The Eighteen Lohan of Chinese Buddhist Temples

·期刊原文
The Eighteen Lohan of Chinese Buddhist Temples

WATTERS, T.
The Journal of thr Royal Asiatic Society
1898.04
pp.329--347

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p.329

WHEN you enter the chief hall of a Buddhist
temple in China you cannot fail to notice two rows of
large yellow figures--one along the east and the
other along the west wall. These figures, which are
usually numbered and labelled, are called the
Eighteen Lohan, and if you ask your guide what they
are he will probably reply "belong jess." This answer
may not be deemed satisfactory, but further inquiry
will only elicit the information that these are
images of Buddha's eighteen great disciples. The
names, however, show that this information is not
quite correct, some of them being unknown to the
original Buddhist canon. If you go on to Korea and
visit the curious old Buddhist temples in that
country, you will find that Buddha's Hall has rows of
similar figures, but sixteen in number. If you
continue your journey and visit Japan, you will find
there also Sixteen Rakan lining the side walls of the
Buddhist temples. Lohan and Rakan are for A-lo-han,
the Chinese way of expressing the Sanskrit word Arhan
for Arhat. Suppose you could go back and travel to
Lhassa, there also you would find Sixteen Arhats, or
as they are called there, Sthaviras, in the Chief
Hall of Buddha's temples. Tibet, however, seems to
have also its Eighteen Lohan, imported from China
apparently in modern times.

When we examine the Buddhist literature preserved
in the libraries of the great monasteries in China,
we find in it mention of only sixteen great Arhats,
the number eighteen being apparently unknown even to
the comparatively modern native treatises. As for
the pictures

p.330

and images of these sixteen, they are mainly derived
from the works of one or two painters of the T'ang
dynasty. About the year 880 an artist named Kuan Hsiu
( 砮ヰ ) made pictures of the Sixteen Lohan, which
were given to a Buddhist monastery near Ch'ien-t'ang
in the province of Chekiang. These became celebrated,
and were preserved with great care and treated with
ceremonious respect. In the reign of Kien-lung of the
present dynasty an official, while on duty in the
district, had copies of these pictures made by
competent artists and sent them to the emperor. His
Majesty had further copies made, and ordered them to
be printed and distributed. It was found that wrong
names had been given to several of the figures, so
the emperor ordered that all the names should be
compared with the original and correctly transcribed
according to the new system. But the question
remains, who are these Arhats? and the answer is to
be found in the Buddhist scriptures. They are patrons
and guardians of Sakyamuni Buddha's system of
religion and its adherents, lay and clerical.

An early mention of spiritual protectors of
Buddha's religion after his decease is found in the
"Sutra of Sari putra's Questions," No. 1,152 in Mr.
Bunyio Nanjio's Catalogue. We do not know when or by
whom this book was translated or when it Teas brought
to China, but its translation has been referred to
the fourth century of our era. In this treatise the
Buddha is represented as com mitting his religion to
the protection of Sakra and the four Devarajas. He
also entrusts the propagation of his system after his
death to four "Great Bhikshus." The names of these
are given as Mahakasyapa, Pindola, Kun te-pan-t'an,
and Rahula. These men were to remain in existence and
not experience final Nirvana until the advent of
Maitreya as Buddha. Three of these names are well
known, and the unknown one is apparently the Kun-t'ou
p'o-han ( 繷猧簙 ) of the " Tseng-i-a-han-ching "
(ch. 23). These characters evidently represent the
Pali name Kundo-vahan, which means Mungoose-bearing,
a name

p.331

to be remembered in connection with what follows.
The composition of this sutra may probably be
referred to the end of the last century B.C. Then in
a sastra, the name of which is restored as "
Arya-Vasumitra-bodhisattva- sangiti-sastra," Nanjio,
No. 1,289, we find mention of sixteen "Brahmans" over
whom Buddha is lord. These are probably the Sixteen
Arhats, although a note added to the text gives the
name of the second one as Ajita- Maitreya. This
treatise, which was probably composed in the first
century of our era, was translated in the year 384.

In another treatise called the "Ju-ta-sheng-lun,"
the " Mahayanavataraka-sastra" of Nanjio, No. 1,243,
we have further mention of guardians of Buddhism.
Here we have ninety-nine lakhs of " great arhats" and
also sixteen called "Great Sravakas." Of these only
two names are given, Pindola and Rahula, the reader
being supposed to be acquainted with the sutras from
which the author quotes. These guardians of Buddha's
religion are dispersed over the world, the names of
some of their spheres being given. Among these are
Purva-Videha, the Wheat (Godhuma) region, the
Chestnut (Priyangu) region, the Lion (Simha) region,
and the "Bhadrika place." This sastra was corn posed
by the learned Buddhist Sthiremati, and translated
into Chinese by Tao-t'ai and others about A.D. 400.

The test, however, from which all our knowledge
of the names of the Sixteen Arhats or Lohan of
Buddhist temples in China, Japan, and Korea may be
said to be derived is that entitled "
Ta-A-lo-han-Nan-t'i-mi-to-lo-so-shuo-fachu-chi."
This means "The record of the duration of the law,
spoken by the great Arhat Nandimitra." The treatise,
which was translated by the celebrated Yuan-chuang
(Hiouen Thsang), is No. 1,466 in Nanjio's Catalogue.
The name of the author is not known, but he must have
lived long after the time of Nandimitra, and
apparently he was not a native of that arhat's
country. There seems to have been also a previous
translation of the same or a similar original, and
to it Yuan-chuang and other writers appear to have
been indebted.

p.332

The book begins with the statement that according
to tradition within 800 years from Buddha's decease
there was an arhat named Nandimitra at the capital of
King Sheng-chun ( 秤瓁 ) in the Chih-shih-tzu ( 磅畍
 ) country. Nanjio took Sheng-chun to be Prasenajit
and Chih-shih-tzu to be Ceylon according to the
Chinese notes in the " Hsi-yu-chi." But Prasenajit's
capital was Sravasti in Kosala, and we do not find
any king with that name in the annals of Ceylon. The
" Chih-shih-tzu " country of this passage is probably
the Shih-tzu-kuo which we know from the 16th chapter
of the " Tseng-i-a-han-ching " was in the Vrijjian
territory. The original home of the Aryan immigrants
into Ceylon was not far from this district, and the
name Simhala-dvipa may have been derived from this
Lion-country. The words Sheng-Chun may stand for
either Prasenajit or Jayasena.(1)

The sutra then proceeds to narrate how the great
Arhat Nandimitra answered the questions of his
perplexed and desponding congregation about the
possible continued existence of Buddhism in the
world. He tells his hearers that the Buddha when
about to die entrusted his religion to sixteen great
Arhats. These men are to watch over and care for the
religious welfare of the lay-believers and generally
protect the spiritual interests of Buddhism. They are
to remain in existence all the long time until
Maitreya appears as Buddha and brings in a new
system. Then, according to Nandimitra, the Sixteen
Arhats will collect all the relics of Sakyamuni and
build over them a magnificent tope. When this is
finished they will pay their last worship to the
relics, rising in the air and doing pradakshina to
the tope. Then they will enter an igneous ecstasy and
so vanish in remainderless nirvana. At his hearers'
request Nandimitra gives the names of these
Protectors of the Faith, their homes

-------------------------
1 The " Chih-shih-tzu-kuo" of this sutra and the "
Shih-tzu-kuo" of the " TSeng-i-a-han-ching" are
probably the Simhadvipa of Schiefner's " Tara-
natha," S. 83. This last cannot be Ceylon, and the
mention of the Lusthain. in it reminds us of the
garden in the Shih-tzu-kuo. In the Sarvata Vinaya
Yao-shih, ch. 8, we have mention of a Shih-tzu
district which lay between Sravasti and Rajagriha.

p.333

or spheres of action, and the numbers of their
retinues. These Arhats are the Sixteen Rakan of the
Japanese and Koreans and constitute sixteen of the
Eighteen Lohan of the Chinese. They have incense
burnt before their images, but generally speaking
they are not worshipped or consulted like the gods
and P'usas of the temples.

The names of the Sixteen Arhats or Lohan,
together with their residences and retinues, are now
given according to this sutra of the Duration of the
Law and in the order in which that work gives them.
Variations as to the names which have been noticed in
other lists and in different temples are also given.
But as to the pictures and images of the Sixteen we
must remember that these, whether merely works of art
or consecrated to religion, are not supposed to be
faithful representations of the men indicated by the
names attached. The pictures and images are to be
taken merely as symbols or fanciful creations.(1)

1. Pin-tu-lo-Po-lo-to-she ( 猾霉禰舘磌霨 ),
Pindola the Bharadvaja.
He has a retinue of 1,000 arhats, and his place
is the Godhanga region in the west.
Sometimes the name of this arhat is transcribed
Pin- tou ( 繷 )-lo, and sometimes he is styled
Bharadvaja simply.
Pindola was one of Buddha's great disciples,
became an arhat, and was distinguished as a
successful disputant and defender of orthodoxy, with
a voice like the roar of a lion.(2) But he had a
weakness for exhibiting his magical powers before all
sorts of people, and sometimes for unworthy objects.
On one occasion, according to the Pali and other
editions of the Vinaya, in order to show his
superhuman powers, he rose in the air, took a
sandal-wood

-----------------------------
1 For illustrations and details of the Lohan see
Anderson's "Catalogue of Japanese and Chinese
Paintings in the British Museum"; Pandar's "Das
Pantheon d. Tschangtscha Hutuktu, " S. 83f.;
Hsiang-chiao-p'i-pien (;4 禜毙ブ絪), ch. 2.
2 Tseng-i-a-han-ching, ch. 3 (Bun., No. 543, tr. A.D.
385); Fo-shuo-a-lo-han-chu-te-ching (Bun., No.
897, tr. about 900).

p.334

bowl off a very high pole, and floated about with
it for a time over the heads of an admiring crowd.
This proceeding brought a severe rebuke from the
Master, and was the occasion of a rule prohibiting
the use of sandal-wood bowls.(1) The Buddha also on
this occasion announced to Pindola that he was not to
"take Nirvana," but was to remain in existence
protect Buddha's system until the coming of
Maitreya.(2) We read also of Pindola working a
miracle with a hill in order to go to a breakfast
given by Sudatta's wife, and some make this to be the
occasion on which Buddha rebuked him and told him he
was to remain in existence to foster Buddhism until
the advent of Maitreya to bring in a new system.(3)
But Pindola sometimes wrought miracles for good
purposes, and his exhibition of magical powers at
Rajagriha led to the conversion of an unbelieving
lady.(4)

Pindola has been living ever since Buddha's time,
and he has appeared on several occasions to pious
workers for Buddhism. In India it was once the custom
for lay believers when giving an entertainment to the
Buddhist monks to " invite Pindola." The arhat could
not be seen, but the door was left open for him, and
it was known by the appearance of the flowers or the
condition of the mat reserved for him whether he had
been present.(5) When King Asoka summoned his great
assembly Pindola was living on the Gandhamali (or
Gandhamadana) mountain with a company of arhats
60,000 in number. Called to the assembly, he flew
swan-like to the place of meeting, and on account of
his undoubted seniority he was chosen president. He
was then a very old man with white hair and long
eyebrows, which he had to hold back with his hands in
order to see."(6)As he often has very long eyebrows in
his pictures and images, the Chinese have come

--------------------------
1 Vinaya Texts, iii, p. 79.
2 Ch'ing-Pin-t'ou-lu-ching (or-fa) (Bun., No. 1,348,
tr. 457).
3 Tsa-a-han-ching, ch. 23 (Bun., No. 544, tr. between
420 and 479).
4 Tsng-i-a-han-ching, ch. 20.
5 Ching-Pin-t'ou-ching.
6 Divyavadana, p. 402; Burnouf, Introd., p. 397;
Tsa-a-han-ching, l.c.

p.335

to know him popularly as the "Ch'ang-mei-seng" or
"Long-eyebrowed Monk." But Lohans with other names
also have this characteristic in the fancy portraits
which adorn temples and pictures.

In the seventh century Pindola came to China and
appeared to Tao-hsuan ( 笵 ), the great Vinaya
doctor and signified his approval of the work which
that zealous monk had been doing.(1)

We find the name Pindola explained in Chinese com
mentaries as meaning Pu-tung or Unmoved, but this
cannot have been intended for a translation of the
word. The Tibetans give "Alms-receiver" as the
equivalent, connecting the name with pinda, but it
may have been derived from the name of a place
transcribed Pin-t'ou in Chinese. This was a town or
village in the Kosala country in Buddha's time. In a
far-back existence Pindola had been a bad son and a
cruel man, and owing to his bad Karma he had to
suffer in hell for a very long period. Here his food
was "tiles and stones," and even when he was born to
be a pious arhat of wonderful powers, he retained a
tendency to live on "tiles and stones."(2) We cannot
wonder that he was thin and ribbed.

Some pictures and images represent Pindola
sitting and holding a book in one hand and his
alms-bowl in the other; others have him holding a
book reverently in both hands; and sometimes we find
him with an open book on one knee and a mendicant's
staff at his side.

2. Ka-no-ka-Fa-tso ( 瓄空瓄ワ廖 ), Kanaka the
Vatsa.

This arhat is appointed to Kashmir with a retinue
of 500 other arhats. He was originally a disciple of
Buddha, and it was said of him that he comprehended
all systems good and bad.(3) The Tibetans, in their
usual manner, have translated the name literally
"Gold calf."

------------------------
1 Ta-Sung-seng-shi-liao ( Ш宫菠 ), ch.2.
2 Ken-pen-shuo-i-ch'ie-yu Vinaya Yao-shi, ch. 16 (tr.
by I-ching about 710)
3 Fo-shuo-a-lo-han-chu-te-ching.

p.336

3. Ka-no-ka-Po-li-tou-she ( 瓄空瓄禰络磌霨 ),
Karaka the Bharadvaja.

This arhat's station is in the Purva-Videha
region and he has 600 arhats under his authority. He
is sometimes pictured as a very hairy old man, and
some paintings give him a small disciple at his side.

4. Su-p'in-t'e: ( 默繵 ), Subhinda.

His sphere of action is the Kuru country in the
north, and he has a retinue of 800 arhats.

This name does not occur in several of the lists,
but it is found in the temples in China, Korea, and
Japan. Instead of it we find occasionally Nandimitra,
and the new recension and the Tibetan give A-pi-ta
(ゲ笷), which may be for Abhida. The Tibetan
translation of the name is inseparable or
indissoluble, and this seems to point to an original
like Abhinda or Abhida.

This arhat appears as a venerable sage with a
scroll in his right hand, or as sitting in an
attitude of meditation. He is also represented as
sitting with an alms-bowl and an incense-vase beside
him, holding a sacred book in the left hand, while
with the right he "cracks his fingers." This gesture
is indicative of the rapidity with which he attained
spiritual insight.

5. No-ku-lo ( 空痻霉 ), Nakula.

The sphere of this arhat's action is Jambudripa,
that is, India, and his retinue is composed of 800
arhats.

This name is found in the Chinese, Korean, and
Japanese temples, but in some lists instead of it we
find Pa-ku-la ( ぺ┰ ) or p'u-ku-lo ( 痢╇霉 ),
that is, Vakula. This was the name of one of Buddha's
great disciples, often mentioned in the scriptures.
Vakula became an arhat, but he led a solitary,
self-contained life; he never had a disciple and he
never preached a word. He was remarkable for his
wonderful exemption from bodily ailments and for the
great length of life to which he attained. When

p.337

King Asoka visited his tope and showed his contempt
for Vakula by offering a penny, the arhat was equal
to the occasion and refused the coin.(l)

We must, however, go by Yuan-chuang's text and
read Nakula. This word means Mungoose, and we
remember the arhat called Kundo-vahan or
Mungoose-bearer already mentioned. We read also of a
Nakula's father, in Pali. Nakula-pita, who became a
devoted lay adherent of Buddha's teaching. Nakula was
a Vrijjian resident at Uruvilva, but we do not find
much about him in the scriptures. He may be the same
person with Nakulapita converted when he was 120
years old, but made young and happy by Buddha's
teaching.(2)

Nakuls is often represented, as in the Tibetan
picture, with a mungoose as his emblem, and sometimes
instead of that animal he has a three-legged frog
under his left arm. Sometimes he is represented as
meditating or as teaching with a little boy by his
side.

6. Po-t'e-lo ( 禰霉 ), Bhadra.

This arhat was appointed to T'an-mo-lo-Chow, that
is, Tamra-dvipa or Ceylon, and he was given a retinue
of 900 other arhats. We sometimes find him called
Tamra Bhadra, apparently from the name of his
station.

The Bhadra of the Buddhist scriptures was a
cousin of the Buddha and one of his great disciples.
He was a good preacher, and could expand in clear and
simple language the Master's teaching. Hence he is
often represented as expounding the contents of a
book which he holds in one hand. He took his
profession very seriously and aimed at spiritual
perfection.

Bhadra often appears in pictures and images
accompanied by a tiger which he soothes or restrains,
but he is also represented without the tiger and in
an attitude of worship.

-----------------------
1 Tseng-i-a-han-ching, chs. 3, 23.
2 Tsa-a-han-ching, ch. 5; A-lo-han-chu-te-ching.

p.338

7. Ka-li-ka ( 瓄瞶瓄 ), Kalika or Kala.

This arhat has 1,000 other arhats under him and
resides in Seng-ka-t'a ( 宫瓄 ). This has been
supposed to be Ceylon, but it is evidently the name
of some other region. The Chinese characters may
stand for Simhata, and something like this may have
been the name of the "Lion country " in the Vrijjian
territory already mentioned.(l)

This arhat is apparently the great disciple
called "Lion King Kala" ( 畍瓄霉 ), who attained
arhatship and was honoured by King Bimbisara.(2) He
is represented as studying a scroll or sitting in
meditation, or holding a leaf of a tree, or he has
extremely long eyebrows which he holds up from the
ground.

8. Fa-she-lo-fuh-to-lo ( ワ霨霉ケ霉 ),
Vajraputra.

He has 1,100 arhats and resides in the Po-la-na (
糙蘓 ) division of the world, that is, in
Parna-dvipa perhaps.

In some temples and lists of the Lohan the name
is given as Vajriputra. This may be the Vajjiput of
the village of the same name who became a disciple
and attained to arhatship.(3) He is represented as
very hairy, or as very lean and ribbed.

9. Shu-po-ka ( Ζ痴瓄 ), Supaka perhaps.

This arhat is stationed on the Gandhamadana
mountain and has an establishment of 900 arhats.

Instead of the character for Shu we find in some
places Kie ( з ), that is Ka, making the name
Kapaka, but this is evidently wrong. In the new
transcription we have Kuo-pa-ka, that is, Gopaka. The
Tibetans have the two Chinese transcriptions Kapaka
and Supaka, but their translation is Sbed-byed,
which requires the form Gopaka (or Gopa), meaning
protector. We do not know of any disciple

-------------------------
1 In the Sarvata Vinaya Yao-shih, ch. 8, we find
mention of the "Lion Town" which lay between
Sravasti and Rajagriha.
2 Sarvata Vinaya Yao-shih, ch. 17.
3 Tsa-a-han-ching, ch. 29.

p.339

of Buddha named Supaka, but we read of one named
Gopaka, a sthavira at Pataliputra.

The representations of this arhat often show him
with a small figure of a saint above his right
shoulder or close to his side, but he also appears
with a book or a fan in his hand.

10. Pan-t'o-ka ( 癠瓄 ), Panthaka or Pantha.

This arhat's sphere is the Trayastrimsat Heaven,
and he is attended by 1,300 arhats.

He is sometimes called simply Pantha or Panthaka,
and sometimes Ta (  ) or Maha-Panthaka, Great
Panthaka, to distinguish him from his young brother,
who is No. 16 of this list. The name is explained as
meaning way or road, or "born on the road," and a
legend relates how it was given to the two boys because
their births occurred by the roadside while their
mother was making journeys.(l) But we find the name
also explained as meaning "continuing the way," that is,
propagating Buddhism, and the Tibetan translation
gives "doctrine of the way" as its signification. But
this explanation belongs rather to the younger
brother, who also is frequently styled simply Pantha
or Panthaka. We occasionally find in books Pa (or
Sa)-na-ka for Pan- thaka, apparently a copylst's
error. Pantha is also found transcribed Pan-t'a ( 
), and for the second syllable we find t'u ( ㄟ ) or
t'e ( 疭 ).

Panthaka was distinguished as among the highest
of Buddha's disciples, who " by thought aimed at
excellence."(2) He was also expert in solving doubts
and difficulties in doctrine for weaker vessels, and
he had extraordinary magical powers.(3) He could pass
through solids and shoot through the air, and cause
fire and water to appear at pleasure. He could also
reduce his own dimensions little by little until
there was nothing left of him.(4) These

-------------------------
1 Fen-pie-kung-te-lun, ch. 5 (Bun., No. 1,290, tr.
perhaps about 200).
2 Abhidharma pa-kan-tu-lun, ch. 27 (Bun., No. 1,273,
tr. 383).
3 A-lo-han-chu-te-ching.
4 Tseng-i-a-han-ching, ch. 3.

p.340

magical powers were called into request by Buddha
when he made his expedition to subdue and convert the
fierce dragon-king Apalala.(1)

The various pictures and images represent
Panthaka as sitting under a tree or teaching from an
open book, or as holding a scroll, or as sitting in
profound meditation with his arms folded. He is also
frequently depieted in the act of charming a dragon
into his alms-bowl.

This Panthaka is not to be confounded with the
Upasaka of the same name who accompanied Mahinda in
his mission for the conversion of Ceylon. 11.
Lo-hu-lo ( 舘蘾霉 ), Rahula.

To Rahula was assigned the Priyangu-dvipa, a land
of aromatic herbs,(2) and he had a suite of 1,100
arhats.

Rahula, the son of Buddha, was distinguished as a
disciple for his diligent study of the canon and his
uncompromising thorough strictness in carrying out
the rules of his profession. He is often represented
in pictures and images as having the large
"umbrella-shaped" head, prominent eyes, and hooked
nose which some books ascribe to him. But in many
cases he is apparently represented without any
distinctive features or attribute. It is his lot to
die and return to this world as Buddha's son for
several times, and he is not to pass finally out of
existence for a very long time.

12. Na-ka-si-na ( 礡ê ), Nagasena.

This arhat was appointed to the Pan-tu-p'o or
Pandava Mountain in Magadha, with a retinue of 1,200
arhats.

Nagasena is, I think, the disciple called Seni (
吹ェ ) in the " Tseng-i-a-han-ching " and the
"Fen-pie-kung-te- lun." In the former this bhikshu is
selected for praise as an orthodox expounder of the
principles or essentials of Buddhism. The latter
treatise also calls him first in exposition. It adds
that he was a bhikshu thirty years before he attained
arhatship, because he made the laying

-------------------------
1 Fen-pie-kung-te-lun, l.c.
2 But the Chinese pilgrims were taught that priyangu
was the Indian name for the chestnut.

p.341

down of dogma the one chief thing postponing to
this release from sin, that he was skilled in
analysis and the logical development of principles,
and that he left a treatise embodying the results of
his studies.(l)

Now this Se-ni is, I think, the Nagasena who
composed the original work which was afterwards
amplified into the '" Questions of Milinda." In the "
Tsa-pao-tsang-ching " We have this Nagasena, called
also Se-na, a man of commanding presence, proud and
learned, subtle-minded and ready-witted, and he is
put through a severe ordeal by a king called Nan-t'e
or Nanda.(2) Then these Nanda and Nagasena are
evidently the Min-lin-t'e and Nagasena of one
translation of the '' Abhidharma-kosa-vyakhya-Sastra
'' and the Pi-lin-t'e and Lung-chun, Dragon-host of
the other translation.(3) They are also the Mi-lan
and Na-hsien of the " Na-hsien-pi-chiu-ching "(4) and
the Milinda and Nagasena of the " Questions of
Milinda." (5)

This Nagasena was, or was taken to be, a
contemporary of the Buddha and Sariputra, although he
is also supposed to be living long after Buddha's
time. He is called arhat by the author of the
introduction to the "Questions," but in the body of
the book he is not an arhat. In this treatise he
defends against his cross-examiner the unity and
consistency of Buddha's teachings, and explains and
expands hard doctrines with great learning and
richness of illustration. He became the head of the
Church in Milinda's country to watch over and
maintain Buddhist orthodoxy. His treatise must have
existed in various lands and in different forms from
a comparatively early period. The "
Abhidharma-kosa-sastra " and the "
Tsa-pao-tsang-ching " quote from a text which is
neither the "Na-hsien-pi-chiuching" nor the
"Questions," and these two last differ very much.

-------------------------
1 Tseng-i-a-han-ching, ch. 3; Fen-pie-kung-te-lun,
ch. 5.
2 Tsa-Pao-tsang-ching, Ch. 9 (Bun., No. 1,329, tr.
472).
3 Abhidharma-kosa-vyakhya-sastra, ch. 22 (Bun., No.
1,269, tr. 565); Abhidharma-kosa-sastra, ch. 30
(Bun., No. 1,267, tr. 652).
4 Na-hsien-pi-chiu-ching (Bun., No 1,358, tr. between
317 and 420).
5 " The Questions of King Milinda Milinda," translated
from the Pali by T. W. Rhys Davids.

p.342

13. Yin-kie-t'e ( 处 ), Angida.

This arhat's station is the mountain called
Kuaug-hsie or Broad-side, that is, Vipulaparsva, and
he has a retinue of 1,300 arhats. In one place I have
seen Mu ( ヘ ) instead of Yin, and the Tibetans have
Angija, but all other tran- scriptions are apparently
either Angida, or Angila.

One of Buddha's great disciples was named Angaja,
and he was noted for the cleanness and fragrance of
his body.(1) Another great disciple was Angila, who
was described as being perfect in all things.(2)
These two names may possibly indicate only one
person.

The Lohan called Angida is sometimes the fat,
jolly creature who is supposed to be Maitreya or his
incarnation. Other pictures or images make him a lean
old monk with a staff and a book containing Indian
writing. This latter is the old traditional
representation handed down from the period of the
T'ang dynasty.

14. Fa-na-p'o-ssu ( ワê盋吹 ), Vanavasa.

A Korean temple has Fa-lo-p'o-ssu, giving
Varavasa, but all the other transcriptions seem to
have Vanavasa.

This arhat, who has a retinue of 1,400 other
arhats, is stationed on the K'o-chu (  ) or
Habitable Mountain. He is sometimes represented
sitting in a cave meditating with eyes closed, or his
hands make a mudra, or he nurses his right knee.

15. A-shih-to ( ん ), Asita or Ajita.

These characters do not represent Yuan-chuang's
ordinary transcription either for Asita or Ajita, and
it is probable that here he adopted the transcription
of a predecessor. The new authorized reading gives
Ajita, and it is so in the Tibetan. But Ajita is
Maitreya, and that Bodhisattva, according to all
accounts, remains in Tushita Paradise until the time
comes for him to become incarnate on this earth.

-------------------------
1 Tseng-i-a-han-ching, ch. 3.
2 A-lo-han-chu-te-ching.

p.343

So he cannot properly be a guardian of
Sakyamuni's system, which must have passed away
before he can become Buddha.

This arhat, whom we may call Asita, resides on
the Gridhrakuta Mountain, and has 1,500 arhats in his
suite. It cannot be that he is the old seer Asita who
came from his distant home to see the newly-born
infant who was to become Buddha. The images and
pictures generally represent the arhat as an old man
with very long eyebrows, nursing his right knee or
absorbed in meditation.

16. Chu-ch'a,(t'a)-Pan-t'o-ka ( 猔癠瓄 ),
ChotaPanthaka.

The first part of the name is also given as
Chou-li ( ㏄ ) or Chu-li (  or Χ ). These
transcriptions stand for the Sanskrit Kshulla and
Pali Chulla (or Chula), and Chota is a dialectic form
still preserved in the vernacular. The words mean
little, small, and this Panthaka received the above
name in order to distinguish him from his elder
brother already noticed. He is also called Hsiao-lu
or Little Road, the elder brother being Ta-lu or
Great Road.

Chota-Panthaka has a household of 1,600 arhats,
and his station is the Ishadhara Mountain, a part of
the great range of Sumeru.

As a disciple Little Pantha was at first and for
a long time exceedingly dull and stupid, the result
of bad Karma. He could not make any progress in the
spiritual life, being unable to apply his mind or
commit to memory even one stanza of doctrine.(1) He
was accordingly slighted by the Brethren and their
lay patrons, but the Master always had pity and
patience. On one occasion the King invited Buddha and
the disciples to breakfast, but Little Pantha was
excluded. When Buddha discovered this he refused to
sit down to breakfast until the despised disciple was

-------------------------
1 Tseng-i-a-han-ching, ch 11; Fen-pie-kung-te-lun,
ch 5; Sarvata Vinaya Yao-Shih, ch. 17. Compare the
account of Chulla-Panthaka in Jataka (Chalmers),
p. 14, and see note at p. 20.

p.344

bidden to the feast.(1) And when Little Pantha
was expelled by his elder brother as being
incorrigibly dull and stupid, Buddha brought him back
and would not allow him to be expelled. He comforted
the sorrowing disciple and gave him the words
"Sweeping broom" to repeat and keep in mind. In the
effort to do so the intellectual faculties of the
poor dullard were stimulated, and he came to see that
the two words meant that all attachment to things of
this world was defilement and to be swept away by the
broom of Buddha's doctrine.(2) Having entered on the
good way he went on towards perfection, and became
noted as one of the first disciples in "mental aiming
at excellence"; he was chiefly occupied with the mind
and mental contemplation.(3) By his determined
perseverance he attained a thorough insight into
religious truths, and expounded these with such power
and eloquence that even giddy nuns, who came to laugh
and mock, remained to be impressed and edified.(4) In
process of time Little Pantha attained arhatship,
with the powers of flying through the air and of
assuming any form at pleasure. He had also other
miraculous powers, and on one occasion he produced
500 strange oxen and proceeded to ride one of
them.(5)

This arhat is sometimes pictured as an old man
sitting under and leaning against a dead tree, one
hand having a fan and the other held up in the
attitude of teaching. He is also represented as a
venerable sage sitting on a mat-covered seat and
holding a long staff surmounted by a hare's head.

17 and 18. There does not seem to be any
historical account of the first introduction of the
Lohan into the Halls of Buddhist temples, nor can it
be ascertained when the

---------------------
1 Fa-chu-pi-yu-ching, ch. 2 (Bun., No. 1,353, tr.
about 300); Ch'u-yao- ching, ch. 19 (Bun., No.
1,321, tr. 399).
2 Tseng-i-a-han-ching, l.c.
3 Abhidharma-pa-kan-tu-lun, ch. 27 (Bun., No. 1,273,
tr. 383); Abhidharma- fa-chih-lun, ch. 18 (Bun.,
No. 1,275, tr. about 660).
4 Fa-chu-pi-yu-ching, I.c.
5 Tseng-i-a-han-ching, chs. 3 and 22.

p.345

number of these guardians was raised from sixteen
to eighteen in Chinese temples. In some of these,
down to the present time, the number of the Lohan is
still sixteen, e.g. in the Pao-ning-ssu, near Mount
Omi, visited by Mr. Baber.(1) Some Chinese have
supposed that there were formerly eighteen gods
regarded as protectors of Buddhist temples, and that
the Lohan took their places. But we know nothing
about these gods, and the supposition need not be
taken into consideration. Another suggestion, and one
which seems not improbable, is that the Buddhists in
this matter imitated a certain Chinese institution.
When we read the history of the reigns of T'ang Kao
Tsu and T'ai Tsung, we find the record of an event
which may have given the idea of grouping the Lohan
in the Chief Hall of a temple and of raising their
number to eighteen. In the year 621 T'ai Tsung
instituted within the palace grounds a very select
college composed of eighteen members. These dons were
officials of high standing, of sound learning and
good literary attainments, and faithful adherents and
personal friends of the founder. Among them were such
famous men as Tu Ju-mei and his friend Fang
Hsuan-ling; Yu Chi-ming, learned scholar and loyal
statesman, who wrote the preface to Yuan-chuang's "
Hsiyu-chi "; Lu Te-ming, and K'ung Ying-ta. The
members took their turns in batches of three in
attending on duty, and while in the college they were
liable to be visited and interrogated by the emperor.
He had portraits of the members made for the college,
and each portrait was furnished with a statement of
the name, birthplace, and honours of the original.
The merits of each were described in ornate verse by
one of the number, Chu Liang. These favoured men were
called the Shih-pa-hsue-shih ( 厩 ) or Eighteen
Cabinet Ministers, and they were popularly said to
have teng-ying-chou ( 祅胹瑆 ), to have become
Immortals. It is this Hall of the Eighteen which I
think may have led to the installation of the
Eighteen

-------------------------
1 " Travels and Researches in Western China," p. 31.

p.346

Arhats in Buddha's Hall. The names of these
venerable ones are given, and sometimes their
stations and retinues are added. There are also
temples in which the Lohan are arranged in groups of
three.

But these Eighteen Lohan have never received
authoritative recognition, and they are not given
even in the modern accepted Buddhist treatises. We
find them, however, occasionally in modern Chinese
works of art. The South Kensington Museum has a pair
of bowls on which they are painted, and the British
Museum has them on an incense-vase. This vase is
remarkable for departing SO far from the established
doctrine of the Lohan as to represent three of the
eighteen as boys or very young men. The modern
Chinese artist, followed by the Japanese, apparently
takes the Lohan to be Immortals, and he shows them
crossing to the Happy Land of Nirvana or leading
lives of unending bliss among the pines of the misty
mountain-tops.

As to the persons who should be admitted as
guardian Lohans of Buddha and his religion, there has
been a great diversity of opinion, and consequently
different worthies have been added in different
places. In many old temples we find the 17th and 18th
places given respectively to Nandimitra and a second
Pindola. This Nandimitra, in Chinese Ch'ing-yu ( 紋ね
), is the arhat already mentioned as describing the
appointment and distribution of the Sixteen Arhats.
As one of the additional Lohans we sometimes find the
well-known Imperial patron of Buddhism, Liang Wu Ti
(A.D. 502 to 550), or Kumarajiva, the great
translator who flourished about A.D. 400.. In some
temples we find Maitreya or his supposed incarnation
the Pu-tai-ho shang, or Calico-bag (cushion) Monk.
This monk is said to have lived in the sixth century
A.D., but he was not honoured as a Lohan until modern
times. He is the special patron of tobacco-sellers,
and his jolly fat little image often adorns their
shop-fronts. Another interesting person sometimes
found among the Eighteen Lohan is the Indian Buddhist
Dharmatara (or Dharmatrata), in Chinese

p.347

Fa-Chiu ( 猭毕 ). This is perhaps the Dharmatara
who was a great master of Dhyana and learned author,
and lived about the middle of the first century of
our era probably. He is sometimes called a great
Upasaka, and is represented as receiving or
introducing the Sixteen (or Eighteen) Lohan. Writing
about Lhassa the learned Mr. Chandra Das has the
following: "In the Na-chu Lha Khang Chapel erected by
one of the Sakya Lamas named Wang Chhyug Tsondu, were
the most remarkable statue-like images of the Sixteen
Sthaviras called Natan Chudug, arranged to represent
the scene of their reception by Upashaka Dharma Tala,
one of the most celebrated and devout Buddhists of
ancient China."(1) In Tibet the Sixteen Arhats are
called Sthaviras, and "Natan Chudug" means Sixteen
Sthaviras. Then "Dharma Tala" is for Dharmatara, who
was Indian, not Chinese. He is also now one of the
Eighteen Lohan in Tibet as in China. Another
illustrious personage installed as one of these Lohan
in many temples is Kuanyin P'usa. He appears as such
in his capacity as Protector of Buddhism and
Buddhists.

----------------------
1 "Narrative of a Journey to Lhasa," p. 145.