Page "Bodhisattva" Paragraph 3

The term " bodhisatta " ( Pāli language ) was used by the Buddha in the Pāli canon to refer to himself both in his previous lives and as a young man in his current life, prior to his enlightenment, in the period during which he was working towards his own liberation.

When, during his discourses, he recounts his experiences as a young aspirant, he regularly uses the phrase " When I was an unenlightened bodhisatta ..." The term therefore connotes a being who is " bound for enlightenment ", in other words, a person whose aim is to become fully enlightened.

In the Pāli canon, the bodhisatta is also described as someone who is still subject to birth, illness, death, sorrow, defilement, and delusion.

Some of the previous lives of the Buddha as a bodhisattva are featured in the Jātaka tales.