Similarly, in Buddhism we also see Tara, the mother of all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. In the eleventh century Atisa, a Buddhist missionary to Tiber introduced her. She originated from the compassion of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. She is said to be the symbol of compassion or Karuna, …show more content…
Bodhisattva means a person who is on the path of enlightenment. The most important virtue that a Bodhisattva should have is compassion. Further, according to Mahayana Buddhism, compassion is considered to be the central virtue that the Bohisattvas should have. For them the supreme virtue that Bodhisattava should have is not Arahatta (personal fulfillment in enlightenment) but Buddhahood characterized by compassion or Karuna (Klostermaier, 1999). In their concept Bodhisattava in not a special person but, he is an ordinary person with the infinite compassion (Klostermaier, 1999). Thus his life is completely dedicated to alleviate the sufferings of the fellow human beings through the compassion and wisdom of Buddha. Unlike Hinayanist the Mahaynists gave a deeper importance to universal compassion towards all suffering beings and tried to move towards the complete Buddhahood (Klostermaier, 1999). For them compassion is the first and for most force of the Bodhisattvas. The entire life of Mahayana is centered around this doctrine of compassion. In their view the ultimate goal is not arahatta (personal fulfillment in enlightenment) but Bhddhagood characterized by compassion (Klostermaier,