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The Eighteen Lohans of Chinese Buddhist
Temples.
WATTERS, T.
The Journal of the
Royal Asiatic Society, 1898.04, pp.329--347
-oOo-
When you
enter the chief hall of a Buddhist temple in
When we examine the Buddhist literature preserved in the
libraries of the great monasteries in
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
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
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 in the Chih-shih-tzu country.
Nanjio took Sheng-chun to be Prasenajit and Chih-shih-tzu to be
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 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. (2)
1. Pin-tu-lo-Po-lo-to-she, 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-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. (3) 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 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. (4) 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. (5) 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. (6)
But Pindola sometimes wrought miracles for good purposes, and his exhibition of
magical powers at Rajagriha led to the conversion of an unbelieving lady. (7)
Pindola has been living ever since Buddha's time, and he
has appeared on several occasions to pious workers for Buddhism. In
In the seventh century Pindola came to
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." (11) 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, Kanaka the Vatsa.
This arhat is appointed to
3. Ka-no-ka-Po-li-tou-she, 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, 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
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, Nakula.
The sphere of this arhat's action is Jambudripa, that is,
This name is found in the Chinese, Korean, and Japanese
temples, but in some lists instead of it we find Pa-ku-la or p'u-ku-lo, 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 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. (l3)
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. (14)
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, Bhadra.
This arhat was appointed to T'an-mo-lo-Chow, that is,
Tamra-dvipa or
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.
7. Ka-li-ka, Kalika or Kala.
This arhat has 1,000 other arhats under him and resides in
Seng-ka-t'a. This has been supposed to be
This arhat is apparently the great disciple called
"Lion King Kala", who attained arhatship and was honoured by King
Bimbisara. (16) 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, Vajraputra.
He has 1,100 arhats and resides in the Po-la-na 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. (17) He is represented as very hairy, or
as very lean and ribbed.
9. Shu-po-ka, 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, 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 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, 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. (l8) 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 or t'e.
Panthaka was distinguished as among the highest of Buddha's
disciples, who " by thought aimed at
excellence." (19) He was also expert in solving doubts and difficulties in
doctrine for weaker vessels, and he had extraordinary magical powers. (20) 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. (21) These magical powers were called into
request by Buddha when he made his expedition to subdue and convert the fierce
dragon-king Apalala. (22)
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
11. Lo-hu-lo, Rahula.
To Rahula was assigned the Priyangu-dvipa, a land of
aromatic herbs, (23) 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, Nagasena.
This arhat was appointed to the Pan-tu-p'o or
Nagasena is, I think, the disciple called Seni 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
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. (24)
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. (25) 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. (26) They are also the Mi-lan and Na-hsien of the " Na-hsien-pi-chiu-ching " (27) and the Milinda
and Nagasena of the " Questions of Milinda." (28)
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.
13. Yin-kie-t'e, 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 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. (29) Another great
disciple was Angila, who was described as being perfect in all things. (30)
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, 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
15. A-shih-to, 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.
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
16. Chu-ch'a, (t'a) -Pan-t'o-ka, Chota-Panthaka.
The first part of the name is also given as Chou-li or
Chu-li. 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
Chota-Panthaka has a household of 1,600 arhats, and his
station is the
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 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
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 or Eighteen Cabinet Ministers, and they
were popularly said to have teng-ying-chou, to have become Immortals. It is
this Hall of the Eighteen which I think may have led to the installation of the
Eighteen 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
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, 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 Fa-Chiu. 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." (38) In
NOTES:
(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 "
(2) 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, ch. 2.
(3) 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).
(4) Vinaya Texts, iii, p. 79.
(5) Ch'ing-Pin-t'ou-lu-ching (or-fa) (Bun.,
No. 1,348, tr. 457).
(6) Tsa-a-han-ching, ch. 23 (Bun.,
No. 544, tr. between 420 and 479).
(7) Tsng-i-a-han-ching, ch. 20.
(8) Ching-Pin-t'ou-ching.
(9) Divyavadana, p. 402; Burnouf, Introd.,
p. 397; Tsa-a-han-ching, l.c.
(10) Ta-Sung-seng-shi-liao, ch.2.
(11) Ken-pen-shuo-i-ch'ie-yu Vinaya Yao-shi, ch. 16 (tr. by
I-ching about 710)
(12) Fo-shuo-a-lo-han-chu-te-ching.
(13) Tseng-i-a-han-ching, chs. 3, 23.
(14) Tsa-a-han-ching, ch. 5; A-lo-han-chu-te-ching.
(15) In the Sarvata Vinaya Yao-shih, ch. 8, we find mention
of the "
(16) Sarvata Vinaya Yao-shih, ch. 17.
(17) Tsa-a-han-ching, ch. 29.
(18) Fen-pie-kung-te-lun, ch. 5 (Bun.,
No. 1,290, tr. perhaps about 200).
(19) Abhidharma pa-kan-tu-lun, ch. 27 (Bun.,
No. 1,273, tr. 383).
(20) A-lo-han-chu-te-ching.
(21) Tseng-i-a-han-ching, ch. 3.
(22) Fen-pie-kung-te-lun, l.c.
(23) But the Chinese pilgrims were taught that priyangu was
the Indian name for the chestnut.
(24) Tseng-i-a-han-ching, ch. 3; Fen-pie-kung-te-lun, ch.
5.
(25)
(26) Abhidharma-kosa-vyakhya-sastra, ch. 22 (Bun., No. 1,269, tr. 565) ; Abhidharma-kosa-sastra, ch. 30
(Bun., No. 1,267, tr. 652).
(27) Na-hsien-pi-chiu-ching (Bun.,
No 1,358, tr. between 317 and 420).
(28) " The Questions of King Milinda Milinda,"
translated from the Pali by T. W. Rhys Davids.
(29) Tseng-i-a-han-ching, ch. 3.
(30) A-lo-han-chu-te-ching.
(31) 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.
(32) Fa-chu-pi-yu-ching, ch. 2 (Bun.,
No. 1,353, tr. about 300) ; Ch'u-
(33) Tseng-i-a-han-ching, l.c.
(34) 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).
(35) Fa-chu-pi-yu-ching, I.c.
(36) Tseng-i-a-han-ching, chs. 3 and 22.
(37) " Travels and Researches in
(38) "Narrative of a Journey to