A transliteration of the Sanskrit bodhisattva， which means 'enlightening being.' （1） Generally speaking， a person intent on the attainment of enlightenment， who has fully altruistic motivations. （2） The bodhisattva is the model practitioner in the Maha^ya^na 大乘 tradition， who dedicates his/her life entirely to the salvation of other beings. This concept is used in Maha^ya^na texts to distinguish from the earlier Indian concept of arhat， a being who is also enlightened， but who， according to Maha^ya^nists， possesses an inferior， selfishly-attained enlightenment. In this regard， the bodhisattva is said to possess two main characteristics which distinguish her/him from the arhat 阿罗汉， and other inferior religious practitioners: a deep sense of compassion 慈悲 for the suffering of all other beings， and a special type of wisdom based on a realization of the nature of the emptiness （/su^nyata^ 空） of all existences. The bodhisattva attains his/her enlightenment by arousing the thought of selfless enlightenment （bodhicitta） and practicing the six perfections （pa^ramita^ 六度） based on compassion （karuna^）. （3） The term bodhisattva is also often applied as an honorific title to the great Buddhist teachers of antiquity， such as Na^ga^rjuna 龙树 and Asan%ga 无著.