Arhat

Arhat

"worthy", "glorified"

In Buddhism, the highest level that a follower of the Buddha can reach. This is a person who has entered the path of liberation and has completely passed the four stages of transformation (arya-puggala):

1. "the one, who entered the stream"

2. "the one, who is returning once"

3. "the one, who is not returning"

4. "arhat"

Fully enlightened, liberated from the 3 poisons – thirst, anger, ignorance, will never be born again. Later, in Mahayana Buddhism, he begins to be considered not fully enlightened, and his nirvana is only temporary. He will awaken from it again to become a bodhisattva and then a Buddha.

The arhat achieves liberation from the 5 kleshas: passion, anger, ignorance, pride, and envy, thus getting out of the wheel of "rebirth", but still not having the omniscience of the Buddha. The role of the arhat is of particular importance in the teachings of the Theravada school of southern Buddhism. From the point of view of the Mahayana teachings, arhats are considered to have achieved liberation exclusively for themselves, unlike the Bodhisattva, therefore they are placed one level lower in rank. Arhats include the closest disciples of the Buddha, so according to the Theravada lists their number is 16, and according to the Mahayana lists – 18.