Arhat (Sanskrit) [from the verbal root
arh to be worthy, merit, be able] Worthy, deserving; also enemy slayer [from
ari enemy + the verbal root
han to slay, smite], an arhat being a slayer of the foe of craving, the entire range of passions and desires, mental, emotional, and physical. Buddhists in the Orient generally define arhat in this manner, while modern scholars derive the word from the verbal root
arh. Both definitions are equally appropriate (Buddhist Catachysm 93).
As a noun, originally one who had fully attained his spiritual ideals. In Buddhism arhat (Pali arahant) is the title generally given to those of Gautama Buddha's disciples who had progressed the farthest during his lifetime and immediately thereafter; more specifically to those who had attained nirvana, emancipation from earthly fetters and the attainment of full enlightenment. Arhat is broadly equivalent to the Egyptian heirophant, the Chaldean magus, and Hindu rishi, as well as being generally applicable to ascetics. On occasion it is used for the loftiest beings in a hierarchy: "The
Arhats of the 'fire-mist' of the 7th run are but one remove from the Root-base of their Hierarchy -- the highest on Earth, and our Terrestrial chain" (SD 1:207).
Arhat is the highest of the four degrees of arhatship or the fourfold path to nirvana, of which the first three are srotapatti (he who has entered the stream), sakridagamin (he who returns to birth once more), and anagamin (the never returner who will have no further births on earth).
to be continue "
Arhat2 "
A term used primarily in
Theravada Buddhism to signify a person who has fulfilled its ultimate goal, the attainment of
nirvana . Upon death, the arhat will become extinguished. The arhat, as an individual, has attained full
enlightenment , peace and freedom. This should be contrasted to
Mahayana Buddhism, in which the ultimate goal is to become a
bodhisattva --someone who uses the power they gain from enlightenment to help others.
