Arhat; the worthy one

@masterraalkivictorieux Master Ra’al Ki Victorieux

Arhat is a “perfected one” who has attained Nirvāṇa 🌟 The journey to arhatship is central in Theravāda and Mahāyāna Buddhism #Buddhism #Arhat #Nirvana 😌 https://wp.me/p3JLEZ-6CB

If you’re intrigued by the concept of Arhat in Buddhism and want to delve deeper into its significance, continue reading to explore the profound meaning and implications of Arhatship in both Theravāda and Mahāyāna Buddhism. This comprehensive overview will provide you with a nuanced understanding of the path to becoming an “perfected one” and the attainment of Nirvāṇa in the Buddhist tradition.

Etymology

The Sanskrit word arhat (Pāḷi arahant) is a present participle coming from the verbal root √arh “to deserve”, cf. arha “meriting, deserving”; arhaṇa “having a claim, being entitled”; arhita (past participle) “honoured, worshipped”. The word is used in the Ṛgveda with this sense of “deserving”.

In Buddism

An Arhat (Sanskrit: अर्हत्) in Buddhism, is a “perfected one”, one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and who has attained Nirvāṇa (spiritual enlightenment). The arhat, having freed himself from the bonds of desire, will not be reborn.

The difference between an Arhat and a Buddha is that the Buddha attains enlightenment by himself, whereas the Arhat does it by following the teachings of another.

The state of an arhat is considered in the Theravada tradition to be the proper goal of a Buddhist. Four stages of attainment are described in Pali texts:

The state of the “stream-enterer”—i.e., a convert (sotapanna)—achieved by overcoming false beliefs and doubts regarding the Buddha, the teaching (dhamma), and the order (sangha).
The “once-returner” (sakadagamin), who will be reborn only once in this realm, a state attained by diminishing lust, hatred, and illusion.
The “nonreturner” (anagamin), who, after death, will be reborn in a higher heaven, where he will become an arhat, a state attained by overcoming sensuous desire and ill will, in addition to the attainments of the first two stages.
The arhat. Except under extraordinary circumstances, a man or woman can become an arhat only while a monk or nun.

In Theravāda Buddhism

In Theravada Buddhism, an arahant is a person who has eliminated all the unwholesome roots which underlie the fetters – who upon their death will not be reborn in any world, since the bonds (fetters) that bind a person to samsara have been finally dissolved. In the Pali Canon, the word tathagata is sometimes used as a synonym for arhat, though the former usually refers to the Buddha alone.

After attainment of nirvana, the five aggregates (physical forms, feelings/sensations, perception, mental formations and consciousness) will continue to function, sustained by physical bodily vitality. This attainment is termed the nirvana element with a residue remaining. But once the arhat passes away and with the disintegration of the physical body, the five aggregates will cease to function, hence ending all traces of existence in the phenomenal world and thus total release from the misery of samsara. It would then be termed the nirvana element without residue remaining. Parinirvana occurs at the death of an arhat.

In Theravada Buddhism, the Buddha himself is first identified as an arhat, as are his enlightened followers, because they are free from all defilements, existing without greed, hatred, delusion, ignorance and craving. Lacking “assets” which will lead to future birth, the arhat knows and sees the real here and now. This virtue shows stainless purity, true worth, and the accomplishment of the end, nirvana.

In the Pali canon, Ānanda states that he knows monastics to achieve nirvana in one of four ways:

one develops insight preceded by serenity (Pali: samatha-pubbaṇgamaṃ vipassanaṃ),
one develops serenity preceded by insight (vipassanā-pubbaṇgamaṃ samathaṃ),
one develops serenity and insight in a stepwise fashion (samatha-vipassanaṃ yuganaddhaṃ),
one’s mind becomes seized by excitation about the dhamma and, as a consequence, develops serenity and abandons the fetters (dhamma-uddhacca-viggahitaṃ mānasaṃ hoti).

For those that have destroyed greed and hatred (in the sensory context) with some residue of delusion, are called anagami (non-returner). Anagamis will not be reborn into the human world after death, but into the heaven of the Pure Abodes, where only anagamis live. There, they will attain full enlightenment.

The Theravadin commentator Buddhaghosa placed the arhat at the completion of the path to liberation.

In Mahāyāna Buddhism

Mahayana Buddhists see Gautama Buddha himself as the ideal towards which one should aim in one’s spiritual aspirations. A hierarchy of general attainments is envisioned with the attainments of arhats and pratyekabuddhas being clearly separate from and below those of samyaksambuddha or tathāgatas such as Gautama Buddha.

In contrast to the goal of becoming a fully enlightened buddha, the path of a śrāvaka in being motivated by seeking personal liberation from saṃsāra is often portrayed as selfish and undesirable. There are even some Mahāyāna texts that regard the aspiration to arhatship and personal liberation as an outside path. Instead of aspiring for arhatship, Mahayanins are urged to instead take up the path of the bodhisattva and to not fall back to the level of arhats and śrāvakas. Therefore, it is taught that an arhat must go on to become a bodhisattva eventually. If they fail to do so in the lifetime in which they reach the attainment, they will fall into a deep samādhi of emptiness, thence to be roused and taught the bodhisattva path, presumably when ready. According to the Lotus Sutra, any true arhat will eventually accept the Mahāyāna path.

Mahāyāna teachings often consider the śrāvaka path to be motivated by fear of saṃsāra, which renders them incapable of aspiring to buddhahood, and that they therefore lack the courage and wisdom of a bodhisattva. Novice bodhisattvas are compared to śrāvakas and arhats at times. In the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, there is an account of sixty novice bodhisattvas who attain arhatship despite themselves and their efforts at the bodhisattva path because they lacked the abilities of prajnaparamita and skillful means to progress as bodhisattvas toward complete enlightenment (Skt. Anuttarā Samyaksaṃbodhi). This is because they are still viewed as having innate attachment and fear of saṃsāra. The Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra compares these people to a giant bird without wings that cannot help but plummet to the earth from the top of Sumeru.

Mahayan Buddhism has viewed the śrāvaka path culminating in arhatship as a lesser accomplishment than complete enlightenment, but still accords due respect to arhats for their respective achievements. Therefore, buddha-realms are depicted as populated by both śrāvakas and bodhisattvas. Far from being completely disregarded, the accomplishments of arhats are viewed as impressive, essentially because they have transcended the mundane world. Chinese Buddhism and other East Asian traditions have historically accepted this perspective, and specific groups of arhats are venerated as well, such as the Sixteen Arhats, the Eighteen Arhats, and the Five Hundred Arhats. The first famous portraits of these arhats were painted by the Chinese monk Guanxiu (Chinese: 貫休; pinyin: Guànxiū) in 891 CE. He donated these portraits to Shengyin Temple in Qiantang (modern Hangzhou), where they are preserved with great care and ceremonious respect.

In some respects, the path to arhatship and the path to complete enlightenment are seen as having common grounds. However, a distinctive difference is seen in the Mahāyāna doctrine pushing emotional and cognitive non-attachment to their logical consequences. Of this, Paul Williams writes that in Mahāyāna Buddhism, “Nirvāṇa must be sought without being sought (for oneself), and practice must be done without being practiced. The discursive mode of thinking cannot serve the basic purpose of attainment without attainment.”

Hinduism

Siva, or a king

Arhat is considered the name of Siva. Also, Arhat (अर्हत्) is a king of Konka, Venka, and Kuṭaka led astray by the teachings of Ṛṣabha. Gave up his svadharma and adopted the path of heretics. This is told in the Purana, Sanskrit literature preserving ancient India’s vast cultural history, including historical legends, religious ceremonies, various arts and sciences. The eighteen mahapuranas total over 400,000 shlokas (metrical couplets) and date to at least several centuries BCE.

24, Twenty four

Arhat (अर्हत्) represents the number 24 (twenty-four) in the “word-numeral system” (bhūtasaṃkhyā), which was used in Sanskrit texts dealing with astronomy, mathematics, metrics, as well as in the dates of inscriptions and manuscripts in ancient Indian literature. A system of expressing numbers by means of words arranged as in the place-value notation was developed and perfected in India in the early centuries of the Christian era. In this system the numerals [e.g., 24—arhat] are expressed by names of things, beings or concepts, which, naturally or in accordance with the teaching of the Śāstras, connote numbers.

This information is available in the Ganitashastra, the ancient Indian science of mathematics, algebra, number theory, arithmetics, etc. Closely allied with astronomy, both were commonly taught and studied in universities, even since the 1st millennium BCE. Ganita-shastra also includes ritualistic math-books such as the Shulba-sutras.

Jainism

Arhat (अर्हत्).—They are called arhats because they deserve the worship by celestials with mahāprātihāryas etc., or because they kill (hantā) the enemy (ari) in tthe form of rajas (binding matter), or because they have nothing to conceal. They are Jinas because they conquer attachment, dislike, infatuation etc.

Jainism is an Indian religion of Dharma whose doctrine revolves around harmlessness (ahimsa) towards every living being. The two major branches (Digambara and Svetambara) of Jainism stimulate self-control (or, shramana, ‘self-reliance’) and spiritual development through a path of peace for the soul to progess to the ultimate goal.

Theosophical view

In the early Theosophical view, the word “Arhat” was used for those high initiates who are beyond the need of compulsory rebirth. In the writings of Annie Besant and C. W. Leadbeater it is used to denominate the Adept who has attained the fourth Initiation, and is able to consciously enter the Nirvanic plane.

The word “Arhat” was used as a synonym for Mahatma. As Mr. Sinnett wrote:

Arhat is a Buddhist designation. That which is more familiar in India, where the attributes of Arhatship are not necessarily associated with professions of Buddhism, is Mahatma… In reality, the Arhats and the Mahatmas are the same men. At that level of spiritual exaltation, supreme knowledge of the esoteric doctrine blends all original sectarian distinctions. By whatever name such illuminati may be called, they are the adepts of occult knowledge, sometimes spoken of in India now as the Brothers, and the custodians of the spiritual science which has been handed down to them by their predecessors.

Mme. Blavatsky defined it as follows:

Arahat (Sk.). Also pronounced and written Arhat, Arhan, Rahat, &c., “the worthy one”, lit., “deserving divine honours”. This was the name first given to the Jain and subsequently to the Buddhist holy men initiated into the esoteric mysteries. The Arhat is one who has entered the best and highest path, and is thus emancipated from re-birth.

She added that “An Arhat is one who has reached the highest Path; he may merge into Nirvâna at will, while here on earth.”

C. W. Leadbeater stated that the Arhat compares with he who has attained the Fourth initiation in his Theosophical description:

The candidate who has passed the fourth Initiation is spoken of in Buddhist terminology as the Arhat, which means the worthy, the capable, the venerable or perfect, and in the Eastern books very many beautiful things are said about him, for they know at what a high level of evolution he stands. The Hindus call him the Paramahamsa, the one above or beyond the Hamsa.

According to him, after the fourth Initiation “there is no compulsory physical rebirth.”However, voluntary reincarnation is necessary to attain the next initiation. At the fourth Initiation “he enters the nirvanic plane, and from then onward he is engaged in climbing steadily through that.

Art

There are many representations of artthat in art, both historical and contemporary.

*Ryōzen (ca. 1328-ca. 1360) Arhat. Asian Art. Smithsonian.*

This paintings portrays an arhat, who is believed to have been among the original disciples of the historical Buddha, Shakyamuni. Through the teachings of the Buddha, arhats have attained transcendent wisdom and enlightenment, which has freed them from the cycles of birth and rebirth. The arhats remain in the world to defend and maintain the Buddhist law, or dharma. In painting, the arhats are shown as slender, ascetic monks with penetrating gazes that represent their divine vision, through which all the universe can be seen. Here, the arhat is accompanied by a human attendant, depicted in smaller scale to denote lower status. The attendants carry offerings of fruit and flowers.

This painting comes from a set of seventeen, depicting sixteen arhats and the historical Buddha. For special ceremonies in which the arhats were worshiped, the painting of the historical Buddha was displayed at the center of two facing ranks of eight arhats. This set bears inscriptions that link it to Sanshogokokuzenji, a subtemple of the Tofukuji, a Zen Buddhist monastery in Kyoto.

The work June Paik is considered one of the most iconic works of the father of video art, the cathodic reflection of Buda TV was able to condense the metaphysical void of the media image into a Zen scene.

100 Arhats (2013) was part of Murakami 500 Arhats show at the Mori Art Museum. You can see a great deal of his traditional roots though brought to life by bright color and pop-art styling. More tiny skulls provide a background.

*“Arhats of Daily Introspection” National Museum of Korea in Yongsan, Seoul*

“I designed a city of Arhats, after the walk through the Arhat forest. The inkwell in the center reflects the speakers, Arhats and visitors altogether. You can listen to the sound of dripping water and bells while you walk around the structure, contemplating,” the artist said. “Personally, I am a Christian, but this exhibit conveys Buddha’s message through my perspective. The harmony between Christianity and Buddhism as well as cultural heritage and contemporary art is what we should pursue.” Kwon Mee-yoo (May 2019) Arhat statuettes meet contemporary art. The Korea Times.

Kim Byung-ho presents “Arhats of Daily Introspection”, art work closer to the urban scenery of skycrapers. Kim created his iconic style of a towering yet meditative installation using 700 speakers and placed 29 statues among them.

From the representation of Buddha by Nam June Paik, to the installation of Kim Byung-ho, the Arhat symbol, the enlightened, continues to be incorporated into contemporary styles.

References:

Blavatsky, Helena Peltrova (1973), The Theosophical Glossary. Krotona, CA: Theosophical Publishing House.
Sinnett, Alfred Percy (1972) Esoteric Buddhism (London: The Theosophical Publishing House.
Leadbeater, Charles Webster (1992) The Masters and the Path. (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House.
National Museum of Asian Art. NMAA. Smithsonian. USA

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