Previous Year Question
With reference to the religious history of India, consider the following statements:
The concept of Bodhisattva is central to Hinayana sect of Buddhism.
Bodhisattva is a compassionate one on his way to enlightenment.
Bodhisattva delays achieving his own salvation to help all sentient beings on their path to it.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Correct Answer: B
Detailed Solution
Statement 1 is incorrect. The Bodhisattva ideal is particularly one of the central concepts of Mahayana Buddhism. In Mahayana, a Bodhisattva is not merely a practitioner seeking personal Nirvana, but one progressing towards Buddhahood for the welfare of all beings and the removal of their suffering. The idea of a Bodhisatta was not entirely absent from early/non-Mahayana Buddhist traditions—the term is also used for the Buddha in his previous lives—but it was not the universal central spiritual ideal there in the same manner as in Mahayana.
Statement 2 is correct. The Mahayana Bodhisattva is characterised by both wisdom and compassion. His goal is supreme perfect enlightenment, but his practice is directed not merely towards personal benefit but towards the welfare and happiness of all sentient beings. Original Sanskrit Buddhist material likewise connects the arising of Bodhicitta with the aspiration to benefit all beings and ultimately establish them in Buddha-enlightenment.
Statement 3 is also correct. In the Mahayana ideal, a Bodhisattva does not treat individual liberation as the sole goal. Out of compassion, he works for the liberation and removal of suffering of other sentient beings and is associated with postponing final entry into complete Nirvana. IGNCA's account of Mahayana Bodhisattvas explicitly describes this postponement of entry into complete Nirvana.
An important qualification is that the phrase “delays achieving his own salvation” should not be understood literally as meaning that a Bodhisattva does not seek enlightenment. His goal is anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, supreme perfect enlightenment; rather, compassion makes the welfare of other beings inseparable from his path, and final Nirvana is not treated merely as an individual escape.