There is no teaching of the bodhisattva ideal in early Buddhism, writes Professor Analayo. This idea only became an ideal 500 years after the Buddha's passing, so it is not the Buddha's teachings. But why did this ideal come about? Bhikkhu Analayo has written a small booklet on the subject, which can be downloaded here. Is it a myth?

Early Buddhism is the Buddha's teachings that all traditions have in common − and which are not connected to a particular tradition. What is this doctrine, and what has come later?