16 나한 (羅漢) 중의 한 분으로 우리나라에서는 독성 (獨聖) 또는 나반존자를 가리킴. 부처님께서 살아 계실 때, 신통력을 보이다가 부처님한테 꾸지람을 듣고 수미산의 서쪽 서구야니주에 머물면서 중생을 교화하다 부처님 제자들의 간청으로 다시 지상에 내려와 큰 복전 (福田)이 되어 중생을 구제함. 함부로 신통력을 부리면 안 된다는 교훈

One of the sixteen Arhats who is also called the solitary-awakened Arhat. At the time of Sakyamuni Buddha, he was reprimanded for performing supernatural acts, and had to remain in the western region of Mt. Sumeru to preach to sentient beings there. However, he was recalled to the mundane world by the entreaties of other disciples of the Buddha with one condition. It was to preach to the poor sentient beings forevermore, renouncing his attaining of Nirvana. It was a kind of warning not to practise supernatural powers without a good reason.