Topic summary
Arahant
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Arhat.
In early Buddhist schools
The Mahīśāsaka and the Theravada regarded arhats and buddhas as being similar to one another. The 5th century Theravadin commentator Buddhaghosa regarded arhats as having completed the path to enlightenment. According to Bhikkhu Bodhi, the Pāli Canon portrays the Buddha declaring himself to be an arahant. Bhikkhu Bodhi states that nirvāṇa is "the ultimate goal", and one who has attained nirvana has attained arhatship; He writes, "The defining mark of an arahant is the attainment of nirvāṇa in this present life."