(in Mahayana Buddhism )大乘佛教 a person who is able to reach nirvana (= a state of peace and happiness) but who delays doing this because of the suffering of other humans Topics Religion and festivalsc2菩提萨埵;菩萨 Word OriginSanskrit, ‘a person whose essence is perfect knowledge’, from bodhi ‘perfect knowledge’ (from budh- ‘know perfectly’) + sattva ‘being, essence’.