James Baquet

    jamesbaquet@gmail.com

    OUR next two arhats are named Kanmen and Jingzuo.

    Kanmen is the Chinese name for his attribute of watching the door; his Sanskrit name is Cudapanthaka, which is transliterated into Chinese as Zhucha Bantuojia.

    The Sanskrit name means Little Panthaka or Panthaka the Younger; his older brother is Tanshou Luohan, the Raised Hand Arhat whom we met a few weeks ago.

    Kanmen is famed for his slowness of wit. So slow was he that the other disciples made fun of him, thinking he couldn’t learn. But the Buddha gave him a simple verse and task: “Sweeping floor.”

    By repeating this over and over, he learned to focus his mind, attained enlightenment, and actually became a great teacher.

    Why door-watching? For one thing, due to his great strength he once accidentally bashed in a door when simply knocking to beg for food.

    Sweeping the floor is an analogy for cleaning the senses. Combining these incidents, we get watching the door of the senses to keep things pure.

    He is often depicted with hands held in front of him, as if warding off an intruder.

    Jingzuo Arhat (Sanskrit Nakula, transliterated Nuojuluo) has a simpler story. He is the Silently-seated Arhat who simply sits in meditation, sometimes holding beads.

    A former warrior, he is said to have had great physical strength, which translates into the ability to remain seated and focused for long periods.