In Buddhism, a bodhisattva (Sanskrit: बोधिसत्त्व bodhisattva; Pali: बोधिसत्त bodhisatta) is either an enlightened (bodhi) existence (sattva) or an enlightenment-being or, given the variant Sanskrit spelling satva rather than sattva, "heroic-minded one (satva) for enlightenment (bodhi)." The Pali term has sometimes been translated as "wisdom-being," although in modern publications, and especially in tantric works, this is more commonly reserved for the term jñānasattva ("awareness-being"; Tib. ཡེ་ཤེས་སེམས་དཔའ་་, Wyl. ye shes sems dpa’). Traditionally, a bodhisattva is anyone who, motivated by great compassion, has generated bodhicitta, which is a spontaneous wish to attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings.

The bodhisattva is a popular subject in Buddhist art. Usage of the term bodhisattva has evolved over time. In early Indian Buddhism, for example, the term bodhisattva was primarily used to refer specifically to the Buddha Shakyamuni in his former lives. The Jatakas, which are the stories of his lives, depict the various attempts of the bodhisattva to embrace qualities like self-sacrifice and morality.

Alan Wilson Watts (6 January 1915 – 16 November 1973) was a British philosopher, writer, and speaker, best known as an interpreter and populariser of Eastern philosophy for a Western audience. Born in Chislehurst, he moved to the United States in 1938 and began Zen training in New York. Pursuing a career, he attended Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, where he received a master's degree in theology. Watts became an Episcopal priest but left the ministry in 1950 and moved to California, where he joined the faculty of the American Academy of Asian Studies.

Living on the West Coast, Watts gained a large following in the San Francisco Bay Area while working as a volunteer programmer at KPFA, a Pacifica Radio station in Berkeley. Watts wrote more than 25 books and articles on subjects important to Eastern and Western religion, introducing the then-burgeoning youth culture to The Way of Zen (1957), one of the first bestselling books on Buddhism. In Psychotherapy East and West (1961), Watts proposed that Buddhism could be thought of as a form of psychotherapy and not just a religion. Like Aldous Huxley before him, he explored human consciousness in the essay, "The New Alchemy" (1958), and in the book, The Joyous Cosmology (1962).

Shenphen Rinpoche (born 10 January 1969 in France) is a Tibetan Buddhist Lama. He was initially ordained in 1985 at the age of 16 by Kyabje Thubten Zopa Rinpoche and later fully ordained by Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama. Shenphen Rinpoche has been recognised as a tulku of Lama Gendun Rabgye, from Kharnang Monastery, Tibet.

Lama Shenphen Rinpoche's first teacher was the Gelug master Khensur Geshe Tegchok. Other important teachers are Thubten Zopa Rinpoche, the 14th Dalai Lama, Gomo Tulku, Lama Gendun Rinpoche, and Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche.

In 1986, Rinpoche was requested to teach others in France. Since then, was requested to teach in many other countries.

After a few years in a monastery, Rinpoche studied medicine in Paris at Faculté Libre des Sciences de la Santé. Over the next five years, he engaged in humanitarian activities, mainly in India, but also in Nepal and Russia (for street children). Rinpoche created AMCHI Association, an association that organises humanitarian missions.

Between 1998 and 2001, following the request of Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Shenphen Rinpoche was director of a retreat centre in Greece. In 2000, Rinpoche created Buddhist Congregation Dharmaling. He then moved to Spain to open a small center, until 2002.

Oliver Shanti (Born Ulrich Schulz 16 November 1948 in Hamburg), also known as Oliver Serano-Alve, is a New Age musician. Founder of the band Inkarnation which was originally based on meditative music, and later transformed into "Oliver Shanti & Friends". Because of Oliver's unavailability, the rest of the group is continuing with multi-instrumentalist Margot Reisinger (formerly known as Margot Vogl and Margot Shanti), a member of the original staff, as "Existence".

In 2002, a warrant for his arrest was issued in Germany, with a €3000 reward offered, on suspicion of his having committed child sexual abuse. Shanti went missing at that time, and was reported to be living secretly in Germany or its adjacent countries. He was arrested in Lisbon, Portugal, on 29 June 2008, and charged with 314 cases of child abuse on 20 April 2009. After having attempted suicide during his pre-trial custody, "Oliver Shanti" was sentenced to six years and 10 months in prison on Friday, December 4, 2009 - after a Munich court convicted him of 76 counts of child sexual abuse.

José Manuel ("Chema") Martínez Fernández (born 22 October 1971 in Madrid) is a Spanish long-distance runner. He is married to Spanish field hockey player Nuria Moreno.

Martínez's first major win came at the 1999 Summer Universiade, where he became the champion in the 10,000 metres. He competed at the 2001 World Championships in Athletics, finishing 13th in the final, but was more successful at the European Athletics Championships, in which he won the 2002 gold medal in the 10,000 m, and returned to take the silver medal at the following edition in 2006. He won the San Silvestre Vallecana 10K race in Madrid in 2003.

Martínez has represented Spain at the Olympics on two occasions: in 2004, finishing ninth in the 10,000 m, and at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, at which he was 16th in the Olympic marathon race.

Other significant achievements include a win at the Madrid Marathon in 2008 (his first marathon win), a bronze medal at the 2005 Mediterranean Games, a silver medal in the half marathon at the 2009 Mediterranean Games and an eighth place finish in the marathon at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics. He has competed at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships on numerous occasions, with his best performance of 17th coming at the 2003 edition.