Within Mahāyāna cosmology, the relationship between bodhisattvas and buddhas is best understood as developmental, functional, and deeply interwoven. A bodhisattva is a being who has generated the resolve to attain complete awakening for the sake of all beings, taking a vow to achieve buddhahood not merely for personal liberation but as a universal offering. All buddhas are understood to have once been bodhisattvas progressing through stages of practice, cultivating the perfections of wisdom and compassion over vast stretches of time. A buddha, in this framework, is a bodhisattva who has fully completed this path, realized perfect wisdom, and eradicated all obscurations. Thus, bodhisattvas can be seen as “buddhas-in-training,” while buddhas represent the fruition of the bodhisattva ideal.

At the same time, the distinction between them is not only one of degree but also of function within the cosmos. Buddhas are described as fully enlightened, omniscient teachers who preside over buddha-fields and serve as the ultimate sources of Dharma. Bodhisattvas, especially great figures such as Avalokiteśvara, Mañjuśrī, Kṣitigarbha, Samantabhadra, and Maitreya, act as active agents of compassion within saṃsāra, guiding beings and assisting buddhas in their liberative work. Many Mahāyāna sources portray advanced bodhisattvas as voluntarily postponing final nirvāṇa, remaining engaged in the world so that no being is abandoned. In some cases, their powers and insight are depicted as nearly indistinguishable from those of buddhas, yet they are defined by their vow and ongoing path.

This relationship unfolds within a vast, multi-buddha cosmos. Different buddhas preside over different realms or buddha-fields, such as Amitābha in Sukhāvatī, surrounded by assemblies of bodhisattvas who embody specific aspects of awakened qualities. These bodhisattvas function as accessible manifestations of buddha qualities—compassion, wisdom, vows, and liberative activity—through which beings can more readily connect with the enlightened presence of buddhas. Both bodhisattvas and buddhas are understood as expressions of the same ultimate reality, yet they appear in diverse forms and roles to meet the varied needs of sentient beings. In this way, Mahāyāna cosmology portrays a dynamic network in which buddhas and bodhisattvas are inseparable partners in the work of universal liberation.