Brief Story of The Householder Ugga

Those desirous of making offerings of pure Saṅghika-dāna type should emulate the example set by the householder Ugga. The story of the householder Ugga is found in the second discourse of the Gahapati Vagga, Aṭṭhakanipāta of Aṅguttara Nikāya Pāli Canon.

At one time when the Buddha was residing at Elephant Village in the country of Vajjī, He addressed the bhikkhus, saying: “Bhikkhus, you should regard the householder Ugga of Elephant Village as a person endowed with eight wonderful attributes.” Stating thus briefly, without giving any elaboration, He went inside the monastery.

Then a bhikkhu went in the morning to the house of the householder and said to him: “Householder, the Bhagavā has said that you are a person endowed with eight wonderful attributes. What are these eight wonderful attributes which the Bhagavā said you are endowed with?”

“Venerable Sir, I am not exactly sure what specific eight wonderful attributes the Buddha said I am endowed with, but, please listen with proper attention to an account of the eight wonderful attributes which I actually possess.” Then he gave the following full description of the eight wonderful attributes as follows:

(1) The first time I saw the Buddha was when I was drinking and enjoying myself in the forest of Ironwood flowers. As soon as I saw the Buddha coming in the distance, I became sober and devotional piety and faith in the virtues of the Buddha rose in me. This is the first wonder.

(2) At that very first meeting with the Buddha, I took refuge in the Buddha and listened to His discourse. As a result, I became a sotāpanna (a ‘Stream-winner’), and established in the observance of Brahmacariya-pañcama-sīla. This is the second wonder.

(Brahmacariya-pañcama-sīla is similar to the five precepts habitually observed by lay people except that, instead of the precept, ‘I abstain from sexual misconduct’, it has the precept, ‘I abstain from any form of sexual intercourse’. With the usual formula of the five precepts, and one abstains from sexual intercourse with anyone other than one’s own wife; but the Brahmacariya-pañcama-sīla requires total abstinence of sex, not even with one’s own wife.)

(3) I had four wives, as soon as I arrived back home, I said to them: ‘I have vowed to observe the precept of total abstinence. Whoever wishes to remain living in this house may do so enjoying my wealth as you like and doing meritorious deeds with it; whoever wants to go back to her parents home is also free to do so;and whoever wants to get married to another man may just tell me to whom I should give you.’ The eldest of my four wives expressed her wish to be married to a certain person whom she named. I sent for the man and holding my eldest wife with my left hand and a jug of water in my right hand, I gave away my wife to the man. In making this gift of my wife to the man, I remained completely unmoved, unaffected. This is the third wonder.

(4) I have resolved to use all my wealth jointly with people of good moral character. This is the fourth wonder.

(5) I always approach a bhikkhu with all due respect, never without reverence; if the bhikkhu gives me a talk on Dhamma, I listen to his discourse with respect only, never without reverence; if the bhikkhu does not give me a talk on Dhamma, I give him a discourse. This is the fifth wonder.

(6) Whenever I invite the Sangha to my house to make some offerings, devas would come ahead of them and inform me: ‘Householder, such and such bhikkhus are enlightened, noble persons (ariyas); such and such bhikkhus are ordinary persons of morality; such and such bhikkhus are devoid of morality.’ That the devas come and give me this prior information about the bhikkhus is nothing surprising to me; the wonder is that when I make offering of meals or material things to the Sangha such thoughts as ‘I will offer much to this individual because he is an enlightened noble person, of good morality; or I will offer little to this individual since he is of poor morality’ would never occur to me. As a matter of fact, without differentiation as to who is noble, who is moral or who is immoral, I make my offerings impartially to each and everyone. This is the sixth wonder.

(7) Venerable sir, devas come and tell me that the doctrine of the Buddha is well-taught, it has the merit of being well-taught. This news conveyed to me by the devas is nothing surprising to me. The wonder is that, on such occasions, I reply to the devas: ‘Devas, whether you tell me so or not, verily, the doctrine of the Buddha is welltaught.’ (He believes that the doctrine of the Buddha is well-taught, not because the devas tell him, but because he himself knows it to be so). Although I hold such communications with devas, I feel no pride in that the devas come to me and that I have conversations with them. This is the seventh wonder.

(8) There is nothing surprising too, if I should pass away before the Bhagavā did and He would foretell: ‘The householder Ugga has completely destroyed the lower Five Fetters which lead to rebirth in the lower sensuous realms; he is an anāgāmin. Even before the Buddha’s prediction, I have become an anāgāmin and I have already known this. This is the eighth wonder.

Of these eight wonders described by the householder Ugga. the sixth is concerned with making impartial offerings to the noble, the moral or the immoral alike. It is necessary to know how one can be impartially minded in such circumstances. The impartial attitude can be understood to be brought about in this manner, ‘As I have made the invitation with intention to give to the Sangha, the whole Order, when I make the offering to a noble one, I will not recognise him as such; I will not consider that I am making the offering to a noble one; I will keep in mind only that I am making my offering to the Sangha, the noble disciples of the Buddha as a whole. And when I make the offering to an immoral person, I will not recognise him as such; I will not consider that I am making the offering to an immoral person; I will keep in mind only that I am making an offering to the Sangha, the noble disciples of the Buddha, as a whole. In this manner, impartiality may be maintained.’

Emulating the example set by the householder Ugga. when making an offering one should ignore the status of the recipient, keep aside personal feelings towards him, and strive to keep firmly in mind only on the Order of Bhikkhus as a whole, so that his dāna may be of the noble saṅghika-dāna type. As taught explicitly by the Buddha in the Dakkhinā-Vibhaṅga Sutta mentioned above, when an offering is of saṅghika type, that is with the whole community of bhikkhus in mind when making it, it could bring innumerable, inestimable benefits to the donor, even if the recipient is an immoral person devoid of virtues.

An offering is of saṅghika-dāna type when it is made with full reverence to the Sangha; but it is not always easy to do so. Suppose a person decides to make a saṅghika type of offering, having made the necessary preparations, he goes to a monastery and addresses the bhikkhus: “Reverend Sirs, I wish to make a saṅghika type of offering; may you designate someone from amongst the Sangha as its representative’. Should the bhikkhus nominate a novice whose turn it is to represent the Sangha, the donor is likely to be displeased; should they choose an elderly thera of long standing to represent them, he is likely to be overwhelmed with intense delight, exulting: “I have an elderly thera of long standing as my donee.” Such generosity, affected by the personality of the donee, cannot be a perfect saṅghika type of offering.

Only if one can accept the representative nominated by turn by the Sangha without any misgiving and without concerning oneself about whether the recipient is a novice or a bhikkhu, a young bhikkhu or an elderly bhikkhu, an ignorant bhikkhu or a learned bhikkhu, and makes one’s offering, thinking only: “I make my offering to the Sangha.” with full reverence to the Sangha, one makes a truly saṅghika-dāna.