Bodhisattva

=== Mature scholastic Mahāyāna ===
[[File:MET 38 DP310516R3 61D.jpg|thumb|Bengali Sculpture of Manjushri, the bodhisattva of wisdom, 11th century]]
[[Image:Liao Dynasty Avalokitesvara Statue Clear.jpeg|thumb|right|Wood carving of [[Avalokiteśvara]]. [[Liao dynasty|Liao China]], 907–1125]]
[[Image:Twenty-Five Bodhisattvas Descending from Heaven, c. 1300.jpg|thumb|''Twenty-five Bodhisattvas Descending from Heaven''. Japanese painting, {{circa}}{{nbsp}}1300]]
Classical Indian mahayanists held that the only sutras which teach the bodhisattva vehicle are the [[Mahayana sutras]]. Thus, [[Nagarjuna]] writes "the subjects based on the deeds of Bodhisattvas were not mentioned in [non-Mahāyāna] sūtras."<ref name=":20">Werner et al. 2013, p. 32.</ref> They also held that the bodhisattva path was superior to the śrāvaka vehicle and so the bodhisattva vehicle is the "great vehicle" (mahayana) due to its greater aspiration to save others, while the śrāvaka vehicle is the "small" or "inferior" vehicle ([[hinayana]]). Thus, [[Asanga]] argues in his ''[[Mahayana-sutra-alamkara-karika|Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra]]'' that the two vehicles differ in numerous ways, such as intention, teaching, employment (i.e., means), support, and the time that it takes to reach the goal.<ref name=":20" />

Over time, Mahayana Buddhists developed mature systematized doctrines about the bodhisattva. The authors of the various [[Madhyamaka]] treatises often presented the view of the [[Ekayāna|''ekayana'']], and thus held that all beings can become bodhisattvas. The texts and sutras associated with the [[Yogachara|Yogacara]] school developed a different theory of three separate ''gotras'' (families, lineages), that inherently predisposed a person to either the vehicle of the ''[[arhat]]'', ''[[pratyekabuddha]]'' or [[Buddhahood|''samyak-saṃbuddha'']] (fully self-awakened one).<ref name=":1">Drewes, David, Early Indian Mahayana Buddhism II: New Perspectives, ''Religion Compass'' 4/2 (2010): 66–74, {{doi|10.1111/j.1749-8171.2009.00193.x}}</ref> For the yogacarins then, only some beings (those who have the "bodhisattva lineage") can enter the bodhisattva path.<ref>Dayal 1970, p. 52.</ref> In East Asian Buddhism, the view of the one vehicle (''ekayana'') which holds that all Buddhist teachings are really part of a single path, is the standard view.<ref>Kawamura (ed) 1981, p. 171.</ref>

The term bodhisattva was also used in a broader sense by later authors. According to the eighth-century Mahāyāna philosopher [[Haribhadra (Buddhist philosopher)|Haribhadra]], the term "bodhisattva" can refer to those who follow any of the three vehicles, since all are working towards ''[[Enlightenment in Buddhism|bodhi]]''. Therefore, the specific term for a Mahāyāna bodhisattva is a ''mahāsattva'' (great being) ''bodhisattva''.<ref name=":11">Williams, Paul, ''Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations,'' Routledge, 2008, p. 55.</ref> According to [[Atiśa]]'s 11th century ''[[Bodhipathapradīpa]],'' the central defining feature of a Mahāyāna bodhisattva is the universal aspiration to end suffering for all sentient beings, which is termed ''[[bodhicitta]]'' (the mind set on awakening).<ref name=":13">Williams, Paul, ''Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations,'' Routledge, 2008, pp. 195–196.</ref>

The bodhisattva doctrine went through a significant transformation during the development of Buddhist tantra, also known as [[Vajrayana]]. This movement developed new ideas and texts which introduced new bodhisattvas and re-interpreted old ones in new forms, developed in elaborate [[mandala]]s for them and introduced new practices which made use of [[mantra]]s, [[mudra]]s and other tantric elements.