(This article was published in the Shenzhen Daily on November 28, 2016.)
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| Wa'er Arhat at Huayan Temple, Datong, Shanxi Province |
Today's two Arhats are Guojiang, the "Arhat Who Crossed the River," and Wa'er, the "Ear-Cleaning Arhat."
Little is known of Guojiang, whose Sanskrit name is Bhadra (also sometimes Bodhidharma, like the famous Chan patriarch). But his attribute is a well-known symbol in many religions. The Bible shows people "crossing the Jordan River" to freedom from the Egyptians; Caesar "crossed the Rubicon," committing himself to a rebellion (and thus a new life); and the chicken crossed the road simply to get to the other side.
"Crossing over," then, is a goal in itself. Some religions put a bridge in the image; the Roman Catholic Pope is called the "Supreme Pontiff," meaning bridge-builder. In India's Jain religion, leaders are called "Tirthankara," meaning ford-maker. Interestingly, England's two major universities have a bridge and a ford in their names!
He may be seen holding a book, accompanied by a tiger, or, often, with the ringed staff typical of a wayfarer.
More is known of Wa'er, whose Sanskrit name, Nagasena, means "Dragon Army" (so he is also called Long Jun in Chinese). He was considered to be a great teacher, and some think he was the speaker in the famous Buddhist book The Questions of King Milinda, in which he answers a king's questions regarding the Buddha's teaching.
So why is he cleaning his ear in almost every representation? Well, naturally, the only way to become a great teacher was to be a very good listener when the Buddha spoke! The Buddha's disciples are called sravakas or hearers, and Wa-er was among the best.
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