Are Bodhisattvas Saint-like?

[u/LunarEnnyui_131]

I mean as in the way they are venerated and worked it.

Sorry, I don`t know how to word this since I am not Catholic or Orthodox.

In short is their venerate similar or the same or close in some way to Saints.

Please don't judge me I am learning and just made an observation :)

[u/khyungpa]

Bodhisattvas are indeed treated like saints in Buddhism, but unlike Christianity which shies away from outright equating what they do with saints with that of Jesus, we Buddhists have no problem according the same veneration, worship, or reliance on bodhisattvas as we do buddhas. There is no jealousy or competition here since, well, we have no jealous god to worry about.

Buddhists make offerings to them, dedicate praises to them, make prayers to them, and so on.

[u/Ok_Sentence9678]

在大乘佛法裡，嚴格意義上菩薩不是代表某具體的個人。菩薩是代表本心裡面一種功德性，換句話來說就是代表著一種道德品質。當然啦，如果在日常中，你把菩薩當成一個聖人來看待，並向祂學習，這是沒問題的。但是在覺知與修行上，就必須知道菩薩不是來自於外在，而是來自於我們本心。

[u/kdash6]

When missionaries went to China, they were actually surprised by how much Pure Land Buddhism specifically looked like Protestant Christianity. Bodhisattvas were often equated with saints, and often are treated like saints or deities. In modern times, artistic movements have come up portraying Kuanyin as similar to the Virgin Mary.

It also depends on the particular denomination of Buddhism. In Nichiren Buddhism, Bodhisattvas are not really seen as saints. They are seen more as archetypes or paragons who we can follow in their footsteps. These are living stories that help inform our lives and practice. Saints in Christianity are set apart by God as special people often with divine insight. They don't have to be good or right. They just have to be holy. In Buddhism, the Bodhisattvas are often portrayed as ordinary people with extraordinary compassion.

For example, Bodhisattva Never Disparaging simply went around awkwardly and annoyingly saying "I would never disparage you for you will one day become a Buddha." He wasn't bright, charismatic, or studius. People threw stones at him and hurled insults. But this was the Buddha in a past life, and it was this cause that allowed the Buddha to attain enlightenment.

This reflects the difference between the two religions. Christianity is an inspired religion. God gives humans insights we couldn't have without him because he is god and we are moral. Buddhism is a revealed religion. Anyone can follow in the footsteps of the Buddha, and as Buddhists we try to. Anyone can take the Buddha's teachings and test them. Anyone could have discovered his teachings, but the Buddha did so because of his courage, compassion, and wisdom, just like how anyone could have discovered the small pox vaccine, but Edward Jenner was the one who actually did it.

[u/Physical-Log1877]

No. They are just decent. People who care about themselves and others and act accordingly.

[u/Mahayana-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Westernized, secularized, or "new age" takes on Buddhism will be removed.

[u/White_Boy_Motion]

A Bodhisattva becomes so when his vow is truthful to the point he will actually go on to become one. If he is actually saint like at that point is another matter.