佛陀千千萬萬的弟子，光是比丘得大羅漢果的就有千二百五十人；此中，又有十大弟子、十八羅漢的代表稱謂。佛陀紀念館列大迦葉尊者等十大弟子，加之降龍、伏虎等五羅漢，以及大愛道等三位比丘尼，共成十八羅漢石雕像。
此十八尊平均約三米高的羅漢造像，由星雲大師發起造像，採用泉州青斗石鑿刻，多位信徒發心供奉，二○一一年完成。從此安座於佛館之菩提廣場兩側，護佑大眾。

In Buddhism, the word arhat refers to a person who has no afflictions. The Eighteen Arhats are depicted in Mahayana Buddhism as the original followers of the Buddha who have followed the Noble Eightfold Path and attained enlightenment.
The arhats included in the past contains only men, yet the eighteen arhats at the Bodhi Wisdom Concourse include also three women who were arhats: Mahaprajapati Bhiksuni, Utpalavarna Bhiksuni, and Bhadra Kapilani Bhiksuni. This revolutionary stroke of forward thinking not only highlights the Buddhist teaching of equality among all living beings, it also demonstrates the contemporary status of equality between genders.

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