菩薩 bosatsu Bodhisattva

菩薩 stands one step below a buddha: a being who takes on long practice to bring living beings to awakening along with itself. The word is met most often in the names of the great bodhisattvas, such as 観音菩薩, Kannon, and 地蔵菩薩, Jizō. Here it stands alone.

The word is the Sanskrit bodhisattva, a being whose mind is set on the awakening of the buddhas, in sound rather than sense: its two characters shorten 菩提薩埵, bodai satta, the Chinese transliteration, and the shortening was made in Chinese before the word reached Japan.

We want you to be as happy with the meaning as you are with Master Takase's art. To learn more, visit Philology of 菩薩.

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