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 deta
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.
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Photo credit: © Heritage Images / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 918-1392, art, cleveland, colour, goryeo, hanging, heritage, ink, korea, museum, painting, period, scroll, silk, slight, unknown
