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Arhat ( Sanskrit : ????? arhat ; Pali : arahant ), in Buddhism , signifies a spiritual practitioner who has realized certain high stages of attainment. The implications of the term vary based on the respective schools and traditions.

Etymology

The exact interpretation and etymology of words such as arahant and arhat remains disputed. In the Theravada tradition, and in early Pali Text Society|PTS publications, the word arahant or arhat is interpreted to mean the "worthy one"An authoritative Pali-to-English translation of "arahant" can be found in Rhys Davids & Stede (1921–25), p. 77. This has been challenged by more recent research, resulting from the etymological comparison of Pali and early Jain Prakrit forms ( arihanta and arahanta ).Richard Gombrich, 2009, What the Buddha Taught , Equinox: London, p. 57-8. The alternative etymology is "foe-destroyer" or "vanquisher of enemies," which corresponds to the Jain definition.See Mitra, Rajendralala (ed) 1877 Lalitavistara or Memoirs of the Early Life of Sakya Sinha, Calcutta: Asiatic Society of Bengal, English appendix page 10(658). The latter challenges the assumption that the root of the word is Pali araha (cf. Sk. arha ); Richard Gombrich has proposed an etymology of ari + hanta , bringing the root meaning closer to Tirthankar|Jina (an epithet commonly used of both the leaders of the Jainism|Jain religion and Gautama Buddha|Buddha ).Richard Gombrich, 2009, What the Buddha Taught , Equinox: London, p. 57.

The term arhat was translated into East Asian languages phonetically as a transliterated term, exemplified in the Chinese language|Chinese aluóhàn (Ch. ???), often shortened to simply luóhàn (Ch. ??). However, the Tibetan language|Tibetan term for arhat was translated by meaning from Sanskrit. This translation, dgra bcom pa , means "one who has destroyed the foes of afflictions."Cozort, Daniel. Unique Tenets of the Middle Way Consequence School. Snow Lion Publications. 1998. p. 259. This Tibetan translation of the meaning conforms with the Jain definition as well.

Arhat occurs as arhatta in the Rigveda (Hopkins, P. 202 The Great Epic of India ) and as the first offer of salutation in the main Jain prayer, the Namokar Mantra . Based on a possible Sanskrit etymology, Arhant can be translated as deathless since "hant" in sanskrit means death or killing and "ar" is often used for negation, implying "cannot be killed" or "beyond death" or "deathless". This fits well with the central philosophical thought in buddhism, namely, "by realizing the true nature of phenomenological existence we transcend the cycle of life and death and become deathless in spiritual sense." A similar transcendental spiritual state of being is referred to in the highly regarded
Mahamrityunjaya Mantra , which also occurs in Rigveda and often called by sages as the heart of the Vedas. The latter word occurs mostly in Buddhist and Jain Agamas|Jain texts , but also in some Vaishnavism|Vaishnava works such as the Bhagavata Purana . Arhatta also occurs in the Vaishnava Sri Narada Pañcaratnam .(Vijnanananda, P. 203 Srî Narada Pancharatnam )

In the early Buddhist schools

A range of views on the relative perfection of arhats existed amongst the early Buddhist schools . In general, the Mahasa?ghika branch, such as the Ekavyavaharika s, Lokottaravada|Lokottaravadins ,Baruah, Bibhuti. Buddhist Sects and Sectarianism. 2008. p. 446 Bahusrutiya|Bahusrutiyas ,Walser, Joseph. Nagarjuna in Context: Mahayana Buddhism and Early Indian Culture. 2005. p. 218 Prajnaptivada|Prajñaptivadins , and Caitika Sree Padma. Barber, Anthony W. Buddhism in the Krishna River Valley of Andhra. 2008. p. 44 schools, advocated the transcendental and supermundane nature of the buddhahood|buddha s and bodhisattva s, and the fallibility of arhats.Baruah, Bibhuti. Buddhist Sects and Sectarianism. 2008. p. 48 The Caitikas, for example, advocated the ideal of the bodhisattva ( bodhisattvayana ) over that of the arhat ( sravakayana ), and they viewed arhats as being fallible and still subject to ignorance.Sree Padma. Barber, Anthony W. Buddhism in the Krishna River Valley of Andhra. 2008. p. 44

According to A.K. Warder , the Sarvastivada|Sarvastivadins held the same position as the Mahasa?ghika branch regarding arhats, considering them to be imperfect and fallible.Warder, A.K. Indian Buddhism . 2000. p. 277 The Kasyapiya school also held the doctrine that arhats were fallible and imperfect, similar to the view of the Sarvastivadins and the various Mahasa?ghika sects.Warder, A.K. Indian Buddhism . 2000. p. 277 The Kasyapiyas believed that arhats have not fully eliminated desires, that their "perfection" is incomplete, and that it is possible for them to relapse.Warder, A.K. Indian Buddhism . 2000. p. 277

In Theravada Buddhism

In Theravada Buddhism, it means anyone who has reached the total Awakening and attained Nirvana , including Buddhahood|the Buddha . An arahant is a person who has destroyed greed, hatred , and delusion - the unwholesome roots which underlie all fetters - who upon decease will not be reborn in any world, having wholly cut off all fetters that bind a person to the samsara . In the Pali Canon , the word is sometimes used as a synonym for tathagata .Peter Harvey, The Selfless Mind. Curzon Press 1995, page 227.

After attainment of Nibbana, 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 nibbana element with a residue remaining . But once the Arahant pass-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 nibbana element without residue remaining . Parinibbana occurs at the death of an Arahant.

In Theravada Buddhism the Buddha himself is first identified as an arahant, as are his enlightened followers, because they are free from all defilements, without greed, hatred , Avidya (Buddhism)|delusion , Avidya (Buddhism)|ignorance and tanha|craving , lacking "assets" which will lead to future birth, the arahant knows and sees the real here and now. This virtue shows stainless purity, true worth, and the accomplishment of the end, nibbana .Khantipalo (1989), "Introduction".

In the Pali canon, Ananda|Ananda states that he knows bhikkhu|monastics to achieve nibbana in one of four ways:

one develops Vipassana|insight preceded by Samatha|serenity (Pali: ),

one develops serenity preceded by insight ( ),

one develops serenity and insight in a stepwise fashion ( ),

one's mind becomes seized by excitation about the dhamma and, as a consequence, develops serenity and abandons the Fetter (Buddhism)|fetter s ( ).Ananda's teaching on achieving arhantship can be found in Anguttara Nikaya|AN 4.170. Translations for this sutta can be found in Bodhi (2005) pp. 268–9, 439, and Thanissaro (1998).Bodhi (2005), p. 268, translates this fourth way as: "a monk's mind is seized by agitation about the teaching." Thanissaro (1998) gives a seemingly contrary interpretation of: "a monk's mind has its restlessness concerning the Dhamma well under control." Thus, it appears possible to interpret the excitation (Pali: uddhacca , see ) as either something that the future arahant uses to impel their pursuit of the path or something that the future arahant controls in order to pursue the path.

In Theravada, although the Arahants have achieved the same goals as the Buddha, there are some differences among Arahants due to the way of their practice.
In the Pali Canon , the word " tathagata " is sometimes used as a synonym for arahant, though the former usually refers to the Buddha alone.Peter Harvey, The Selfless Mind. Curzon Press 1995, page 227: "Before focusing on key passages on the tathagata, it is first necessary to clarify which persons the word refers to. The Buddha often used it when talking of himself as an enlightened being, rather than as the individual Gotama. In general, 'tathagata' is used specifically of the Buddha, the one who discovers and proclaims the path to nibbana (A.II.8-9, S.III.65-6), with the 'tathagata, Arahat, perfectly and completely enlighteneed one' being contrasted with a 'disciple of the tathagata' (D.II.142). Nevertheless, 'tathagata' is sometimes used of any Arahat. S.V.327, for example, discusses the 'dwelling of a learner' and that of a tathagata, and explains the second by describing the qualities of an Arahat. At M.I.139-140 and 486-7, moreover, there is a switching between talk of a 'tathagata' and of 'a monk whose mind is freed thus', as if they were simple equivalents. Tathagata literally means 'thus-gone' or 'thus-come', probably meaning one who is 'attained-to-truth' or 'whose-nature-is-from-truth'."

These three awakened beings are classified as Arahant:# Samyaksambuddha|Sammasambuddha , usually just called Buddha, who discovers the truth by himself and teaches the path to awakening to others.
# Pratyekabuddha|Paccekabuddha , who discovers the truth by himself but lacks the skill to teach others.
# Sravakabuddha|Savakabuddha , who receive the truth directly or indirectly from a Sammasambuddha.

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.

In Mahayana Buddhism

Mahayana Buddhists see the Buddha himself as the ideal towards which one should aim in one's spiritual aspirations. In Mahayana Buddhism, a hierarchy of general attainments is envisioned, with the attainments of arhats and pratyekabuddha being clearly separate, and below that of samyaksambuddha|fully enlightened buddhas (Skt. ), or tathagatas, such as Gautama Buddha .Williams, Paul. Buddhism. Vol. 3. The origins and nature of Mahayana Buddhism. Routledge. 2004. p. 119

In contrast to the goal of becoming a fully enlightened buddha, the path of a sravaka in being motivated by seeking personal liberation from sa?sara, is often portrayed as selfish and undesirable.Baruah, Bibhuti. Buddhist Sects and Sectarianism. Sarup & Son. 2008. p. 192 There are even some Mahayana texts that regard the aspiration to arhatship and personal liberation as an outside path.Sheng Yen. Orthodox Chinese Buddhism. North Atlantic Books. 2007. p. 149. Instead of aspiring for arhatship, Mahayana Buddhists are urged to instead take up the path of a bodhisattva , and to not fall back to the level of arhats and sravakas. 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 samadhi|samadhi of emptiness, thence to be roused and taught the bodhisattva path, presumably when ready. According to the Lotus Sutra|Lotus Sutra (Skt. ), any true arhat will eventually accept the Mahayana path.Sheng Yen. Orthodox Chinese Buddhism. North Atlantic Books. 2007. p. 163.

The Mahayana teachings often consider the sravaka path to be motivated by fear of sa?sara, which renders them incapable of aspiring to buddhahood, and that they therefore lack the courage and wisdom of a bodhisattva.Williams, Paul. Buddhism. Vol. 3. The origins and nature of Mahayana Buddhism. Routledge. 2004. p. 120 Novice bodhisattvas are compared to sravakas and arhats at times. In the , there is an account of 60 novice bodhisattvas who attain arhatship despite themselves and their efforts at the bodhisattva path, because they lacked ability in Prajnaparamita|prajña-paramita and skillful means to progress as bodhisattvas toward complete enlightenment (Skt. ). This is because they are still viewed as having innate attachment and fear of sa?sara. The compares these people to a giant bird without wings that cannot help but plummet to the earth from the top of Mount Sumeru .

Mahayana Buddhism has viewed the sravaka 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 sravakas and bodhisattvas. Far from being completely disregarded, the accomplishments of arhats are viewed as impressive, essentially because they have transcended the mundane world.Powers, John. A Concise Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism. Snow Lion Publications. 2008. p. 36. 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.Leidy, Denise. The Art of Buddhism: An Introduction to Its History and Meaning. Shambhala. 2009. p. 196 The first famous portraits of these arhats were painted by the Chinese monk Guanxiu|Guan Xiu () in 891 CE. He donated these portraits to Shengyin Temple in Qiantang (present day 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 Mahayana doctrine pushing emotional and cognitive non-attachment to their logical consequences. Of this, Paul Williams writes that in Mahayana Buddhism, "Nirva?a 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."Williams, Paul. Buddhism. Vol. 3. The origins and nature of Mahayana Buddhism. Routledge. 2004. p. 50

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arhat

Biography

Etymology

In the early Buddhist schools

In Theravada Buddhism

In Mahayana Buddhism

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References

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