Phra Pathom Chedi

A statue sits in front of the Phra Pathom Chedi, a 127-m (417-ft) Buddhist temple in Nakhon Pathom, a city near Bangkok in Thailand. This particular statue represents a Bodhisattva, usually a personification of one of Buddha’s virtues. In Mahayana Buddhism, a Bodhisattva is an enlightened being who has postponed his entrance into nirvana, the final reward of Buddhism, to work for the salvation of humanity.

SEF/Art Resource, NY

Appears in these articles

Mahayana Buddhism; Bodhisattva

*	Available exclusively through Encarta software products. Join Now