chan-金沙1005

arhat is the status attained by a buddhist practitioner upon enlightenment. there are four stages to reach this goal: the first stage is to dispel wrong views. that is called sotapanna (the fruition of stream winning), i.e. the initial fruition. the second stage, sakadagani (the second fruition of non-return) are gradually reached by casting off erroneous thought have been completely wiped out and nibbana attained. such an arahat is worthy of receiving offerings from man and deity alike. so, one of the meanings of arahat is “deserving offerings”. it is the highest status attained by savakas. (from essentials of buddhism: questions and answers)