Bodhisattva Vows
 

This article gives traditional Mahayana motives & practices that are foundational to making many lifetime altruistic vows:

http://theosophynexus.com/profiles/b...ource=activity

The link above is not good anymore. Here is better information:

The central element in Mahayana is a vowed intention to become a bodhisattva, then a buddha. On that path one will help all other beings towards that goal of buddhahood.

This chapter 40 of the Avatamsaka Sutra gives ten vast vows practiced by Mahasattva Samantabhadra and recommended by him for aspirants:

http://www.sutrasmantras.info/sutra21.html

Thank you for some very thoughtful information.

The Bodhisattva I have much favor with is Kwan Yin. Unfortunately, I don't think she is mentioned hardly at all on this forum.

Maitreya is considered the Buddha of the future. When he is portrayed as Hotei, is he considered a Bodhisattva?

Not to forget that The Buddha never taught any of the above. If your interested you can read what is recognised by Buddhist Scholars to be the earliest Buddha's Teachings.
Buddha did not teach the Bodhisattva path, which emerges only in later documents that started to appear at least a century after His death......

Avalokiteśvara Guanyin is mentioned a lot on here, He/She is the ' Embodiment of Compassion ' .

I have Posted this previously,

https://youtu.be/VkeeiEyNPMo

Hotei was a very friendly Buddhist and such people are often loosely called Maitreya incarnations.

I will post more about bodhisattva path. In Pali the word is bodhisatta which is what Buddha called himself before he became a Buddha under the Bodhi tree. Since there have been buddhas previous to Gotama it seems logical that there was a bodhisatta path before and after this most recent buddha.

The oral & visionary traditions were the primary sources of all Buddha's teachings (and other Indian paths, for that matter). When they were put into script means little or nothing.

Oh...:D

Buddhism is Based on Dharma.

Can you point out the Sutra please where The Buddha called Himself a Boddisattva ?
Thanks.

Correct - and Dhamma is experiential as well as oral or textual.