#arhats

I was happy to learn that the Monkey Pilgrim (Hou xingzhe, 猴行者), Sun Wukong's antecedent, appears among a large set of late-12th-century ritual scrolls portraying the famed 500 Arhats. [1] He is depicted as a monkey-headed, black robe-wearing figure with the lower half of his body obscured by clouds, making him hard to see unless you zoom in on the image. He holds what appears to be the head of a staff in his left hand (fig. 1). Our hero is located just behind Tripitaka, who is riding a white horse led by a spirit-soldier(?) or perhaps Sha Wujing’s antecedent (fig. 2). The full scroll shows this scene happening above the heads of four arhats (fig. 3), indicating that the Tang Monk is considered to be one of these Buddhist sages.

I actually found the simian immortal by accident while researching an article about Tripitaka’s Buddha title. Dr. Meir Shahar tells me that this depiction of Monkey doesn’t appear to have been mentioned in previous JTTW scholarship (personal communication, June 3, 2023). [2] Therefore, I’m so very happy that I can share this discovery with my readers!

For more ancient depictions of Sun Wukong, please see my past article:

Fig. 1 – A detail of the Monkey Pilgrim (larger version). From Lin Tinggui and Zhou Jichang, Images of the 500 Arhats (Wubai Luohan tu, 五百羅漢圖, 1178-1188 CE). Hanging scroll, ink and color on silk. Image from Nara kuniritsu hakubutsukan, Tōkyō bunkazai kenkyūjo, 2014, p. 86. Courtesy of Dr. Liu Shufen, a research fellow at the Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica.

Fig. 2 – A detail of Xuanzang on his his horse (larger version).

Fig. 3 – The full scroll (larger version).

Notes:

1) To learn more about these paintings, see Zhou (2021).

2) Dr. Benjamin Brose tells me that the painting appears in a Japanese source, but the Monkey Pilgrim is only listed as an “ape-like figure” (personal communication, June 3, 2023). See Nara kuniritsu hakubutsukan, Tōkyō bunkazai kenkyūjo henshū, 2014, p. 86.

Sources:

Nara kuniritsu hakubutsukan, Tōkyō bunkazai kenkyūjo henshū [Nara University Tōkyō Research Institute for Cultural Properties (Ed.)]. (2014). Daitokuji denrai gohyaku rakan zu [Daitoku Temple’s Tradition of the 500 Arhats Paintings]. Kyōto: Shitau bungaku.

I recently read this book, which I would like to share my impressions of. Or at least my impressions of the first essay, entitled “The Politics of Alms gathering: Asceticism, Exchange, and the Alimentary Ethics of Ancient Buddhist and Jain Mendicants”. It is a fairly short book consisting of just two essays, so it is the type of thing which is easy to read and review. The first essay was quite…

“Son of Light, to shun the company of the foolish, to pay homage to the learned, to worship what is worship-worthy, these are blessed things. Son of Light, mark them well.

Son of Light, to dwell among good men: to hold within the consciousness of good deeds done in a former state of existence, to guard well the actions;—Son of Light, these are blessed things. Mark them well.

Son of Light, to hear and see much in order to acquire knowledge, to study all science that does not lead to sin, to use right language, to study right manners, these are blessed things. Son of Light, mark them well.

Son of Light, to treat parents with tenderness and love, to guard wife and children, to do no evil when tempted, these are blessed things. Son of Light, mark them well.

Son of Light, to make offerings and give nobly, to follow the precepts of law and virtue, to assist relations and friends: these are blessed things, Son of Light, mark them well.

Son of Light, to avoid sin steadfastly, to abstain from strong drink, to lay up great treasure of good deeds: these are blessed things. Son of Light: mark them well.

Son of Light, to reverence those who are worthy of veneration, to walk in humility, to dwell in content and gratitude, to hear the teaching of the Law; these are blessed things. Son of Light, mark them well.

Son of Light, to be patient and endure suffering, to rejoice in good words, to visit saintly persons when possible, to talk on high matters; these are blessed things. Son of Light, mark them well.

Son of Light, to practise holy austerities, to walk steadfast in the Truth with eyes fixed on the attainment of the Peace: these are blessed things. Son of Light, mark them well.

Son of Light, to be unmoved, to be of serene mind, exempt from passion, composed and fearless amid all earthly dangers: these are blessed things. Son of Light, mark them well.

O Son of Light, whoever possesses these blessings shall never be overcome; shall in all things fins joy. Son of Light, mark them well, thus attaining the peace of the Arhats, the Perfected Saints.”

— L. Adams Back, The Life of the Buddha

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S’ils sont peu connus du grand public, dans la tradition bouddhiste, ils sont l’incarnation même de l’éveil : ce sont les arhats. L’arhat est l’idéal spirituel du canon pâli, correspondant au stade le plus élevé dans la progression religieuse. Mais qui sont vraiment ces sages silencieux, qui ont parcouru des chemins de méditation extrêmes, jusqu’à la paix absolue. Leur quête, leur solitude,…