In Buddhism, the term (Skt.) “arhat” (Pali “arahant”) refers to a person who has achieved realization or enlightenment, having attained a state of nirvana. It is the model for spiritual development in Theravada Buddhism, one of three branches of contemporary Buddhism, also known as the southern transmission, because the tradition went southward from India to Sri Lanka, then to Thailand, Burma, Laos, and Cambodia. In the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions, the model of the arhat is replaced by the model of the bodhisattva.

The arhat is a fully realized being and upon death they do not return to the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth, the samsaric wheel of life. One attains this state through much dedication and effort, probably across many lifetimes. The earliest Buddhist scriptures, the Tipitaka, recount stories of how many of the monks who studied with the Buddha attained arhatship during their lifetimes.

There are four stages over which the already advanced practitioner reaches the final stage of release from the wheel of life. The “stream-enterer” is the first stage, the “once-returner” is the second, the “never returner” the third, and the arhat the fourth stage. In the experience of stream entering, the person is sufficiently well along in the path to actually taste the direct experience of (Skt.) nirvana or (Pali) nibbana. But the experience is fleeting because the mind-stream is not completely purified of the obscurations of attachment. As the mind is purified, the person achieves the degree of stability in the enlightened state of mind that they are only needing one more lifetime to complete the process, and in the non-returning stage, if one is reborn at all, it is into one of the higher realms, and for the arhat, the achievement occurs in this lifetime.

For many lay Buddhists in the Theravada tradition, it is recognized that to achieve enlightenment one needs to be able to devote much time to meditation. As a lay person, a “householder,” one cannot realistically hope to achieve that goal. What one can strive for is to gain sufficient merit over the course of this lifetime to have a better reincarnation next time and perhaps then to be able to release attachment to worldly things and focus on spiritual progression. By treating other sentient beings with “loving-kindness” (Pali “metta”) and above all by supporting the ordained sangha of monks and nuns through offering, one can gain much merit.

The basic means of achieving enlightenment is through the practice of meditation. In contemporary Theravada Buddhism, this involves the practice of vipassana (Pali) or insight meditation. This style of meditation is particular to Buddhism and is found in all three branches, Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana. In the latter two traditions, it is known as shamata, or calm abiding meditation. Vipassana is described in the Mahasatipatthana Sutta, part of the Tipitaka, or “three baskets” of Buddhist scriptures in the Pali language (Thera 1962).

See Also

Bodhisattva

Buddhism

Enlightenment

Meditation