See also:Arhat Images; Bodhi (Awakening); Disciples
of the Buddha
Bibliography
Bond, George D. “The Arahant: Sainthood in Theravada Bud-
dhism.” In Sainthood: Its Manifestations in World Religions,
ed. Richard Kieckhefer and George D. Bond. Berkeley: Uni-
versity of California Press, 1988.
Horner, I. B. The Early Buddhist Theory of Man Perfected.Lon-
don: Williams and Norgate, 1936.
Tambiah, S. J. “The Buddhist Arahant: Classical Paradigm and
Modern Thai Manifestations.” In Saints and Virtues,ed.
John S. Hawley. Berkeley: University of California Press,
1987.
GEORGED. BONDARHAT IMAGES
The depiction of arhats (Chinese, luohan; Japanese,
rakan; Korean, nahan) in painting and sculpture is a
time-honored one in East Asian Buddhist art. Literally
meaning “one worthy of honor,” arhats are senior dis-
ciples of the Buddha who attained awakening through
his teaching. After the sutra about sixteen “great”
arhats, Da aluohan Nandimiduoluo suo shuo fazhuji
(Record of the Abiding Law as Spoken by the Great Arhat
Nandimitra,T.2030), was translated into Chinese in
the mid-seventh century, worship centered on this se-
lect group, which eventually expanded from sixteen to
eighteen and then to five hundred in number. These
select arhats, said to reside in remote mountain fast-
nesses and believed to possess miraculous powers, had
been given the charge to protect the buddhadharma
until the buddha of the future, MAITREYA, makes his
appearance, and this kalpa (or cycle) of existence
comes to an end. From the late ninth century onward,
arhats inspired a fervent cultic worship in Central Asia
and throughout East Asia.
One clue that suggests why such worship was so
enduring may be found in the Record of the Abiding
Law.There the believer is instructed to show devo-
tion to the arhats by supporting the monastic order.
The sutra states that such devotional actions call forth
the arhats, although they disguise their “transcendent
natures,” to mingle amidst human beings, bestowing
upon pious donors “the reward of that fruit that
surpasses all others” (i.e., the attainment of buddha-
hood). Another factor that contributed to the flour-
ishing of arhat worship in China was the probable
association of the miracle-working arhats named in
the sutra and subsequently depicted in paintings and
sculpture with the fabled but indigenous Daoist im-
mortals, who were also thought to reside in remote
realms and possess supernatural powers; indeed, the
Sanskrit term arhatwas first translated into Chinese
by borrowing terms from the Daoist lexicon that re-
fer to such immortals.The beginnings of the depiction of the sixteen arhats
named in the Record of the Abiding Laware obscure;
the available visual evidence consists of mere fragments
or later copies of paintings. Textual sources, however,
indicate that by the latter half of the ninth century, as
the arhats’ cultic worship became well-established,
painters of note, such as Guanxiu (832–912) and
Zhang Xuan (tenth century), depicted the theme, ap-
parently in the form of iconic portraits. By this time
there appear to have been two approaches to depict-
ing arhats: either as monks with Chinese facial featuresARHATIMAGES
An arhat, or enlightened disciple, with a fly whisk. (Chinese paint-
ing by Guanxiu, 832–912.) The Art Archive/Private Collection
Paris/Dagli Orti. Reproduced by permission.