Bodhisattva

A bodhisattva, in Buddhism, is a being who has attained great spiritual merit and seeks enlightenment for the benefit of all, a central ideal of Mahayana Buddhism. In Gandharan art, which grew from the Greek culture left by the Seleucid Empire, Greek sculptural style was adapted to depict the Buddha and bodhisattvas. This visual tradition later spread across Central and East Asian Buddhism.