The concept of the bodhisattva (Pāli: bodhisatta) is not unique to Mahayana; it is also found in the Theravāda canon, but there it mainly refers to Śākyamuni Buddha in his past lives. Theravada holds that only a few exceptional trainees can follow the path of the bodhisattva and become a buddha as Śākyamuni did, but Mahayana contends that all beings have the same potential and that all should seek the supreme goal in order to benefit
others.