man seated with crossed knee, hands on knee, looking at waterfall on R; wearing green kimono with blue and white accents; halo around his head; deer in foreground looking up at man

Binzuru (Piṇḍola Bhāradvāja), the First of the Sixteen Arhats, 13th - early 14th century

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Buddhist “achievers” (rakan in Japanese, arhat in Sanskrit) strive for “awakening”—enlightenment—and the attaining of nirvana, or salvation. In Hinayana Buddhism, the rakan served as the “perfected one” who gained salvation through his own efforts and overcame the endless cycle of birth and rebirth but was unable to attain the full enlightenment of a bodhisattva. The rakan Kiba (scroll at right) is holding a fly whisk designed to chase away insects without harming them, following the Buddhist law against taking life. Binzuru (left) is shown with a deer, both of them gazing at a waterfall.

Details
Title
Binzuru (Piṇḍola Bhāradvāja), the First of the Sixteen Arhats
Role
Artist
Accession Number
2013.29.22
Curator Approved

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man seated with crossed knee, hands on knee, looking at waterfall on R; wearing green kimono with blue and white accents; halo around his head; deer in foreground looking up at man