Wonder if there's such a term as bodhisattva in other religions. Bodhisattva which literally means an enlightened being, according to Mahāyāna Buddhism is one who has an awakened mind; someone who has a spontaneous wish and compassionate mind to attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings. In a way, I suppose it is the same as in Theravada Buddhism where bodhisattva is said to refer to someone who has made a resolution to become a Buddha. In the early days of Buddhism, bodhisattva has also been used to refer to Gautama Buddha in his previous lives and as a young man during the period when he was working towards his liberation. When someone labelled a Massachusetts police officer a bodhisattva for being kind enough to use his own money to buy groceries for a family in need instead of charging them for shoplifting, I thought that was a nice thing to do. It's better than labelling someone as pagan or kafir.
Comments