what role did the bodhisativa play in Buddhism?

Answer 1

It depends on what type of bodhisativa you are talking about which itself depends on what type of buddhism you are talking about. A bodhisativa can be a person on his way to enlightenment or it can be a person who helps people on their way to enlightenment. It may also be that a bodhisativa on his way to enlightenment can only achieve enlightenment by serving as a bodhisativa who helps others on their way to enlightenment.

Answer 2

Regarding your question...
It's not "did" they play, its "do" they play.

Bodhisattvas are people who have no attachment to Buddhism, but are much more "Buddhist" then most monks claim to be. Bodhisattvas are walking and talking Buddhism. The teaching that they make is spontaneous and independent of Buddhism, free of dogma. The karma that a Bodhisattva has on those who experience them lies beneath their consciousness, underneath thinking.

It's not necessary to be a "Buddhist" to be a Bodhisattva. There are Bodhisattvas walking around today. Understand?

PS-The best famous example I can give is the character Dean M. in the Jack Keroauc (spelling?) book, On the Road.

Answer 3

In Mahayana, Bodhisattva is a student of Buddha, who has trained enough to go to Nirvana to bless people from there. But since Nirvana is too far from other realms, they cannot directly bless people: like Buddha can bless thousands but in spiritual way: acknowledge sin easier or have a brighter mind to judge. Bodhisattva can save people in difficulties but in smaller group. Bodhisattva in Mahayana has 1 promise to fulfill: for ex to end all poverty so that people can live a better life... When they can fulfill their promise, they will enter Nirvana. They can reside in 1 specific realm as they chose: devil (hell), Atula, Animal. Human, Heaven realm to do their job. You may search to find out how to become a Bodhisattva!

Answer 4

A bodhisattva is someone who has generated the mind that aspires to enlightenment. There are bodhisattvas in all six realms of cyclic existence. We can see in The Previous Lives of Shakyamuni Buddha when he was in the Hot Hell Realm. He was pulling a cart full of stones with his work partner who was much older and weaker than he. He noticed how the straps from the cart were cutting into the old mans skin and making the pain of the work of pulling the cart unbearable. He saw this suffering and felt just terrible for the old man and resolved to pull the weight of the cart himself to alleviate this mans suffering because he just couldn't stand it. They went to Tushita at that instant and the man became the disciple of The Buddha. In another instance, the Buddha was King of a herd of 500 Wild Animals - and hunters came to slaughter the animals and The Buddha stood in front of every hunter simultaneously who tried to slaughter the animals, and pleaded with them to take his life instead and his mate did as well. Then they were reborn as The Buddha and Gunkowo became his attendant and all 500 of the animals became the ordained monks and nuns. Then Devadatta unleashed a crazy elephant and The Buddha subdued the elephant while all the monks and nuns hid and The Buddha explained that these monks and nuns were in his herd from a previous life. This showed the law of cause and effect and how the Bodhisattva acts on behalf of others in this life and all future lives. All Buddhas are birthed from bodhisattvas, all bodhisattvas are birthed from the supreme jewel bodhicitta, bodhicitta is birthed from compassion, compassion is birthed from love, love is birthed from wishing to repay the kindness of all beings, wishing to repay the kindness of all beings is birthed from recognizing them as having been our mothers from previous lives, recognizing them as having been our mothers from previous lives is birthed from equanimity towards the three types of beings - friends, enemies, neutrals. Equanimity is birthed from an understanding of the Four Noble Truths. An understanding of the Four Noble Truths is birthed from an understanding of the Twelve Links of Dependent Arising. An understanding of the Twelve Links is birthed from the recognition that suffering is all around us in a million different forms. The recognition of the truth of suffering is birthed from faith in the Buddha as a doctor, the Dharma as medecine and the Sangha as the nurses. I just saw all of this on tv. I really don't have a clue about these things.

Answer 5

A Bodhisattva is a person who has cultivated absolute altruism and chooses to take rebirth, where and when they can, teaching the Dharma for the benefit of all sentient beings. They choose to "put off" attainment of "personal enlightenment" (Nirvana) out of absolute altruistic intent. They try like crazy to be reborn (not in the literal sense of the word "birth") in hell realms, too, but cannot due to the good karma their altruism generates.

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