Where does “bodhisattva” come from?
Bodhisattva derives from Sanskrit बोधिसत्त्व, combining बोधि (bodhi, awakening) from बोधि ultimately from Proto-Indo-European bʰewdʰ- and सत्त्व from सत् (being) from Proto-Indo-European h₁es-.
bodhisattva (English): A person who has taken specific lay or monastic...
Definitions
- A person who has taken specific lay or monastic...
Ancestry of “bodhisattva”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sanskrit | बोधिसत्त्व | bodhisattva; "one whose essence is perfect... |
| 2 | Sanskrit | बोधि | (also feminine gender) bodhi: perfect knowledge or wisdom (by which a man becomes a buddha or jina), the illuminated or enlightened intellect (of a Buddha or jina) |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-Aryan | bawdʰíṣ | — |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-Iranian | bawdʰíš | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰewdʰ- | to be awake, be aware |