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2. Kanaka Vatsa (or Kanaka the Vatsa), called in
Chinese Xiqing Luohan, or "The Festive Arhat."
Note: Kanaka is his name; he is usually called "the Vatsa" because of the other Kanaka, #3, called the Bharadvaja.
Kanaka Vatsa is portrayed with various expressions of joy, such as dancing, clanging cymbals, or just letting out a big ol' belly laugh. When seekers asked what happiness was, he would say it came from the five senses; but when asked about Bliss he said it came, not from the outside, but from the inside. Not being subject to changes on the outside, it could then be sustained indefinitely.
Incidentally, I have sometimes seen the figure of Kanaka Vatsa--with a wide-open laugh and arms raised--identified as Cudapanthaka (#16) perhaps because the whisk on his hand seems like a duster, and the raised hands appear to be a "warding off" gesture for protecting a door.
Kanaka Vatsa is portrayed with various expressions of joy, such as dancing, clanging cymbals, or just letting out a big ol' belly laugh. When seekers asked what happiness was, he would say it came from the five senses; but when asked about Bliss he said it came, not from the outside, but from the inside. Not being subject to changes on the outside, it could then be sustained indefinitely.
Incidentally, I have sometimes seen the figure of Kanaka Vatsa--with a wide-open laugh and arms raised--identified as Cudapanthaka (#16) perhaps because the whisk on his hand seems like a duster, and the raised hands appear to be a "warding off" gesture for protecting a door.