This is an hour-long Dhamma Talk given at the Vivekavana Buddhist Society in Berapit, Penang State, Malaysia on February 3rd 2013 about the origin of the idea of the Bodhisatta in the Theravāda Tradition, how the idea was developed until it became a central part of the teaching in the early medieval period and a look at the influence the teaching about the Bodhisatta has had on the Theravāda countries through the ages.