Elusive Notions of Bodhisattvas: Personified, Idealized, Mystified, Naturalized, and Integral
Religions June 13, 2025 Sabine Grunwald 1 citation
Bodhisattvas—awakened beings in Buddhist traditions—are examined through multiple lenses: as symbols, ideals, mystical figures, naturalized beings, and integral visions. The paper contrasts Theravāda and Mahāyāna Buddhist motivations with secular Western interpretations, such as neurophysicalism and participatory spirituality. The traditional paradox of liberating oneself and all beings while realizing emptiness (śūnyatā) is explored, along with issues of illusion, moral agency, mysticism, devotion, and naturalization. Ethical foundations of traditional Buddhist and Western bodhisattva concepts are critically compared, and their moral implications are discussed within the context of moral relativism in Post-Truth American culture.