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Arhat

[ahr-huh t]
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noun
  1. a Buddhist who has attained Nirvana through rigorous discipline and ascetic practices.Compare Bodhisattva.
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Also Ar·hant [ahr-huh nt] /ˈɑr hənt/.

Origin of Arhat

1865–70; < Sanskrit: meriting respect, derivative of arhati (he) merits
Related formsAr·hat·ship, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for arhat

Historical Examples

  • They answered in the affirmative, saying that he was an Arhat.

    Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms

    Fa-Hsien

  • "There is no god superior to the Arhat," says the Kalpa-sūtra (Stevenson, p. 10).

  • In many respects the virtues of the Bodhisattva are those of the Arhat.

  • The aim of the religious life is to become a Bodhisattva, not to become an Arhat.

  • But in the night hours spirits appear to us and tell us not to kill ourselves, for an Arhat will come from the East to deliver us.

British Dictionary definitions for arhat

arhat

noun
  1. a Buddhist, esp a monk who has achieved enlightenment and at death passes to nirvanaCompare Bodhisattva
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Word Origin

from Sanskrit: worthy of respect, from arhati he deserves
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012