Arhat Hall

Arhat Hall
Traditional Chinese	羅漢堂
Simplified Chinese	罗汉堂
Literal meaning	Arhat Hall
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Luóhàn Táng

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. 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.

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, 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.

Gallery

• 
  Arhat Hall in Hualin Temple in Guangzhou, China
• 
  Statues of Eighteen Arhats at Lingsheng Temple in Hunan, China.
• 
  Statues of Eighteen Arhats at Lingsheng Temple in Hunan, China.
• 
  Statue of Amitabha riding on a peacock 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

References

Bibliography

• Zi Yan (2012). "Xiantong Temple in Mount Wutai, Shanxi Province". Famous Temples in China (in English and Chinese). Hefei, Anhui: Huangshan Publishing House. ISBN 978-7-5461-3146-7.

Further reading

• Wang Guixiang (2016-06-17). 《中国汉传佛教建筑史——佛寺的建造、分布与寺院格局、建筑类型及其变迁》 [The History of Chinese Buddhist Temples] (in Chinese). Beijing: Tsinghua University Press. ISBN 9787302427056.
• Zhang Yuhuan (2014-06-01). 《图解中国佛教建筑、寺院系列》 [Illustration of Chinese Buddhist Architecture and Temples] (in Chinese). Beijing: Contemporary China Publishing House. ISBN 9787515401188.