Bodhisattvas Quotes

“This is the attitude of bodhisattvas: to practice meditation not only for yourself, but for the world, to relieve the suffering. And, when others suffer less, you suffer less. When you suffer less, they suffer less. That is interbeing. There is no separation between yourself and others. You do not live just for yourself; you live for other people. Your peace, freedom, and joy also profit others; you are already helpful. And so, when you breathe mindfully or walk mindfully and create joy and peace, that is already a gift for the world.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet

“The Vimalakīrti Sūtra names generosity as an essential feature of Buddhist enlightenment. The Buddha and enlightened bodhisattvas are pictured as generous above all else. They give themselves—their time, their resources, their wisdom, and their compassionate action—to all living beings. As with other human virtues, though, their generosity is not innate. It "arises dependent" upon specific causes and conditions that need to be cultivated. Bodhisattvas' ability to give is the result of a discipline of mental training. They have trained their minds to respond to others in a spirit of open generosity by visualizing the plight of suffering beings and all of the ways that they might help alleviate their suffering. Meditating repeatedly on possible acts of giving, they strive to internalize deep feelings of generosity so that when real opportunities for giving appear, generosity comes forth naturally and spontaneously.”
― Dale S. Wright, Living Skillfully: Buddhist Philosophy of Life from the Vimalakirti Sutra

“The bodhisattvas Manjushri and Samantabhadra, attendants of Shakyamuni Buddha who stand at his right and left in Buddhist iconography, represent the two aspects of the perfected character of the Buddha: great wisdom and great compassion. But these bodhisattvas are not merely symbols in our consciousness, and thinking them to be unreal is a mistake. Likewise, buddhas such as Vairochana, Baisajyaguru, and Amitabha, as well as the myriad buddhas mentioned in the Sutra of the Three Thousand Names of the Buddha are not only names of the infinite potential of our essential nature, but are actual buddhas.”
― Kōun Yamada, Zen: The Authentic Gate