2-723-113 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Arhat, 1235. Arhats are Buddhist disciples who attain not only enlightenment, but supernatural power. These semidivine beings are believed to have a special role to guard and to advocate the Buddhist law. Here we see an arhat, indicated by the halo around his head, luring a dragon into an alms bowl. While the dragon symbolizes the power of rulers in court-sponsored art, in the Buddhist context, this mythical creature is perceived as a ferocious being to be tamed. The arhat’s assertive, yet extremely calm facial expression indicates this enlightened being’s complete emotional detachment. This was likely part of set of a 500 hanging scrolls, but now it is one of only about 10 known works that have survived.