The Three Pagoda Temple in Dali,
China,
has 2 large pavilions, housing 500 life-sized gilded
statues of the Five Hundred
Arahats,
akin to the
Lingyin
Temple (fig.).
They are
believed to be either the 500 disciples that were
present when the Buddha expounded the Flower Sutra on
Vultures Peak...
Five Hundred Arahats
Five Hundred Arahats
...
or the 500
rich merchants (fig.), who became beggars after meeting the
Buddha and
accepting his teachings.