How does a bodhisattva differ from a buddha?

In Buddhist tradition, the distinction between a buddha and a bodhisattva centers on their progress along the path to enlightenment and their relationship to the cycle of rebirth.

• Buddha: A buddha is an individual who has successfully discovered the path to liberation from suffering (samsara), followed it to its conclusion, and taught this path to the world. Upon death, a buddha does not undergo further rebirth but enters Nirvana, a state beyond suffering. Because buddhas appear rarely, their arrival is considered a momentous event in the history of the universe.12
• Bodhisattva: A bodhisattva is a being who has set out on the long journey to discover the path to freedom from suffering with the intention of eventually becoming a buddha. In the Mahayana tradition, a bodhisattva is defined by the compassionate vow to postpone their own final entrance into Nirvana to work for the salvation of all sentient beings. While early traditions often used the term to refer specifically to the historical Buddha in his previous lives, later traditions view any individual who aspires to buddhahood as a bodhisattva.3124