Upāsaka

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Translations of
Upāsaka
Pali : उपासक (upāsaka)
Sanskrit : उपासक (upāsaka)
Chinese : 優婆塞 (yōupósāi)
居士 (jushi)
English : lay follower
Thai : อุบาสก
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Upāsaka (masculine) or Upāsikā (feminine) are from the Sanskrit and Pāli words for "attendant".[1] This is the title of followers of Buddhism (or, historically, of Gautama Buddha) who are not monks, nuns or novices in a Buddhist order and who undertake certain vows.[2] While the terms have been simply translated as "lay follower," in modern times they have a connotation of dedicated piety better suggested by phrases such as "lay devotee" or "devout lay follower."[3]

Contents

[edit] Precepts

People of the Pali canon
Pali English

Community of Buddhist Disciples
Monastic Sangha

Bhikkhu, Bhikkuṇī
Sikkhamānā
Samaṇera, Samaṇerī

Monk, Nun
Nun trainee
Novice (m., f.)
Laity

Upāsaka, Upāsikā
Gahattha, Gahapati
Agārika, Agāriya

Lay devotee (m., f.)
Householder
Layperson

Related Religions

Samaṇa
Ājīvaka
Brāhmaṇa
Nigaṇṭha

Wanderer
Ascetic
Brahmin
Jain ascetic
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The five vows to be held by upāsakas are referred to as the "Five Precepts" (Pāli: pañcasīla):

  1. I will not take the life of a sentient being;
  2. I will not take what has not been given to me;
  3. I will refrain from sexual misconduct;
  4. I will refrain from false speech;
  5. I will refrain from becoming intoxicated.

In the Theravada tradition, on Uposatha days, devout lay practitioners may request the "Eight Precepts" from monastics (Pali: uposathaŋ samādiyati).[4]

[edit] Initiation ceremonies

[edit] Theravada traditions

In traditional Theravada communities, a non-Buddhist becomes a Buddhist lay disciple by repeating the ancient formulas for the Three Refuges and the Five Precepts in response to the formal administrations of a monk. Newborns of Buddhist parents are traditionally initiated by being brought on their first outing to a temple on a full-moon or festival day where they are presented to the Triple Gem.[5]

[edit] Mayahana/Vajrayana traditions

In both the Chinese Ch'an and Japanese Zen traditions, a ceremony of taking refuge in the Triple Gem as well as the receiving of the precepts (Jukai; Jap., lit.: "taking the precepts", e.g.) is a type of lay ordination.

[edit] Ceremonial dress

Traditionally, in India, upāsakas wore white robes, representing a level of renunciation between lay people and monastics. For this reason, some traditional texts make reference to "white-robed lay people" (avadāta-vassana).[6] This practice can still be found in contemporary Theravadin temples, especially during the occasion when a non-Buddhist converts to Buddhism or when one is observing the Eight Precepts on an uposatha day.[7]

In the Chinese tradition, both upāsakas and upāsikās are commonly seen wearing black robes, symbolic of refuge in the Triple Jewel. Brown kesas worn outside the black robes are also commonly seen, symbolic of the upholding of the precepts.

Some Japanese Zen laity can also be seen wearing a wagesa, a formal ribbon-shaped garment but also a more simplified type of kesa.

[edit] Famous lay followers

In the Vajrayana tradition, a well known Upasaka is Upasaka Dharmatala who serves as the attendant of the 16 arhats. He is seen to be an emanation of Avalokitesvara.

[edit] From the Buddhist scriptures

In the Pali Canon's Jivaka Sutta,[8] the Buddha is asked, "Lord, to what extent is one a lay follower (upāsako)?"[9] The Buddha replies that one takes refuge in the Triple Gem.[10] Asked how one is a "virtuous lay follower" (upāsako sīlavā), the Buddha replies that one undertakes the Five Precepts. Asked how one practices being a lay follower "both for his own benefit & the benefit of others," the Buddha states that one is consummate oneself in and encourages others in the consummation of: conviction (saddhā); virtue (sīla); generosity (cāga); visiting monks; and, hearing, remembering, analyzing, understanding and practicing the Dhamma.[11]

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Nattier (2003), p. 25, states that the etymology of upāsikā suggests "those who serve" and that the word is best understood as "'lay auxiliary' of the monastic community."
  2. ^ Nattier (2003), p. 25, notes: "...[T]he term upāsaka (fem. upāsikā) ... is now increasingly recognized to be not a generic term for supporters of the Buddhist community who happen not to be monks or nuns, but a very precise category designating those lay adherents who have taken on specific vows. ...[T]hese dedicated lay Buddhists did not constitute a free-standing community, but were rather adjunct members of particular monastic organizations."
  3. ^ Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), p. 150, entry for "Upāsaka," available at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.0:1:3992.pali; and, Encyclopædia Britannica (2007), entry for "upasaka," available at http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9074383/upasaka. Also, see Nattier (2003), p. 25, quoted at length above, for recent scholarship on the Pali term's historical usage.
  4. ^ Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), pp. 150-1, entry for "Uposatha," available at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.0:1:4011.pali; also see: Harvey (1990), p. 192; and Kariyawasam (1995), chapter 3, "Poya Days," available at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/kariyawasam/wheel402.html#ch3.
  5. ^ Kariyawasam (1995), chapter 1, "Initiation and Worship," available at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/kariyawasam/wheel402.html#ch1.
  6. ^ Nattier (2003), p. 25 n. 32. Relatedly, in the para-canonical Milindapanha (Miln. VI, 4), King Milinda refers to "a layman — clad in white, enjoying sense pleasures, dwelling as master in a house crowded with wife and children..." (Mendis, p. 112).
  7. ^ Regarding the wearing of white clothes on uposatha days, see, for instance, Kariyawasam (1995), chapter 3, "Poya Days," available at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/kariyawasam/wheel402.html#ch3.
  8. ^ In this article, regarding the Jivaka Sutta (AN 8.26), English translations are from Thanissaro (1997) while the Pali is from SLTP (undated), 8.1.3.6.
  9. ^ Thanissaro (1997). The Pali is: Kittāvatā nu kho bhante, upāsako hotīti (SLTP 8.1.3.1, undated).
  10. ^ The Pali is: Yato kho jīvaka, buddhaṃ saraṇaṃ gato hoti, dhammaṃ saraṇaṃ gato hoti, saṇghaṃ saraṇaṃ gato hoti, ettāvatā kho jīvaka, upāsako hotīti (SLTP 8.1.3.1, undated).
  11. ^ Thanissaro (1997). SLTP (undated).

[edit] Bibliography

  • Harvey, Peter (1990). An introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, history and practices. Cambridge: Cambridge University. ISBN 0-521-31333-3.
  • Nattier, Jan (2003). A Few Good Men: The Bodhisattva Path according to The Inquiry of Ugra (Ugraparpṛcchā). Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press. ISBN 0-8248-2607-8.

[edit] External links

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