Sixteen Arhats were selected by the Buddha to remain in this world after his passing and protect the teachings until the coming of the next Buddha. Guardians of the Dharma highlights the significant role these Sixteen Elders play in the literature, art, and religious practices of Tibet and the Himalayan region. The heart of the book is their stories, often compelling, sometimes humorous, adapted with permission from an out-of-print collection by Loden Sherap Dagyab. There are scholarly essays by Joie Szu-Chiao Chen and Ariana Maki on the history of the images of the Elders in Tibet and their iconographic representations, as well as two well-known Tibetan liturgies invoking the Elders, translated by Nathaniel Rich and Adam Pearcey. Stunning images of the Sixteen Arhats from a rare Bhutanese collection are reproduced in full-color, along with line drawings and other reproductions. Guardians of the Dharma is a valuable resource for scholars and practitioners alike.
Guardians of the Dharma: The Sixteen Arhats in Tibet, Hugh Joswick and Jack Petranker (Editors), Mangalam Press, Paperback, 268 Pages, $29.95
H. E. Lodan Dagyab, retired researcher at the Institute for Central Asian Studies, University of Bonn and founding director of Tibethaus, kindly granted permisson to adapt and reprint his tales of the Arhats from Tibetan Religious Art, Part 1: Texts (Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1977).
Joie Szu-Chiao Chen is a PhD candidate in Buddhist Studies at Harvard University. Her research looks at the confluence of various modes of learnedness in Tibetan Buddhism, in particular how the language and visual arts play into the formation of a learned Buddhist person. A regular host of webinars for 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, in the past she has also served as Reviews Editor at Buddhadharma: The Practitioner's Quarterly. She holds a BA in Film Studies and English from Yale University and an MPhil in Tibetan and Himalayan Studies from the University of Oxford.
Ariana Maki is an art historian specializing in Buddhist arts of the Himalaya. Her research and teaching focus on the development of Bhutanese and Tibetan art, and the intersections between image, literature, and practice. Dr. Maki has twice served as the Fulbright U.S. Scholar to Bhutan (2019-20, 2024-25) and previously served at Bhutan's National Museum in Paro and the National Library and Archives in Thimphu. Dr. Maki is the Associate Director of the Tibet Center and Bhutan Initiative at the University of Virginia, where she has also lectured in art history and religious studies.
Adam Pearcey is the founder-director of Lotsawa House, a virtual library of translations from Tibetan, which launched in 2004.
Nathaniel Rich studied Western philosophy and European history as an undergraduate before pursuing MA and PhD degrees in religious studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His research has focused on the intellectual and institutional history of Nyingma traditions in Tibet. Dr. Rich is currently a research editor for 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, and the executive director of the Dawn Mountain Buddhist Research Institute.
Foreword by Tarthang Tulku vii
Editors' Introduction ix
Acknowledgements and Permissions Xiv
The Sixteen Arhats in Tibet, Joie Szu-Chiao Chen 1
Tales of the Noble Arhats, Adapted from the Arhat Narratives of Loden Sherap Dagyab 37
Glossary of Names in Tales of the Noble Arhats 129
Condensed to the Essentials: An Abridged Rite of Offering and Supplication to the Lord of Sages, the Sixteen Elders, and Their Retinues Compiled and composed by Yeshe Gyaltsen Translated from the Tibetan by Nathaniel Rich 143
A Brief Practice of Paying Homage and Making Offerings to the Sixteen Elders by Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo Translated from the Tibetan by Adam Pearcey 179
Unusual Immortals: Less Common Iconography of Sixteen Arhat Thangkas Ariana Maki 211
Images of the Sixteen Arhats: the BDP Bhutanese Collection 245
Contributors 267
