The Religions Book

154

T

he teachings that Buddha
encapsulated in his Four
Noble Truths and Noble
Eightfold Path (pp.136–43) were
straightforward and rational. To
follow them required mental training
and analysis of experience, but did
not entail metaphysical speculation
(thinking about what does or does
not exist), religious ritual, or—at
least for the first few centuries—any
use of images. However, a modern-
day visitor to a Mahayana Buddhist
temple in China or Tibet would
see many elaborate images and
forms of devotional worship.

Buddha figures—of different colors,

male and female, some fearsome,

others in calm meditation—appear

to be the objects of devotion in a

way that, to the external observer,

appears not unlike devotion to the

gods and goddesses of other

religions. Since Buddhism still often

claims to be rational, how did this

imaginative transformation come

about, and how is it justified?

The bodhisattva path

Given the general Indian belief in

reincarnation, it was not long before

people started to speculate about

BUDDHAS AND BODHISATTVAS

IN CONTEXT

KEY EVENT

The development of

Mahayana Buddhism

WHEN AND WHERE

2nd–3rd centuries CE, India

BEFORE

From 1500 BCE The Hindu

Vedas refer to many gods and

goddesses, each depicting an

aspect of nature and life.

From 2nd century BCE

Devotional practices become

influential in Hinduism.

AFTER

7th century CE Mahayana

Buddhism, using elaborate

images and ritual, is

established in Tibet.

8th century CE Images of

Buddhist teachers are used

as a source of inspiration, as

well as those of buddhas and

bodhisattvas. A popular image

is that of Padmasambhava, the

Precious Guru, who introduced

Tantric Buddhism into Tibet.

Buddha’s previous lives, and the

actions and characteristics he

must have displayed in those lives

to move toward nirvana. These

musings led to the compilation

of Jataka tales or “birth stories,”

involving characters, sometimes

human and sometimes animal,

that depicted the Buddhist qualities

of love, compassion, and wisdom

deemed necessary for progress

toward enlightenment. In turn,

these stories led to the idea of

the “bodhisattva”: a being who

is capable of enlightenment—or

of buddhahood—but who chooses

A bodhisattva is an

enlightened being

who vows to remain in

the world to help all

other creatures.

Buddhist images are

aids to spiritual

development, not gods

to be worshipped.

If we visualize or pay

respect to an image,

we are helped to

develop the quality

represented by it.

Enlightenment has

many faces.

Each image of a buddha

or bodhisattva represents

one or more qualities of

an enlightened mind.