Arhat, or Arahant in Pali, is a term you hear a lot in Buddhism. Someone who has achieved liberation. But what does it actually mean? Well the etymology is ambigous. The traditional school reports arhat as meaning: one who is worthy. But apparently, recent research suggests that it is cognate with sanskrit Arihan: one who kills or destroys enemies. The Tibetan translation of Arhat – dgra bcom pa – means: one who has destroyed the foes of afflictions.
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Posts Tagged ‘compassion’
Just what is an arhat
Wednesday, July 20th, 2011Compassion and Enlightenment
Friday, December 3rd, 2010Shravakas and solitary realizers
Spring from the kings of Munis.
Buddhas spring from Bodhisattvas.
The compassionate mind, non-dual awareness,
And the altruistic mind of Enlightenment
Give rise to jinaputras, children of Conquerors.Mercy alone is perceived as the seed
Of a Conqueror’s abundant harvest,
As water for growth, and as
Fruition in long enjoyment.
Thus I hail compassion at the beginning.Homage to compassion for gatis,
Powerless migrators, like buckets dropped in a well,
First clinging to some self, an ‘I’,
Then growing attached to things – ‘Mine’.Homage to compassion for gatis,
Evanescent and empty of inherent existence.
Like the moon in the rippling water.
Madhyamakavatara, CANDRAKIRTI
The Method of No-Method: The Chan Practice of Silent Illumination