What does Theradava Buddhism believe about bodhisattvas?

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BenSinner

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What does Theradava Buddhism believe about bodhisattvas?

Do they believe that a bodhisattva is still subject to ignorance of the dharma?

Do they really consider the arhat the more ideal path to follow, or is this just a common misunderstanding? I’ve heard conflicting answers on this.
 
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First, I’d like to point out that the distinctions between different strands of Buddhism, and the concomitant distinctions between different “kinds” of sainthood and spiritual paths, is somewhat artificial. It has been mostly Western scholars who have emphasized these delineations, although some Oriental scholars have been eager to appropriate these stark categorizations in order to argue the case for “their” kind of Buddhism. In any case, “native” buddhists (i.e. born-and-raised Buddhists, as opposed to converts to Buddhism) care little for these distinctions.
BenSinner said:
What does Theradava Buddhism believe about bodhisattvas ?
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A native Theravada Buddhist typically thinks of a bodhisattva as a divine being, i.e. one who has “ascended”, no longer embodied in this world but very capable of lending spiritual assistance and protection to any believer who requests it in prayer. This is similar to the role great saints and archangels play in Catholicism.
BenSinner said:
Do they really consider the arhat the more ideal path to follow, or is this just a common misunderstanding? I’ve heard conflicting answers on this.
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A native Theravada Buddhist typically thinks of an arhat as a living monk who has progressed exceptionally far on the spiritual path. The scholarly notion that the arhat is not (or less) concerned with his fellow pilgrims than a bodhisattva, is one that the native Theravada Buddhist is unaware of. It is quite common for monks who are considered to be arhats to teach, advise, etc., and thus exhbit the “compassionate” traits of the bodhisattva – though it is indeed equally common for an arhat to retreat definitively into silence.
BenSinner said:
Do they believe that a bodhisattva is still subject to ignorance of the dharma?
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No, certainly not.
 
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@rossum is a Buddhist and can hopefully answer your question.
 
Gertabelle said:
I’m sorry you deleted your post. It was very informative.
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Then I’m sorry I deleted it 😦 I can’t bring it back, because I wiped out the text with an edit before I deleted the post – so “undelete” doesn’t work. Maybe I’ll write it up again later. Thanks.
 
Roguish said:
I can’t bring it back, because I wiped out the text with an edit before I deleted the post – so “undelete” doesn’t work.
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I think you can bring back what you wrote if the post is still there. Go to the red edit thingy and click. Your 5th edit will show. Click the arrows at the top left hand until you come to the second edit and you’ll see what you wrote. You can copy the text and then paste it into a new post.

Hope that helps!
 
Bodhisattvas play a smaller role in Theravada Buddhism than they do in Mahayana Buddhism. Every person who becomes a Buddha had previous lives. The last few of those lives they were very very close to attaining Buddhahood, but not quite there yet.

Hence Gautama Buddha was, technically, a Bodhisattva (Pali - Bodhisatta) from the time he was born until his enlightenment at age 35. He was also a Bodhisattva in his last few previous lives. His immediately previous life was spent in the Tusita heaven.

The next Buddha to appear on earth, the Maitreya Buddha is currently a Bodhisattva in the Tusita heaven awaiting his final rebirth on earth.

Other persons on earth may also be Bodhisattvas, but they will be further from attaining Buddhahood than Maitreya.

Since Bodhisattvas are not yet fully enlightened, they still have some areas of ignorance. The closer they are to their final rebirth the less ignorance they have.

Becoming a fully enlightened Buddha is difficult. For most people it is easier to become an arhat, given that the Buddhist religion is currently being taught. It will eventually die out on earth, and be rediscovered by the Maitreya Buddha. In the interim, being an arhat will not be possible as the teaching is no longer available. That is why being a Buddha is more difficult, the teaching has to be rediscovered rather than learned.

rossum
 
So is the main difference between Theradava and Mayahana regarding bodivsattas being the Theradava believe the bodivsatta is still subject to ignorance while the Mayahana believe the bodivsatta is not subject to ignorance and therefore perfected?
 
Mahayana Bodhisattvas come in two types. The lesser are like the Theravada version, almost-Buddhas. The major types are those who prefer to help more people to attain their own enlightenment. Avalokita (representing Compassion) and Manjusri (representing Wisdom) are the two classic examples. The major Bodhisattvas are not subject to ignorance.

When Japanese Christians were being persecuted, they used statues of Kannon (the female version of Avalokita) as a substitute for statues of Mary and child: Maria Kannon.

rossum
 
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