Arhats And Bodhisattvas

Question 1

what is an Arhat?

Answer 1

(Theravada) someone who has reached enlightenment through the eightfold path and achieved nirvana

Question 2

what are the 4 stages to become an Arhat?

Answer 2

• stream enterer
• once returner
• non-returner
• worthy one (arhat)

Question 3

what is pari nirvana?

Answer 3

when someone who has reached enlightenment dies they reach pari nirvana §

Question 4

what is nirvana?

Answer 4

the state after reaching enlightenment after escaping samsara and dukkha no longer feeling physical pain

Question 5

what happens at the stream enterer stage?

Answer 5

abandon all doubt in the buddha and will be reborn 7 more times

Question 6

what happens at once returner stage?

Answer 6

diminishes hate, greed and delusion and will be reborn once more as a human

Question 7

what happens at non-returner stage?

Answer 7

one abandons craving and will be reborn in the heavenly realm

Question 8

what happens at worthy one stage?

Answer 8

arhat- one will not be reborn having become free of all the fetters

Question 9

what is a bodhisattva?

Answer 9

(Mahayana) someone who has reached enlightenment but chooses to be reborn to help others reach it too

Question 10

what do Mayhanayas need to do in order to achieve Bodhichitta?

Answer 10

follow the path of Ten Bhumis which each have a corresponding paramita

Question 11

what is an example of a bhumi and its paramita?

Answer 11

1st bhumi is joy and the paramita is generosity
6th bhumi is enlightenment and the 6th paramita wisdom
10th bhumi is when knowledge is complete and can achieve nibbana

Question 12

what is example of a bodhisattva in lotus sutra?

Answer 12

the parable of the burning house, where the father is helping the children out of the burning house (samsara)

Question 13

who is an example of a bodhisattva?

Answer 13

the Dalai Lama, the buddha Amida, Avalokiteshvara

Question 14

what are celestial buddhas?

Answer 14

bodhisattvas who have there own mythical story such as the buddha Amida

Question 15

what do Theravada believe bodhisattvas are?

Answer 15

when they use the word they mean the buddha in one of his past lives, such as when he fed himself to a tiger

Question 16

who is an example of an arhat?

Answer 16

Nagasina

Question 17

what does the buddhas first sermon mention about arhats?

Answer 17

it details the first arhats to be ordained

Question 18

who is the bodhisattva vow attributed to?

Answer 18

Avalokiteshvara in the lotus sutra who upon enlightenment saw suffering of all living beings and was moved by compassion, vowing to delay nirvana until all beings attained it with him

Question 19

what is bodichitta?

Answer 19

means selflessness, and involves abandoning ones sense of self and ego, and realising interconnectedness

Question 20

are the concepts of bodhisattva and arhats essential features of buddhism?

Answer 20

YES: reaching enlightenment is aim of buddhism, and only escape from dukkha, which follows teachings of the buddha. buddha also made enlightenment his goal and mediated until he saw the truth.
NO: most buddhists are lays, who don’t have enlightenment as their aim but instead focus on dana and punya

Question 21

how are arhats the most legitimate interpretation of buddhism?

Answer 21

Arhats follow the teachings of the buddha, he told his followers he would not be reborn after enlightenment, and ordained others to help them reach enlightenment. bodhisattvas are based on lotus sutra which probably wasn’t written by the buddha, and the Pali cannon doesn’t mention bodhisattvas

Question 22

how are bodhisattvas the most legitimate interpretation of buddhism?

Answer 22

following the teaching of the buddha, he was moved by compassion when he saw sick man and vowed to end all suffering. follows example of lotus sutra.
the buddhas analogy of poison arrow shows it doesn’t matter if concept is legitimate, only if it helps prevent dukkha