Sixteen Arhats
Sixteen Arhats or Sthaviras (Tib. Néten Chudruk; Wyl. gnas brtan bcu drug; Skt. ṣoḍaśa sthavirāḥ). The Sthaviras or Elders were disciples of the Buddha who vowed at the time of the parinirvana to remain in the world and maintain the Dharma until the time of the future Buddha Maitreya. To visualize the Buddha Shakyamuni surrounded by the Sixteen Arhats and an assembly of bodhisattvas generates great merit and quickly develops insight into the teachings of the Buddha.
- Angaja (Wyl. yan lag ‘byung)
- Ajita (Wyl. ma pham pa)
- Vanavāsin (Wyl. nags gnas)
- Mahākālika (Wyl. dus ldan chen po)
- Vajrīputra (Wyl. rdo rje mo’i bu)
- Śrībhadra (Wyl. dpal bzang)
- Kanakavatsa (Wyl. gser gyi be’u)
- Kanaka (Wyl. gser can)
- Bakula (Wyl. bakkula)
- Rāhula, the Buddha's son (Wyl. sgra gcan 'dzin)
- Chulapanthaka (Wyl. lam phran)
- Piṇḍola Bhāradvāja (Tib. bha ra dva ja so nyom len)
- Panthaka (Wyl. lam pa)
- Nāgasena (Wyl. klu sde)
- Gopaka (Wyl. sbed byed)
- Abhedya (Wyl. mi phyed pa)
Further Reading
In Tibetan
- Mipham Rinpoche, 'phags pa'i gnas brtan chen po bcu drug gi lo rgyus mdor bsdus