---
title: "The Ritual of Arhat Invitation during the Song Dynasty: Why did Mahāyānists Venerate the Arhat?"
authors: ["Ryan Bongseok Joo"]
year: 2007
journal: jiabs
volume: 30
number: 1
pages: "81--116"
external_url: "https://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/jiabs/article/view/8987/2880/8781"
status: featured
base_value: 0.6
formats: [pdf]
drive_links: ["https://drive.google.com/file/d/16N2yLAZ8g5BVjqo82zmUNfz4lSMjTFi2/view?usp=drivesdk"]
course: east-asian-roots
tags:
  - song
  - chinese
---

> … it appears contradictory that Chinese who follow the teachings of Mahāyāna Buddhism have worshipped arhats. [...] who was the arhat for Chinese Buddhists?

A translation of a number of primary sources which, taken together, paint a surprisingly complete picture of the arhat "invitation" ritual of ~11th c. China, including what these events looked like, where they were performed, how they were imagined, who conducted them and what benefits the sponsors hoped to gain from them.