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Lecture delivered by Rev. Aigo Castro (Centro Zen Abhirati, Valencia, Spain), for
the International Seminary at Fudenji (3rd Edition) (Salsomaggiore Terme, Italy),
from 11th to 16th September 2018
-Main features:
-Tendency to gluttony.
-Fondness in showing off his supernatural powers (i.e., flying and
carrying through air huge objects).
-First disciple in proclaiming the ‘Lion’s roar’ (i.e., utterances
endowed with incontrovertible veracity, boundless self-confidence
and ability to inspire others to urgency in their Dharma practice).
-Piṇḍola is described as an elder several hundred years old, with long
white hair and eyebrows that he had to hold back in order to see.
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2.- The Four Arhats Protectors of Dharma
-The notion of four Arhats protecting and spreading the Dharma, is related
to the concept of “Sangha of the four quarters” (cāturdiśa-saṃgha), which
in the Pāli Vinaya is defined as: “the order of the four quarters, those who
have come and those yet to come”.
(b).-The Record of the Duration of the Dharma Spoken by the Great Arhat
Nandimitra (Nandimitrāvadāna):
-Before entering into his Final Nirvana, the Buddha entrusted the Dharma
to the Sixteen Arhats and their retinues, bidding them to protect the
Dharma and preventing it to be destroyed. In order to do so, because their
perfect accomplishment of the six supernatural powers, the sixteen Arhats
are able to prolong the length of their lifespans.
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-According to Nandimitra, the Sixteen Arhats are endowed with the
following Dharma accomplishments:
-They are well versed in all teachings of the tripiṭaka, and to the
twelve categories of canonical texts.
-They are well versed in the five scientific disciplines, and the four
Vedas.
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-The Buddha commanded the Sixteen Arhats to create a “field of merit”
(puṇya-kṣetra) in order to allow their believers and benefactors (dānapati)
obtaining great rewards.
-For the first time, the name, residence, and disciples’ number of the
sixteen Arhats are established.
-The sixteen Arhats’ residences display a protective area covering all points
of space:
(b).- The monk Huijian translated in 457 The Method of Inviting Piṇḍola
(Qing bintoulu fa; 請賓頭盧法; T 1689), in which it is described how to
ritually bathe and feed Piṇḍola in order to get his blessing.
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2.- The Worship of the Sixteen Arhats in Chinese Buddhism
(a).- During the Liang Dynasty (502-557), Zhang Sengyao (502-549) was
the first Chinese artist to paint the Sixteen Arhats.
(a).-The Sixteen Arhats are getting shape: the visionary paintings of Chan
master Guanxiu (832-912):
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04.- Name: Subinda
Retinue: 700 Arhats
Residence: Uttarakuru, North of Mt. Sumeru
Features: “Pagoda-Holding Arhat.”
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12.- Name: Nāgasena
Retinue: 1,200 Arhats
Residence: Pāṇḍava (or Potalaka?)
Features: “Ear-Picking Arhat”.
(b).- In the Rules of Purity for the Chan Monastery (Chanyuan qinggui 禪
苑清規; written by the Chan monk Changlu Zongze (?-1107?), which is
the earliest Chan monastic code in existence, it is mentioned the duty of the
“Director of the Arhat Hall” (luohan tangzhu). This implies the
assimilation of a full-fledged ritual of Arhats invitation within institutional
Chinese Chan since its earliest organization.
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-“In Mount Tiantai at times live Arhats appear, whose traces also emit
light” (p. 177).
-According to Sōtō Zen traditional accounts, during his visit to Mt. Tiantai
(China), Dōgen saw the five hundred Arhats located in their residence near
the “Rock Bridge”, at Mt. Tiantai.
-According to Menzan’s Teiho Kenzeiki, the old man that Dōgen met in
front of the Arhat Hall on Mt. Jing and who advised him to visit Rujing on
Mt. Tiantong was actually an Arhat.
-Dōgen brought back from China an image of the Sixteen Arhats attributed
to Li Longmin (d. 1106).
“As for the other examples of the appearance of auspicious signs, apart
from [the case of] the “Rock Bridge” of Mt. Tiantai [in the province] of
Taizhou, in the great kingdom of the Song, nowhere else to my knowledge
has there been one to compare with this one. But on this mountain
[Kichijōsan, the location of Eihei-ji] many apparitions have already
happened. This is truly a very auspicious sign showing that, in their deep
compassion, [the Arhats] are protecting the men and the Dharma of this
mountain. This is why it appeared to me”.
-Likewise, in 1249 Dōgen wrote A Text on the Alms Offering Rite for
Arhats (Rakan kuyō shikibun), in which it is described a rite to invite the
Sixteen Arhats following a model established by Eisai. In one of those rites
conducted by Dōgen, rays of light shown out from the images and the
Arhats themselves magically appeared before the worshipers as heavenly
flowers rained down.
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(c).-Worship of the Sixteen Arhats by Keizan Jōkin (1268-1325):
-In 1313, Keizan had a vision of the eighth Arhat Vajraputra, who
predicted him with every success regarding his Dharma activities on behalf
of the present and future of Yōkō-ji.
-In 1319, Keizan conducted the first ritual for Arhats at Yōkō-ji: “First
performed service for Arhats. Should be performed every 25th day of each
moon. That is what the venerable Arhats expect”.
-Besides the sixteen Arhats, the five hundred Arhats residing in Mt.
Tiantai (China), the Arhats Mahākāśypa and Kundopadhuniya, and
the physical remains of Śākyamuni Buddha, are also worshiped.
-The Rakan kuyō shiki develops five ways of praising the Arhats’s
excellence:
-To explain the names of their residences.
-To explain the benefit of promoting the Buddha-Dharma.
-To explain the benefit of their being the field of merit.
-To explain the benefit of preventing disasters.
-To make an offering for the sacred ashes of the Buddha.
(d).- The Sixteen Arhats in Late Medieval Japanese Sōtō Zen Buddhism:
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(e).- The Sixteen Arhats in Contemporary Sōtō Zen Buddhism:
-At the Sōtō Zen monasteries there is a monthly offering to the Arhats
(rakan kuyō), and an Arhats liturgy (rakan kōshiki) that is held semi-
annually. Both services are performed in a specific area dedicated to them:
the Arhats Hall (rakandō).
Conclusions
4.-The worship of the Sixteen Arhats goes beyond the limits of sectarian
affiliations to present itself as an universal paradigm of Dharma assimilated
for all Mahayana traditions of India, Central Asia, Tibet, and East Asia.
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