What is a bodhisattva in Buddhism and how do we identify bodhisattvas in Buddhist art?

This video answers these questions by looking at a sculpture from ancient Gandhara of the Bodhisattva Maitreya (the Buddha of the Future) that dates from the 3rd to 4th centuries CE. The video describes what a bodhisattva is, how we identify the bodhisattva Maitreya and who Maitreya is, and the differences between a bodhisattva and the Buddha in Buddhist art.

CHAPTERS

0:00 A bodhisattva sculpture from Gandhara

0:40 What is a bodhisattva?

2:07 The bodhisattva Maitreya

2:56 How do we identify bodhisattvas in art?

3:21 The difference between a bodhisattva and the Buddha in Buddhist art