards bodhi. Therefore, the specific term for a Mahāyāna bodhisattva is a mahāsattva (great being) bodhisattva. According to Atiśa's 11th century Bodhipathapradīpa,
the central defining feature of a Mahāyāna bodhisattva is the universal
aspiration to end suffering for all sentient beings, which is termed bodhicitta (the mind set on awakening).
The bodhisattva doctrine went through a significant transformation during the development of Buddhist tantra, also known as Vajrayana.
This movement developed new ideas and texts which introduced new
bodhisattvas and re-interpreted old ones in new forms, developed in
elaborate mandalas for them and introduced new practices which made use of mantras, mudras and other tantric elements.
According to David Drewes, "Mahayana sutras unanimously depict the
path beginning with the first arising of the thought of becoming a
Buddha (prathamacittotpāda), or the initial arising of bodhicitta, typically aeons before one first receives a Buddha's prediction, and apply the term bodhisattva from this point." The Ten Stages Sutra, for example, explains that the arising of bodhicitta is the first step in the bodhisattva's career.
Thus, the arising of bodhicitta, the compassionate mind aimed at
awakening for the sake of all beings, is a central defining element of
the bodhisattva path.
Another key element of the bodhisattva path is the concept of a bodhisattva's praṇidhāna - which can mean a resolution, resolve, vow, prayer, wish, aspiration and determination.
This more general idea of an earnest wish or solemn resolve which is
closely connected with bodhicitta (and is the cause and result of
bodhicitta) eventually developed into the idea that bodhisattvas take
certain formulaic "bodhisattva vows." One of the earliest of these formulas is found in the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra and states:
We having crossed (the stream of samsara), may we help
living beings to cross! We being liberated, may we liberate others! We
being comforted, may we comfort others! We being finally released, may
we release others!
Other sutras contain longer and more complex formulas, such as the ten vows found in the Ten Stages Sutra.
Mahayana sources also discuss the importance of a Buddha's prediction (vyākaraṇa) of a bodhisattva's future Buddhahood. This is seen as an important step along the bodhisattva path.
Later Mahayana Buddhists also developed specific rituals and
devotional acts for which helped to develop various preliminary
qualities, such as faith, worship, prayer, and confession, that lead to
the arising of bodhicitta. These elements, which constitute a kind of preliminary preparation for bodhicitta, are found in the "seven part worship" (saptāṅgavidhi, saptāṇgapūjā or saptavidhā anuttarapūjā). This ritual form is visible in the works of Shantideva (8th century) and includes:
Punyanumodana (rejoicing in merit of the good deeds of oneself and others)
Adhyesana (prayer, entreaty) and yacana (supplication) – request to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to continue preaching Dharma
Atmabhavadi-parityagah (surrender) and pariṇāmanā (the transfer of one's Merit to the welfare of others)
After these preliminaries have been accomplished, then the aspirant
is seen as being ready to give rise to bodhicitta, often through the
recitation of a bodhisattva vow.
Contemporary Mahāyāna Buddhism encourages everyone to give rise to
bodhicitta and ceremonially take bodhisattva vows. With these vows and
precepts, one makes the promise to work for the complete enlightenment
of all sentient beings by practicing the transcendent virtues or paramitas.
In Mahāyāna, bodhisattvas are often not Buddhist monks and are former lay practitioners.
Bodhisattva conduct (caryā)
After a being has entered the path by giving rise to bodhicitta, they must make effort in the practice or conduct (caryā)
of the bodhisattvas, which includes all the duties, virtues and
practices that bodhisattvas must accomplish to attain Buddhahood. An important early Mahayana source for the practice of the bodhisattva is the Bodhisattvapiṭaka sūtra, a major sutra found in the Mahāratnakūṭa
collection which was widely cited by various sources. According to
Ulrich Pagel, this text is "one of the longest works on the bodhisattva
in Mahayana literature" and thus provides extensive information on the
topic bodhisattva training, especially the perfections (pāramitā).
Pagel also argues that this text was quite influential on later
Mahayana writings which discuss the bodhisattva and thus was "of
fundamental importance to the evolution of the bodhisattva doctrine." Other sutras in the Mahāratnakūṭa collection are also important sources for the bodhisattva path.
According to Pagel, the basic outline of the bodhisattva practice in the Bodhisattvapiṭaka
is outlined in a passage which states "the path to enlightenment
comprises benevolence towards all sentient beings, striving after the
perfections and compliance with the means of conversion." This path begins with contemplating the failures of samsara, developing faith in the Buddha, giving rise to bodhicitta and practicing the four immesurables. It then proceeds through all six perfections and finally discusses the four means of converting sentient beings (saṃgrahavastu). The path is presented through prose exposition, mnemonic lists (matrka) and also through Jataka narratives. Using this general framework, the Bodhisattvapiṭaka incorporates discussions related to other practices including super knowledge (abhijñā), learning, 'skill' (kauśalya), accumulation of merit (puṇyasaṃbhāra), the thirty-seven factors of awakening (bodhipakṣadharmas), perfect mental quietude (śamatha) and insight (vipaśyanā).
Abhijñā-caryā, the practice of the super-knowledges (which are mainly developed in order to convert, help and guide others).
Pāramitā-caryā, the practice of the perfections, which are: Dāna (generosity), Śīla (virtue, ethics), Kṣānti (patient endurance), Vīrya (heroic energy), Dhyāna (meditation), Prajñā (wisdom), Upāya (skillful means), Praṇidhāna (vow, resolve), Bala (spiritual power), and Jñāna (knowledge).
Sattvaparipāka-caryā, the practice of maturing the living beings, i.e. preaching and teaching others.
The first six perfections (pāramitās) are the most significant
and popular set of bodhisattva virtues and thus they serve as a central
framework for bodhisattva practice. They are the most widely taught and
commented upon virtues throughout the history of Mahayana Buddhist
literature and feature prominently in major Sanskrit sources such as the
Bodhisattvabhumi, the Mahāyānasūtrālamkāra, the King of Samadhis Sutra and the Ten Stages Sutra. They are extolled and praised by these sources as "the great oceans of all the bright virtues and auspicious principles" (Bodhisattvabhumi) and "the Teacher, the Way and the Light...the Refuge and the Shelter, the Support and the Sanctuary" (Aṣṭasāhasrikā).
While many Mahayana sources discuss the bodhisattva's training in ethical discipline (śīla) in classic Buddhist terms, over time, there also developed specific sets of ethical precepts for bodhisattvas (Skt. bodhisattva-śīla).
These various sets of precepts are usually taken by bodhisattva
aspirants (lay and ordained monastics) along with classic Buddhist pratimoksha precepts. However, in some Japanese Buddhist traditions, monastics rely solely on the bodhisattva precepts.
The perfection of wisdom (prajñāpāramitā) is generally seen as the most important and primary of the perfections, without which all the others fall short. Thus, the Madhyamakavatara (6:2) states that wisdom leads the other perfections as a man with eyes leads the blind. This perfect or transcendent wisdom has various qualities, such as being non-attached (asakti), non-conceptual and non-dual (advaya) and signless (animitta). It is generally understood as a kind of insight into the true nature of all phenomena (dharmas) which in Mahayana sutras is widely described as emptiness (shunyatā).
Another key virtue which the bodhisattva must develop is great compassion (mahā-karuṇā), a vast sense of care aimed at ending the suffering of all sentient beings. This great compassion is the ethical foundation of the bodhisattva, and it is also an applied aspect of their bodhicitta.
Great compassion must also be closely joined with the perfection of
wisdom, which reveals that all the beings that the bodhisattva strives
to save are ultimately empty of self (anātman) and lack inherent existence (niḥsvabhāva). Due to the bodhisattva's compassionate wish to save all beings, they develop innumerable skillful means or strategies (upaya) with which to teach and guide different kinds of beings with all sorts of different inclinations and tendencies.
Another key virtue for the bodhisattva is mindfulness (smṛti), which Dayal calls "the sine qua non of moral progress for a bodhisattva." Mindfulness is widely emphasized by Buddhist authors and Sanskrit sources and it appears four times in the list of 37 bodhipakṣadharmas. According to the Aṣṭasāhasrikā, a bodhisattva must never lose mindfulness so as not to be confused or distracted. The Mahāyānasūtrālamkāra states that mindfulness is the principal asset of a bodhisattva, while both Asvaghosa and Shantideva
state that without mindfulness, a bodhisattva will be helpless and
uncontrolled (like a mad elephant) and will not succeed in conquering
the mental afflictions.
Length and nature of the path
Tibetan painting of Vajrapani, 19th-century
Just as with non-Mahayana sources, Mahayana sutras generally depict
the bodhisattva path as a long path that takes many lifetimes across
many aeons. Some sutras state that a beginner bodhisattva could take anywhere from 3 to 22 countless eons (mahāsaṃkhyeya kalpas) to become a Buddha. The Mahāyānasaṃgraha of Asanga states that the bodhisattva must cultivate the six paramitas for three incalculable aeons (kalpāsaṃkhyeya). Shantideva meanwhile states that bodhisattvas must practice each perfection for sixty aeons or kalpas and also declares that a bodhisattva must practice the path for an "inconceivable" (acintya) number of kalpas. Thus, the bodhisattva path could take many billions upon billions of years to complete.
Later developments in Indian and Asian Mahayana Buddhism (especially in Vajrayana
or tantric Buddhism) lead to the idea that certain methods and
practices could substantially shorten the path (and even lead to
Buddhahood in a single lifetime). In Pure Land Buddhism, an aspirant might go to a Buddha's pure land or buddha-field (buddhakṣetra), like Sukhavati,
where they can study the path directly with a Buddha. This could
significantly shorten the length of the path, or at least make it more
bearable. East Asian Pure Land Buddhist traditions, such as Jōdo-shū and Jōdo Shinshū,
hold the view that realizing Buddhahood through the long bodhisattva
path of the perfections is no longer practical in the current age (which
is understood as a degenerate age called mappo). Thus, they rely on the salvific power of Amitabha to bring Buddhist practitioners to the pure land of Sukhavati, where they will better be able to practice the path.
This view is rejected by other schools such as Tendai, Shingon and Zen. The founders of Tendai and Shingon, Saicho and Kukai, held that anyone who practiced the path properly could reach awakening in this very lifetime. Buddhist schools like Tiantai, Huayan, Chan and the various Vajrayāna traditions maintain that they teach ways to attain Buddhahood within one lifetime.
Some of early depictions of the Bodhisattva path in texts such as the Ugraparipṛcchā Sūtra
describe it as an arduous, difficult monastic path suited only for the
few which is nevertheless the most glorious path one can take. Three
kinds of bodhisattvas are mentioned: the forest, city, and monastery
bodhisattvas—with forest dwelling being promoted a superior, even
necessary path in sutras such as the Ugraparipṛcchā and the Samadhiraja sutras. The early Rastrapalapariprccha sutra also promotes a solitary life of meditation in the forests, far away from the distractions of the householder life. The Rastrapala is also highly critical of monks living in monasteries and in cities who are seen as not practicing meditation and morality.
The Ratnagunasamcayagatha also says the bodhisattva should undertake ascetic practices (dhūtaguṇa), "wander freely without a home", practice the paramitas and train under a guru in order to perfect his meditation practice and realization of prajñaparamita. The twelve dhūtaguṇas are also promoted by the King of Samadhis Sutra, the Ten Stages Sutra and Shantideva.
Some scholars have used these texts to argue for "the forest
hypothesis", the theory that the initial Bodhisattva ideal was
associated with a strict forest asceticism.
But other scholars point out that many other Mahayana sutras do not
promote this ideal, and instead teach "easy" practices like memorizing,
reciting, teaching and copying Mahayana sutras, as well as meditating on
Buddhas and bodhisattvas (and reciting or chanting their names). Ulrich Pagel also notes that in numerous sutras found in the Mahāratnakūṭa collection, the bodhisattva ideal is placed "firmly within the reach of non-celibate layfolk."
Nirvana
Japanese statue of Kannon (Guanyin, a popular female form of Avalokiteshvara in East Asia)Mural painting of Manjushri in tantric union with his consort, the bodhisattva Sarasvati (also considered to be a form of Tara)
Related to the different views on the different types of yanas or vehicles is the question of a bodhisattva's relationship to nirvāṇa.
In the various Mahāyāna texts, two theories can be discerned. One view
is the idea that a bodhisattva must postpone their awakening until full
Buddhahood is attained (at which point one ceases to be reborn, which is
the classical view of nirvāṇa). This view is promoted in some sutras like the Pañcavimsatisahasrika-prajñaparamita-sutra. The idea is also found in the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra,
which mentions that bodhisattvas take the following vow: "I shall not
enter into final nirvana before all beings have been liberated." Likewise, the Śikṣāsamuccaya states "I must lead all beings to Liberation. I will stay here till the end, even for the sake of one living soul."
The second theory is the idea that there are two kinds of nirvāṇa, the nirvāṇa of an arhat and a superior type of nirvāṇa called apratiṣṭhita (non-abiding) that allows a Buddha to remain engaged in the samsaric realms without being affected by them. This attainment was understood as a kind of non-dual
state in which one is neither limited to samsara nor nirvana. A being
who has reached this kind of nirvana is not restricted from manifesting
in the samsaric realms, and yet they remain fully detached from the
defilements found in these realms (and thus they can help others).
This doctrine of non-abiding nirvana developed in the Yogacara school. As noted by Paul Williams, the idea of apratiṣṭhita nirvāṇa
may have taken some time to develop and is not obvious in some of the
early Mahāyāna literature, therefore while earlier sutras may sometimes
speak of "postponement", later texts saw no need to postpone the
"superior" apratiṣṭhita nirvāṇa.
In this Yogacara model, the bodhisattva definitely rejects and avoids the liberation of the śravaka and pratyekabuddha, described in Mahāyāna literature as either inferior or "hina" (as in Asaṅga's fourth century Yogācārabhūmi) or as ultimately false or illusory (as in the Lotus Sūtra).
That a bodhisattva has the option to pursue such a lesser path, but
instead chooses the long path towards Buddhahood is one of the five
criteria for one to be considered a bodhisattva. The other four are:
being human, being a man, making a vow to become a Buddha in the
presence of a previous Buddha, and receiving a prophecy from that
Buddha.
Over time, a more varied analysis of bodhisattva careers developed focused on one's motivation. This can be seen in the Tibetan Buddhist teaching on three types of motivation for generating bodhicitta. According to Patrul Rinpoche's 19th-century Words of My Perfect Teacher (Kun bzang bla ma'i gzhal lung), a bodhisattva might be motivated in one of three ways. They are:
King-like bodhicitta – To aspire to become a Buddha first in order to then help sentient beings.
Boatman-like bodhicitta – To aspire to become a Buddha at the same time as other sentient beings.
Shepherd-like bodhicitta – To aspire to become a Buddha only after all other sentient beings have done so.
These three are not types of people, but rather types of motivation.
According to Patrul Rinpoche, the third quality of intention is most
noble though the mode by which Buddhahood occurs is the first; that is,
it is only possible to teach others the path to enlightenment once one
has attained enlightenment oneself.
Bodhisattva stages
Green Tara and her devotees, Folio from a Bengali manuscript of the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā (Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines), MET
According to James B. Apple, if one studies the earliest textual
materials which discuss the bodhisattva path (which includes the
translations of Lokakshema and the Gandharan manuscripts),
"one finds four key stages that are demarcated throughout this early
textual material that constitute the most basic elements in the path of a
bodhisattva". These main elements are:
"The arising of the thought of awakening (bodhicittotpāda), when a person first aspires to attain the state of Buddhahood and thereby becomes a bodhisattva"
"Endurance towards the fact that things are not produced" (anutpattikadharma-kṣānti), which in various sources also entails non-retrogression.
"The attainment of the status of irreversibility" or non-retrogression (avaivartika)
from Buddhahood, which means one is close to Buddhahood and that one
can no longer turn back or regress from that attainment. They are
exemplary monks, with cognitive powers equal to arhats. They practice
the four dhyanas, have a deep knowledge of perfect wisdom and teach it
to others. In the Lokakshema's Chinese translation of the Aṣṭasāhasrikā, the Daoxing Banruo Jing, this stage is closely related to a concentration (samadhi) that "does not grasp at anything at all" (sarvadharmāparigṛhīta).
The prediction (vyākaraṇa), "the event when a Buddha predicts
the time and place of a bodhisattva's subsequent awakening." The
prediction is directly associated with the status of irreversibility.
The Daoxing Banruo Jing states: "all the bodhisattvas who have
realized the irreversible stage have obtained their prediction to
Buddhahood from the Buddhas in the past."
According to Drewes, the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra
divides the bodhisattva path into three main stages. The first stage is
that of bodhisattvas who "first set out in the vehicle" (prathamayānasaṃprasthita), then there is the "irreversible" (avinivartanīya) stage, and finally the third "bound by one more birth" (ekajātipratibaddha), as in, destined to become a Buddha in the next life. Lamotte also mentions four similar stages of the bodhiattva career which are found in the Dazhidulun translated by Kumarajiva: (1) Prathamacittotpādika ("who produces the mind of Bodhi for the first time"), (2) Ṣaṭpāramitācaryāpratipanna ("devoted to the practice of the six perfections"), (3) Avinivartanīya (non-regression), (4) Ekajātipratibaddha ("separated by only one lifetime from buddhahood").
Drewes notes that Mahāyāna sūtras mainly depict a bodhisattvas'
first arising of bodhicitta as occurring in the presence of a Buddha.
Furthermore, according to Drewes, most Mahāyāna sūtras "never encourage
anyone to become a bodhisattva or present any ritual or other means of
doing so."
In a similar manner to the nikāya sources, Mahāyāna sūtras also see new
bodhisattvas as likely to regress, while seeing irreversible
bodhisattvas are quite rare. Thus, according to Drewes, "the Aṣṭasāhasrikā,
for instance, states that as many bodhisattvas as there grains of sand
in the Ganges turn back from the pursuit of Buddhahood and that out of
innumerable beings who give rise to bodhicitta and progress toward
Buddhahood, only one or two will reach the point of becoming
irreversible."
Drewes also adds that early texts like the Aṣṭasāhasrikā treat bodhisattvas who are beginners (ādikarmika)
or "not long set out in the [great] vehicle" with scorn, describing
them as "blind", "unintelligent", "lazy" and "weak". Early Mahayana
works identify them with those who reject Mahayana or who abandon
Mahayana, and they are seen as likely to become śrāvakas (those on the arhat path). Rather than encouraging them to become bodhisattvas, what early Mahayana sutras like the Aṣṭa
do is to help individuals determine if they have already received a
prediction in a past life, or if they are close to this point.
The Aṣṭa provides a variety of methods, including forms of ritual or divination, methods dealing with dreams and various tests, especially tests based on one's reaction to the hearing of the content in the Aṣṭasāhasrikā
itself. The text states that encountering and accepting its teachings
mean one is close to being given a prediction and that if one does not
"shrink back, cower or despair" from the text, but "firmly believes it",
one is either irreversible or is close to this stage. Many other
Mahayana sutras such as the Akṣobhyavyūha, Vimalakīrtinirdeśa, Sukhāvatīvyūha, and the Śūraṃgamasamādhi Sūtra
present textual approaches to determine one's status as an advanced
bodhisattva. These mainly depend on a person's attitude towards
listening to, believing, preaching, proclaiming, copying or memorizing
and reciting the sutra as well as practicing the sutra's teachings.
According to Drewes, this claim that merely having faith in
Mahāyāna sūtras meant that one was an advanced bodhisattva, was a
departure from previous Nikaya views about bodhisattvas. It created new
groups of Buddhists who accepted each other's bodhisattva status. Some Mahayana texts are more open with their bodhisattva doctrine. The Lotus Sutra
famously assures large numbers people that they will certainly achieve
Buddhahood, with few requirements (other than hearing and accepting the Lotus Sutra itself).
Avaivartika (non-retrogression)
The term avaivartika
refers to the stage in Buddhist practice where a practitioner reaches a
point of irreversibility, ensuring that they will not regress in their
spiritual progress. Alternative Sanskrit forms include avivartika, avinivartanīya and avaivartyabhūmi.
Attaining this state guarantees that the practitioner remains steadfast
on the path to enlightenment and will not abandon their aspirations or
regress to a lower stage of realization.
Within the framework of the Bodhisattva path, various Buddhist
scriptures identify different stages at which non-retrogression is
attained. Some sources associate it with the path of preparation (prayogamārga),
where a bodhisattva solidifies their commitment and will no longer turn
back to pursue the path of an arhat. Others link it to the first bhūmi (stage) of the bodhisattva path or, in later systematic presentations, to the eighth bhūmi, after which full Buddhahood becomes inevitable.
The concept of avaivartika appears in early Mahāyāna texts such as the Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra, which distinguishes between bodhisattvas who are prone to regression (vaivartika) and those who are not (avaivartika).
True bodhisattvas are those who have transcended the possibility of
falling back, while those who remain susceptible to regression are
considered bodhisattvas only in a nominal sense.
The Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, particularly in its early Chinese translation by Lokakṣema, emphasizes avaivartika as a pivotal attainment. It describes how the bodhisattva, upon reaching the state of anutpattikadharmakṣānti (the realization of the unborn
nature of phenomena), becomes irreversible in their journey toward
complete enlightenment. Unlike later Mahāyāna texts, which integrate
this stage within the structured bhūmi system, Lokakṣema’s version presents it more fluidly, portraying the avaivartin as one of a few key categories of bodhisattvas.
In Pure Land traditions, rebirth in Amitābha Buddha’s Pure Land (Sukhāvatī)
is equated with entering the stage of non-retrogression. It is believed
that those who attain birth in Sukhāvatī are assured of progressing
toward enlightenment without the risk of falling back into lower states
of existence.
The attainment of avaivartika is often associated with the
bodhisattva’s ability to inspire and lead countless beings toward
liberation. Some texts suggest that a bodhisattva’s non-retrogression is
linked to prior predictions (vyākaraṇa) made by past Buddhas,
affirming their inevitable attainment of supreme enlightenment.
Moreover, while later traditions integrate skillful means (upāyakauśalya) as a defining trait of the avaivartin, early texts such as Lokakṣema’s Aṣṭa
emphasize avoiding complacency in meditative absorption, which could
lead to an arhat-like state rather than the full Buddhahood sought by
bodhisattvas.
According to various Mahāyāna sources, on the way to becoming a Buddha, a bodhisattva proceeds through various stages (bhūmis) of spiritual progress. The term bhūmi means "earth" or "place" and figurately can mean "ground, plane, stage, level; state of consciousness". There are various lists of bhumis, the most common is a list of ten found in the Daśabhūmikasūtra (but there are also lists of seven stages as well as lists which have more than 10 stages).
Great Joy: It is said that being close to enlightenment and seeing the benefit for all sentient beings, one achieves great joy, hence the name. In this bhūmi the bodhisattvas practice all perfections (pāramitās), but especially emphasizing generosity (dāna).
Stainless: In accomplishing the second bhūmi, the bodhisattva is free from the stains of immorality, therefore, this bhūmi is named "stainless". The emphasized perfection is moral discipline (śīla).
Luminous: The light of Dharma is said to radiate for others from the bodhisattva who accomplishes the third bhūmi. The emphasized perfection is patience (kṣānti).
Radiant: This bhūmi it is said to be like a radiating light that fully burns that which opposes enlightenment. The emphasized perfection is vigor (vīrya).
Very difficult to train: Bodhisattvas who attain this ground
strive to help sentient beings attain maturity, and do not become
emotionally involved when such beings respond negatively, both of which
are difficult to do. The emphasized perfection is meditative concentration (dhyāna).
Obviously Transcendent: By depending on the perfection of wisdom, [the bodhisattva] does not abide in either saṃsāra or nirvāṇa, so this state is "obviously transcendent". The emphasized perfection is wisdom (prajñā).
Gone afar: Particular emphasis is on the perfection of skillful means (upāya), to help others.
Immovable: The emphasized virtue is aspiration. This "immovable" bhūmi is where one becomes able to choose his place of rebirth.
Good Discriminating Wisdom: The emphasized virtue is the understanding of self and non-self.
Cloud of Dharma: The emphasized virtue is the practice of primordial wisdom. After this bhūmi, one attains full Buddhahood.
In some sources, these ten stages are correlated with a different schema of the buddhist path called the five paths which is derived from VaibhasikaAbhidharma sources.
The Śūraṅgama Sūtra recognizes 57 stages. Various Vajrayāna schools recognize additional grounds (varying from 3 to 10 further stages), mostly 6 more grounds with variant descriptions. A bodhisattva above the 7th ground is called a mahāsattva. Some bodhisattvas such as Samantabhadra are also said to have already attained Buddhahood.
Buddhists (especially Mahayanists) venerate several bodhisattvas
(such as Maitreya, Manjushri and Avalokiteshvara) which are seen as
highly spiritually advanced (having attained the tenth bhumi) and thus possessing immense magical power.
According to Lewis Lancaster, these "celestial" or "heavenly"
bodhisattvas are seen as "either the manifestations of a Buddha or they
are beings who possess the power of producing many bodies through great
feats of magical transformation."
The religious devotion to these bodhisattvas probably first developed in north India, and they are widely depicted in Gandharan and Kashmiri art. In Asian art,
they are typically depicted as princes and princesses, with royal robes
and jewellery (since they are the princes of the Dharma). In Buddhist art, a bodhisattva is often described as a beautiful figure with a serene expression and graceful manner. This is probably in accordance to the description of Prince Siddhārtha Gautama
as a bodhisattva. The depiction of bodhisattva in Buddhist art around
the world aspires to express the bodhisattva's qualities such as
loving-kindness (metta), compassion (karuna), empathetic joy (mudita) and equanimity (upekkha).
Literature which glorifies such bodhisattvas and recounts their
various miracles remains very popular in Asia. One example of such a
work of literature is More Records of Kuan-shih-yin's Responsive Manifestations by Lu Kao (459–532) which was very influential in China. In Tibetan Buddhism, the Maṇi Kambum
is a similarly influential text (a revealed text, or terma) which
focuses on Chenrezig (Avalokiteshvara, who is seen as the country's
patron bodhisattva) and his miraculous activities in Tibet.
These celestial bodhisattvas like Avalokiteshvara (Guanyin)
are also seen as compassionate savior figures, constantly working for
the good of all beings. The Avalokiteshvara chapter of the Lotus Sutra
even states that calling Avalokiteshvara to mind can help save someone
from natural disasters, demons, and other calamities. It is also
supposed to protect one from the afflictions (lust, anger and ignorance).
Bodhisattvas can also transform themselves into whatever physical form
is useful for helping sentient beings (a god, a bird, a male or female,
even a Buddha).
Because of this, bodhisattvas are seen as beings that one can pray to
for aid and consolation from the sufferings of everyday life as well as
for guidance in the path to enlightenment. Thus, the great translator Xuanzang is said to have constantly prayed to Avalokiteshvara for protection on his long journey to India.
Eight main Bodhisattvas
Eight great bodhisattvas at Ellora Caves (cave no. 12). A Japanese illustration of the "sonsho mandala" which depicts Vairocana surrounded by the eight great bodhisattvas
In the later Indian Vajrayana
tradition, there arose a popular grouping of eight bodhisattvas known
as the "Eight Great Bodhisattvas", or "Eight Close Sons" (Skt. aṣṭa utaputra; Tib. nyewé sé gyé) and are seen as the most important Mahayana bodhisattvas and appear in numerous esoteric mandalas (e.g. Garbhadhatu mandala).
These same "Eight Great Bodhisattvas" (Chn. Bādà Púsà, Jp. Hachi Daibosatsu) also appear in East Asian Esoteric Buddhist sources, such as The Sutra on the Maṇḍalas of the Eight Great Bodhisattvas (八大菩薩曼荼羅經), translated by Amoghavajra in the 8th century and Faxian (10th century).
While there are numerous lists of Eight Great Bodhisattvas, the most widespread or "standard" listing is:
Mañjuśrī ("Gentle Glory") Kumarabhuta ("Young Prince"), the main bodhisattva of wisdom
Avalokiteśvara ("Lord who gazes down at the world"), the savior bodhisattva of great compassion
Vajrapāṇi ("Vajra in hand"), the bodhisattva of protection, the protector of the Buddha (in East Asian sources, this figure appears as Mahāsthāmaprāpta)
Maitreya ("Friendly One"), will become the Buddha of our world in the future
A 12th century Japanese illustration of the nāga princess offering the jewel to the Buddha, from the Lotus SutraJapanese illustration of Benzaiten, seated on a white dragon. Some Japanese sources associate this figure with the naga princess in the Lotus sutra
The bodhisattva Prajñāpāramitā-devi is a female personification of the perfection of wisdom and the Prajñāpāramitā sutras. She became an important figure, widely depicted in Indian Buddhist art.
Guanyin
(Jp: Kannon), a female form of Avalokiteshvara, is the most widely
revered bodhisattva in East Asian Buddhism, generally depicted as a
motherly figure. Guanyin is venerated in various other forms and manifestations, including Cundī, Cintāmaṇicakra, Hayagriva, Eleven-Headed Thousand-Armed Guanyin and Guanyin Of The Southern Seas among others.
Gender variant representations of some bodhisattvas, most notably Avalokiteśvara, has prompted conversation regarding the nature of a bodhisattva's appearance. Chan master Sheng Yen has stated that Mahāsattvas such as Avalokiteśvara (known as Guanyin in Chinese) are androgynous (Ch. 中性; pinyin: "zhōngxìng"), which accounts for their ability to manifest in masculine and feminine forms of various degrees.
In Tibetan Buddhism, Tara or Jetsun Dölma (rje btsun sgrol ma) is the most important female bodhisattva.
Numerous Mahayana sutras feature female bodhisattvas as main characters and discuss their life, teachings and future Buddhahood. These include The Questions of the Girl Vimalaśraddhā (Tohoku Kangyur - Toh number 84), The Questions of Vimaladattā (Toh 77), The Lion's Roar of Śrīmālādevī (Toh 92), The Inquiry of Lokadhara (Toh 174), The Sūtra of Aśokadattā's Prophecy (Toh 76), The Questions of Vimalaprabhā (Toh 168), The Sūtra of Kṣemavatī's Prophecy (Toh 192), The Questions of the Girl Sumati (Toh 74), The Questions of Gaṅgottara (Toh 75), The Questions of an Old Lady (Toh 171), The Miraculous Play of Mañjuśrī (Toh 96), and The Sūtra of the Girl Candrottarā's Prophecy (Toh 191).
Popular figures
Sṛṣṭikartā
Lokeśvara (Avalokiteshvara in the process of creation), in which the
bodhisattva takes on the form of Sṛṣṭikartā (creator) and emanates all
the Hindu gods for the benefit of sentient beings.
Over time, numerous historical Buddhist figures also came to be seen
as bodhisattvas in their own right, deserving of devotion. For example,
an extensive hagiography developed around Nagarjuna, the Indian founder of the madhyamaka school of philosophy. Followers of Tibetan Buddhism consider the Dalai Lamas and the Karmapas to be an emanation of Chenrezig, the Bodhisattva of Compassion. Various Japanese Buddhist schools consider their founding figures like Kukai and Nichiren to be bodhisattvas. In Chinese Buddhism, various historical figures have been called bodhisattvas.
Furthermore, various Hindu deities are considered to be bodhisattvas in Mahayana Buddhist sources. For example, in the Kāraṇḍavyūhasūtra, Vishnu, Shiva, Brahma and Saraswati are said to be bodhisattvas, all emanations of Avalokiteshvara. Deities like Saraswati (Chinese: Biàncáitiān, 辯才天, Japanese: Benzaiten) and Shiva (C: Dàzìzàitiān, 大自在天; J: Daikokuten) are still venerated as bodhisattva devas and dharmapalas (guardian deities) in East Asian Buddhism. Both figures are closely connected with Avalokiteshvara. In a similar manner, the Hindu deity Harihara is called a bodhisattva in the famed Nīlakaṇṭha Dhāraṇī, which states: "O Effulgence, World-Transcendent, come, oh Hari, the great bodhisattva."
The empress Wu Zetian
of the Tang dynasty, was the only female ruler of China. She used the
growing popularity of Esoteric Buddhism in China for her own needs.
Though she was not the only ruler to have made such a claim, the
political utility of her claims, coupled with sincerity make her a great
example. She built several temples and contributed to the finishing of
the Longmen Caves and even went on to patronise Buddhism over Confucianism or Daoism.
She ruled by the title of "Holy Emperor", and claimed to be a
Bodhisattva too. She became one of China's most influential rulers.
Thangka Depicting Yamantaka, a wrathful manifestation of Manjushri in Tibetan Buddhism
While bodhisattvas tend to be depicted as conventionally beautiful, there are instances of their manifestation as fierceful and monstrous looking beings. A notable example is Guanyin's manifestation as a preta named "Flaming Face" (面燃大士). This trope is commonly employed among the Wisdom Kings, among whom Mahāmāyūrī Vidyārājñī stands out with a feminine title and benevolent expression. In some depictions, her mount takes on a wrathful appearance. This variation is also found among images of Vajrapani.
In Tibetan Buddhism, fierce manifestations (Tibetan: trowo) of the major bodhisattvas are quite common and they often act as protector deities.
The place of a bodhisattva's earthly deeds, such as the achievement of enlightenment or the acts of Dharma, is known as a bodhimaṇḍa (place of awakening), 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. There are also sacred places of awakening for bodhisattvas located throughout the Buddhist world. Mount Potalaka, a sacred mountain in India, is traditionally held to be Avalokiteshvara's bodhimaṇḍa.
In 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 sacred
places are:
While the veneration of bodhisattvas is much more widespread and
popular in the Mahayana Buddhist world, it is also found in Theravada
Buddhist regions. Bodhisattvas which are venerated in Theravada lands
include Natha Deviyo (Avalokiteshvara), Metteya (Maitreya), Upulvan (i.e. Vishnu), Saman (Samantabhadra) and Pattini. The veneration of some of these figures may have been influenced by Mahayana Buddhism. These figures are also understood as devas that have converted to Buddhism and have sworn to protect it.
The recounting of Jataka tales,
which discuss the bodhisattva deeds of Gautama before his awakening
(i.e. during his past lives as a bodhisatta), also remains a popular
practice.
Etymology
The etymology of the Indic terms bodhisattva and bodhisatta is not fully understood. The term bodhi is uncontroversial and means "awakening" or "enlightenment" (from the root budh-). The second part of the compound has many possible meanings or derivations, including:
Sattva and satta commonly means "living being", "sentient being"
or "person" and many modern scholars adopt an interpretation based on
this etymology. Examples include: "a sentient or reasonable being,
possessing bodhi" (H. Kern), "a bodhi-being, i.e. a being destined to
attain fullest Enlightenment" (T. W. Rhys Davids and W. Stede), "A being
seeking for bodhi" (M. Anesaki), "Erleuchtungswesen" (Enlightenment
Being) (M. Winternitz), "Weisheitswesen" ("Wisdom Being") (M. Walleser). This etymology is also supported by the Mahayana Samādhirāja Sūtra, which, however, explains the meaning of the term bodhisattva as "one who admonishes or exhorts all beings."
According to Har Dayal, the term bodhi-satta may correspond with the Sanskrit bodhi-sakta which means "one who is devoted to bodhi" or "attached to bodhi". Later, the term may have been wrongly sanskritized to bodhi-satva. Hayal notes that the Sanskrit term sakta (from sañj) means "clung, stuck or attached to, joined or connected with, addicted or devoted to, fond of, intent on". This etymology for satta
is supported by some passages in the Early Buddhist Texts (such as at
SN 23.2, parallel at SĀ 122). The etymology is also supported by the
Pāli commentaries, Jain sources and other modern scholars like Tillman
Vetter and Neumann. Another related possibility pointed out by K.R. Norman and others is that satta carries the meaning of śakta, and so bodhisatta means "capable of enlightenment."
The Sanskrit term sattva may mean "strength, energy, vigour, power,
courage" and therefore, bodhisattva could also mean "one whose energy
and power is directed towards bodhi". This reading of sattva is found in Ksemendra's AvadanakalpaIata. Har Dayal supports this reading, noting that the term sattva is "almost certainly related to the Vedic word satvan, which means 'a strong or valiant man, hero, warrior'" and thus, the term bodhisatta should be interpreted as "heroic being, spiritual warrior."
Sattva may also mean spirit, mind, sense, consciousness, or geist.
Various Indian commentators like Prajñakaramati interpret the term as a
synonym for citta (mind, thought) or vyavasāya (decision,
determination). Thus, the term bodhisattva could also mean: "one whose
mind, intentions, thoughts or wishes are fixed on bodhi". In this sense, this meaning of sattva is similar to the meaning it has in the Yoga-sutras, where it means mind.
Tibetan lexicographers translate bodhisattva as byang chub (bodhi) sems dpa (sattva). In this compound, sems means mind, while dpa means "hero, strong man" (Skt. vīra). Thus, this translation combines two possible etymologies of sattva explained above: as "mind" and as "courageous, hero".
Chinese Buddhists generally use the term pusa (菩薩), a
phonetic transcription of the Sanskrit term. However, early Chinese
translators sometimes used a meaning translation of the term
bodhisattva, which they rendered as mingshi (明士), which means "a person who understands", reading sattva as "man" or "person" (shi, 士).
In Sanskrit, sattva can mean "essence, nature, true essence", and the Pali satta can mean "substance". Some modern scholars interpret bodhisattva in this light, such as Monier-Williams, who translates the term as "one who has bodhi or perfect wisdom as his essence."
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