Bodhimanda, Bodhimaṇḍa, Bodhi-manda: 9 definitions
Introduction:
Bodhimanda means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.
In Buddhism
Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)
Bodhimaṇḍa (बोधिमण्ड) refers to the “area of enlightenment”, according to a note at Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra chapter 51.—Wherever the Buddhas have attained or will attain saṃbodhi, the vajra which plunged into the waters, slips through the earth of gold (kāñcanamayī-mahī) and comes to the surface of the earth where it forms the Diamond Seat (vajrāsana) more than a hundred paces in circumference. For this Diamond Seat and the area of enlightenment (bodhimaṇḍa) that surrounds it, see Vimalakīrtinirdeśa, s.v. bodhimaṇḍa and bodhipūjā. We may add that, in a figurative sense, the expression bodhimaṇḍa simply means the complete spiritual presence of the dharma or dharmakāya of the Buddhas.
Bodhimaṇḍa (बोधिमण्ड) refers to the “place of awakening”, according to the Gaganagañjaparipṛcchā: the eighth chapter of the Mahāsaṃnipāta (a collection of Mahāyāna Buddhist Sūtras).—Accordingly, “Through these ten immeasurables (apramāṇa), son of good family, the Bodhisattva completes the accumulations of merit (puṇya-saṃbhāra). What are these ten? [...] (6) completion of the immeasurable behaviour of the Buddha by infinitely reflecting and pondering on the thought of merits; (7) completion of the immeasurable embellishment of the place of awakening (bodhimaṇḍa-alaṃkāra) through all practices with a ll arrangements of the ornaments; [...]”.
Mahayana (महायान, mahāyāna) is a major branch of Buddhism focusing on the path of a Bodhisattva (spiritual aspirants/ enlightened beings). Extant literature is vast and primarely composed in the Sanskrit language. There are many sūtras of which some of the earliest are the various Prajñāpāramitā sūtras.
Languages of India and abroad
Pali-English dictionary
bodhimaṇḍa : (m.) the ground under the Bo-tree, where the Buddha sat at the time of His enlightenment.
[Pali to Burmese]
bodhimaṇḍa—
(Burmese text): အရဟတ္တမဂ်ဉာဏ်သဗ္ဗညုတဉာဏ်-၏ကြည်လင်ရာ-ကိုရရှိရာ-ဌာန-ကာလ၊ ဗောဓိမဏ္ဍိုင်။
(Auto-Translation): The clear path to attaining the wisdom of the ultimate truth is the department of the Buddha's teachings.
Pali is the language of the Tipiṭaka, which is the sacred canon of Theravāda Buddhism and contains much of the Buddha’s speech. Closeley related to Sanskrit, both languages are used interchangeably between religions.
Sanskrit dictionary
Bodhimaṇḍa (बोधिमण्ड).—nt. (= Pali id.), platform or terrace or seat of enlightenment, name given to the spot under the bodhi- tree on which the Buddha sat when he became enlightened; Tibetan (on Mahāvyutpatti and elsewhere) byaṅ chub (kyi) sñiṅ po, essence (lit. heart; = maṇḍa, q.v.) of enlightenment; Chin. according to Burnouf, Introd. 387 n. 2, platform of the bodhi- tree; very common: Mahāvyutpatti 4114; Saddharmapuṇḍarīka 16.3; 54.13; 316.3; etc., see Index to KN; Lalitavistara 36.2 (here [Boehtlingk and Roth] follows Calcutta (see LV.) in reading °maṇḍala, but Lefm. with all mss. °maṇḍa, the only true form; others, see Index to Lefm.); 273.7 ff.; Divyāvadāna 392.17 etc.; Suvarṇabhāsottamasūtra 89.15 etc.; Bodhisattvabhūmi 94.5; 405.11. For equivalent expressions see s.v. maṇḍa.
Bodhimaṇḍa (बोधिमण्ड):—[=bodhi-maṇḍa] [from bodhi > budh] m. or n. (?) seat of wisdom (Name of the seats which were said to have risen out of the earth under 4 successive trees where Gautama Buddha attained to perfect wisdom), [Monier-Williams’ Buddhism 232] (cf. next).
Bodhimaṇḍa (बोधिमण्ड):—[(bo + ma)] der Sitz, welcher in Schatten des Bodhi- Baumes sich aus der Erde hervorgehoben haben soll, als Śākya zur Bodhi gelangte; in weiterer Bed. = bodhimaṇḍala, [Vyutpatti oder Mahāvyutpatti 102.] [Burnouf 387,] [Nalopākhyāna 2.] [Lot. de Lassen’s Anthologie b. l. 349.] [Rgva tch’er rol pa ed. Calc. 341, 4. 362, 17. 20. 398, 8.] [Hiouen-Thsang I, 456. 460.] [Lebensbeschreibung Śākyamuni’s 244 (14).] [WASSILJEW 42.]
Bodhimaṇḍa (बोधिमण्ड):—der Sitz , welcher sich im Schatten der Ficus religiosa aus der Erde hervorgehoben haben soll , als Śākyamuni zur vollkommenen Erkenntniss gelangte ; in weiterer Bed. = bodhimaṇḍala.
Sanskrit, also spelled संस्कृतम् (saṃskṛtam), is an ancient language of India commonly seen as the grandmother of the Indo-European language family (even English!). Closely allied with Prakrit and Pali, Sanskrit is more exhaustive in both grammar and terms and has the most extensive collection of literature in the world, greatly surpassing its sister-languages Greek and Latin.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Partial matches: Bodhi, Manda, Manta.
Starts with: Bodhimandabhimukha, Bodhimandabhumi, Bodhimandacuda, Bodhimandaggahana, Bodhimandala, Bodhimandalamkarasurucira, Bodhimandalamkaravyuha, Bodhimandamakuta, Bodhimandamatthaka, Bodhimandanishanna, Bodhimandaparyanta, Bodhimandappadesa, Bodhimandasamanta, Bodhimandasamipa, Bodhimandasananipphatti, Bodhimandasthita, Bodhimandavaragata, Bodhimandavaragragata, Bodhimandavibuddhashricandra, Bodhimandupasankamana.
Full-text (+128): Bodhimandaggahana, Bodhimandasamipa, Bodhimandamatthaka, Bodhimandasamanta, Bodhimandupasankamana, Bodhimandabhumi, Pu ti dao chang, Bodhimandanishanna, Bodhimandaparyanta, Bodhimandasthita, Bodhimandavaragragata, Bodhimandappadesa, Zuo dao chang, Manda, Pu ti chang, Sthavara, Nisadana, Pu ti chang zhuang yan jing, Bodhimandala, Netrashri.
Relevant text
Search found 22 books and stories containing Bodhimanda, Bodhi-maṇḍa, Bodhi-manda, Bodhimaṇḍa; (plurals include: Bodhimandas, maṇḍas, mandas, Bodhimaṇḍas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Shurangama Sutra (with commentary) (English) (by Hsuan Hua)
The ruling assembly of illumining bodies < [Chapter 3 - The Spiritual Mantra]
General conclusion: stay distant from demons < [Chapter 1 - The Three Non-Outflow Studies]
Ananda brings forth a vast, great mind < [Chapter 7 - Ananda Gives Rise to Faith]
Korean Potalaka < [Volume 13, Issue 8 (2022)]
Brahmā at the Ajapāla Banyan Tree < [Volume 11, Issue 4 (2020)]
A Sanctuary of Avataṃsaka < [Volume 16, Issue 4 (2025)]
Taisho: Chinese Buddhist Canon
Chapter 19: Proceeding to the Bodhimanda < [Part 187 - Lalitavistara (translated by Divakara)]
Chapter 20: Adorning the Bodhimanda, Part 2 < [Part 187 - Lalitavistara (translated by Divakara)]
Chapter 4: The Dharma Gate < [Part 187 - Lalitavistara (translated by Divakara)]
Mahāprajñāpāramitā Mañjuśrīparivarta Sūtra
Maha Prajnaparamita Sastra (by Gelongma Karma Migme Chödrön)
IV. Supplementary explanations < [Part 2 - Understanding dharmatā and its synonyms]
Part 12 - Changing the surrounding ground into diamond < [Chapter LI - Seeing all the Buddha Fields]
Appendix 6 - The 57 days between Buddha’s enlightenment and his first sermon < [Chapter XIII - The Buddha-fields]
Theravada Buddhist studies in Japan (by Keiko Soda)
2. Nara Period (708-781 A.D.) < [Chapter 1 - The history of Japanese Buddhism]