Arhat: Encyclopedia - Arhat

Arhat

An arhat (Sanskrit, also arahat or arahant (Pali); Chinese: 阿羅漢, āluóhàn, luóhàn, lohan; Tibetan: dgra-bcom-pa; Jp. arakan; Hindi Arihant अरिहन्त ) is a highly realized Buddhist or Jain ascetic, one who has completely destroyed greed, hatred and delusion. The word comes from Sanskrit arhati, Pali arahati, "he/she is worthy", but there is also an etymology that derives from foe destroyer - hence the Tibetan dgra-bcom-pa (Foe Destroyer)

In Buddhism, the term arhat is, strictly speaking, a synonym for Buddha and it is listed in some texts as one of the ten epithets of a Buddha. In Theravada Buddhism it is most commonly used to describe and refer to any completely enlightened disciple of the Buddha. In early Indian texts such as the Pali Canon, the stage of arhat is described as the final goal of Buddhist practice -- the attainment of complete and unexcelled Nirvāna.

In Jainism, the term arhat (or arihant) is a synanom for Jina or Tirthankara. The Jain Navakar Mantra starts with "Namo Arhantanam". An arihant has destroyed the karmas (ari = enemy, hant = destroyer) and is thus approaching nirvana.

However, in Mahayana Buddhism, the term arhat is conventionally used to refer only to a Sravaka-Buddha, one of the three types of Buddha, whereas the term Buddha is most commonly used to refer only to Supreme Buddhas such as Siddhartha Gautama. Others consider it to be the fourth and highest stage of the śrāvaka path, Sravaka-Buddhahood.

Thus, by their conventional uses, one could readily find the concept of arhat contrasted with the concept of Buddha. The concept of arhat may also be compared with that of bodhisattva.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Arhat", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki