菩萨

• Pinyin: pú sà
• Hanzi breakdown: 菩 = 艹 + 咅 (grass radical + phonetic — from Sanskrit bodhisattva); 萨 = 艹 + 达 (grass radical + phonetic — from Sanskrit sattva)

Meaning

Bodhisattva; a Buddhist deity who has attained enlightenment but remains to help all sentient beings. Colloquially: a kind-hearted, selfless person; a saint.

In Chinese Buddhism, the most venerated bodhisattvas include 观音菩萨 (Guanyin), 文殊菩萨, and 地藏菩萨. Colloquially, calling someone 菩萨心肠 (bodhisattva heart) means they are exceptionally compassionate. 活菩萨 = a living saint. Sometimes used ironically.

Examples

1. 她数十年如一日地照料村中孤寡老人，乡亲们都亲切地称她为活菩萨，视她为全村的精神支柱。 For decades she has cared for the village’s elderly who live alone, and the villagers affectionately call her a “living bodhisattva,” seeing her as the spiritual pillar of the whole community.
2. 大雄宝殿中央供奉着一尊庄严的菩萨金像，香烛烟雾缭绕，信众虔诚跪拜，祈求平安与福祉。 In the main hall, a solemn golden statue of a bodhisattva is enshrined amid curling incense smoke as worshippers kneel devoutly, praying for safety and well-being.
3. 他虽然脾气急躁，但每逢有人遭遇困难便会倾囊相助，朋友们都说他有一颗菩萨心肠。 He may be quick-tempered, but whenever someone is in trouble he gives whatever he can to help, and his friends say he has a bodhisattva’s heart.

Usage Guide

Context: religion, culture, colloquial praise, Buddhism

Tone: positive

Do Say

• 观音菩萨在汉传佛教文化圈中被视为慈悲与救苦的象征，其信仰跨越阶层与地域，深刻影响了华人社会的道德伦理观念与民间艺术表达形式。(Guanyin Bodhisattva is regarded in the cultural sphere of Chinese Buddhism as the symbol of compassion and relief from suffering; her worship transcends class and geography and has profoundly influenced the moral and ethical concepts and folk artistic expressions of Chinese societies.)
• 这位义工三十年来坚持为贫困山区的儿童筹集教育资金，被当地媒体誉为菩萨心肠的现代公益典范。(This volunteer has persistently raised educational funds for children in impoverished mountain areas for thirty years and has been praised by local media as a modern philanthropic exemplar with the heart of a bodhisattva.)

Don't Say

• 菩萨 in religious contexts refers specifically to bodhisattvas in the Buddhist tradition — do not conflate with 神 (deity/god in a general sense) or 佛 (Buddha); colloquial use (活菩萨, 菩萨心肠) is affectionate and should not be used sarcastically in formal writing

Origin & History

From Sanskrit 'Bodhisattva' (bodhi = awakening + sattva = being). Transliterated into Chinese as 菩提萨埵 (púsàduǒ), then shortened to 菩萨. 菩 and 萨 are phonetic transcriptions.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal