The Great Chronicle of Buddhas
by Ven. Mingun Sayadaw | 1990 | 1,044,401 words
This page describes Note on Upasaka (Lay-devotee) contained within the book called the Great Chronicle of Buddhas (maha-buddha-vamsa), a large compilation of stories revolving around the Buddhas and Buddhist disciples. This page is part of the series known as story of King Ajātasattu. This great chronicle of Buddhas was compiled by Ven. Mingun Sayadaw who had a thorough understanding of the thousands and thousands of Buddhist teachings (suttas).
Part 3 - Note on Upāsaka (Lay-devotee)
(Sutta Sīlakkhan the Commentary)
Some brief note on upāsaka may be mentioned as follows:
(1) Definition of an upāsaka
(2) Function of an upāsaka
(3) Morality of an upāsaka
(4) Livelihood an upāsaka
(5) Failure of an upāsaka
(6) Success of an upāsaka
These six aspects should be understood.
(a) Definition of An Upāsaka
An upāsaka is he who seeks refuge in the Three Jewels, irrespective of his birth, high or low. (Relevant examples contained the Saṃyutta Nikāya.)
(b) Function of An Upāsaka
His function is to follow the Three Jewels, namely, the Buddha, the Dhamma and Sangha. (Upāsatīti upāsako—— He follows the Three Jewels; therefore he is upāsaka. Upāsako——a devotee of the Triple Gem).
(c) Morality of An Upāsaka
His morality is the observance of the Five Moral Precepts. (Relevant examples contained in the Saṃyutta Nikāya.)
(d) Livelihood of An Upāsaka
His livelihood excludes the five kinds of wrong trades: (1) trade in arms, (2) trade in human beings, (3) trade in meat and fish, (4) trade in alcohol, and (5) trade in poison. Avoiding these five wrong trades, he earns his living righteously by tending cattle, buying and selling goods and farming.
(e) Failure of An Upāsaka
His failure lies in the destruction of his observance of the Five Precepts and right livelihood. (If his observance of the precept is impaired or if he earns his living by taking up one of the five wrong trades, his life as an upāsaka is ruined.) Moreover, there are five things that make his life rough, nasty and disgusting: (1) lack of faith, (2) lack of morality, (3) performance of and indulgence in worldly rites and rituals with regard to what has been seen, heard or experienced as conceived by the foolish and the ignorant, (4) disbelief in the Law of Kamma and belief in rituals, and (5) performance of good deeds in the Order of the Buddha only after seeking recipients in the sects of the heretics. (These five deeds lead an upāsaka to his failure.) (Examples in the Aṅguttara Nikāya.)
(f) Success of An Upāsaka
His success consists in the fulfilment of his morality and right livelihood. (He is an upāsaka as long as his morality and right livelihood remain intact.) Besides, if he maintains the following five practices, he is said to be successful as an upāsaka. The five practices are: (1) faith that makes one an upāsaka comparable to a jewel, an upāsaka comparable to a paduma lotus, and an upāsaka comparable to a puṇḍarika lotus; (2) unimpaired morality; (3) non-indulgence in earthly rituals; (4) belief in one’s own deeds good and bad; (5) performance of good deeds in the Order of the Buddha before seeking recipients in the systems of the heretics. These five lead to an upāsaka to his success. (Examples in the Aṅguttara Nikāya.)