Bodhisattvas

The pre-Mahayana sutras recognize only two bodhisattvas, Siddhartha Gautama before he attained buddhahood as Shakyamuni Buddha and Maitreya Bodhisattva, who resides in the Heaven of Contentment until he appears as the next Buddha in this world. These sutras leave open the possibility that there might be other bodhisattvas, but none are named. The Mahayana sutras, however, make the bodhisattva the primary ideal of Buddhist practice.

Lotus World: An Illustrated Guide to the Gohonzon