ABSTRACT
THE bodhisattva doctrine arose out of the fact that Buddhism was at first a religion involving the teaching that an individual in order to win salvation must follow out a course of life directed to one end. 1 This was the career of the arhat, and it was this career which was remodelled and extended into the career of the bodhisattva. His career to enlightenment also meant grasping the truth of the new metaphysical theories. In the second and first centuries B.C. the prevailing schools of Buddhism in northern India were branches of the Sarvastivadins, and somewhere within them the new developments arose. But these schools, which were large institutions of education in all branches of the doctrine, also developed their philosophical principles. From the beginning these principles involved metaphysical assumptions, whether they were recognized as assumptions or not. They certainly became recognized when they had to be defended against opponents.
