The Arhat Hall is a hall used for enshrining an arhat or arhats in Chinese Buddhist temples. Arhat is another term for Arahant, one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved Enlightenment and liberated from the endless cycle of rebirth. In Mahayana Buddhism, arhats rank the third position in Buddhism, only below the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.^[1] In Theravada Buddhism, Siddhartha Gautama or The Buddha is the first of the arahats, while his disciples who reach the goal by following his noble path also become arahats.^[2]

Statues

In smaller Buddhist temples, statues of the Eighteen Arhats, the original followers of Gautama Buddha, are usually enshrined within the hall. In larger Buddhist temples, the Arhat Hall typically enshrines statues of all the Five Hundred Arhats [zh], a larger grouping which encompasses other Buddhist deities such as Hayagriva and Yamantaka who take the forms of arhats. In addition, statues of the four main Bodhisattvas in Chinese Buddhism, namely Guanyin, Ksitigarbha, Samantabhadra and Manjusri are often enshrined as well, along with the Wisdom King Mahamayuri.^[1][3][4]

Gallery

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  Arhat Hall in Hualin Temple in Guangzhou, China
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  Statues of Eighteen Arhats at Lingsheng Temple in Hunan, China.
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  Statues of Eighteen Arhats at Lingsheng Temple in Hunan, China.
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  Statue of Mahāmāyūrī at the centre and the Thousand-armed Guanyin at the rear of the Five Hundred Arhat Hall of Baoguang Temple in Chengdu, Sichuan province, China