Upali, Upāli: 14 definitions
Introduction:
Upali means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, Marathi, biology. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.
In Buddhism
Theravada (major branch of Buddhism)
1. Upali Thera - One of the most eminent of the Buddhas immediate disciples. He belonged to a barbers family in Kapilavatthu and entered the service of the Sakiyan princes. When Anuruddha and his cousins left the world and sought ordination from the Buddha at Anupiya Grove, Upali accompanied them. They gave him all their valuable ornaments, but, on further consideration, he refused to accept them and wished to become a monk with them. The reason given for his refusal is that he knew the Sakyans were hot headed, and feared that the kinsmen of the princes might suspect him of having murdered the young men for the sake of their belongings.
At the request of the Sakiyan youths, the Buddha ordained Upali before them all, so that their pride might be humbled. (Vin.ii.182; DhA.i.116f; see also Bu.i.61; but see BuA.44; the Tibetan sources give a slightly different version, see Rockhill, op. cit., pp. 55-6; according to the Mahavastu iii.179, Upali was the Buddhas barber, too).
Upalis upajjhaya was Kappitaka (Vin.iv.308). When Upali went to the Buddha for an exercise for meditation, he asked that he might be allowed to dwell in the forest. But the Buddha would not agree, for if Upali went into the forest he would learn only meditation, while, if he remained amongst men, he would have knowledge both of meditation and of the word of the Dhamma. Upali accepted the Buddhas advice and, practising insight, in due course won arahantship. The Buddha himself taught Upali the whole of the Vinaya Pitaka (ThagA.i.360f, 370; AA.i.172).
In the assembly of the Sangha, the Buddha declared him to be the most proficient of those who were learned in the Vinaya (vinayadharanam) (A.i.24; see also Vin.iv.142, where the Buddha is mentioned as speaking Upalis praises). He is often spoken of as having reached the pinnacle of the Vinaya, or as being its chief repository (Vinaye agganikkhitto), (E.g., Dpv.iv.3, 5; v.7, 9) and three particular cases - those of Ajjuka (Vin.iii.66f), the Bharukacchaka monk (Vin.iii.39) and Kumara Kassapa (AA.i.158; MA.i.336; J.i.148; DhA.iii.145) - are frequently mentioned in this connection as instances where Upalis decisions on Vinaya rules earned the special commendation of the Buddha. In the Rajagaha Council, Upali took a leading part, deciding all the questions relative to the Vinaya, in the same way as Ananda decided questions regarding the Dhamma (Vin.ii.286f; DA.i.11f; Mhv.iii.30).
In accordance with this tradition, ascribing to Upali especial authority regarding the rules of the Order, various instances are given of Upali questioning the Buddha about the Vinaya regulations. Thus we find him consulting the Buddha as to the legality or otherwise of a complete congregation performing, in the absence of an accused monk, an act at which his presence is required (Vin.i.325f). Again,
Theravāda is a major branch of Buddhism having the the Pali canon (tipitaka) as their canonical literature, which includes the vinaya-pitaka (monastic rules), the sutta-pitaka (Buddhist sermons) and the abhidhamma-pitaka (philosophy and psychology).
Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism)
Upāli (उपालि) is the name of a Śrāvaka mentioned as attending the teachings in the 6th century Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa: one of the largest Kriyā Tantras devoted to Mañjuśrī (the Bodhisattva of wisdom) representing an encyclopedia of knowledge primarily concerned with ritualistic elements in Buddhism. The teachings in this text originate from Mañjuśrī and were taught to and by Buddha Śākyamuni in the presence of a large audience (including Upāli).
Tibetan Buddhism includes schools such as Nyingma, Kadampa, Kagyu and Gelug. Their primary canon of literature is divided in two broad categories: The Kangyur, which consists of Buddha’s words, and the Tengyur, which includes commentaries from various sources. Esotericism and tantra techniques (vajrayāna) are collected indepently.
Biology (plants and animals)
1) Upali in India is the name of a plant defined with Avicennia officinalis in various botanical sources. This page contains potential references in Ayurveda, modern medicine, and other folk traditions or local practices It has the synonym Avicennia germinans (L.) L. (among others).
2) Upali is also identified with Taxillus tomentosus It has the synonym Loranthus tomentosus Heyne ex Roth (etc.).
Example references for further research on medicinal uses or toxicity (see latin names for full list):
· Flora de Filipinas, ed. 2 (1845)
· Novae Plantarum Species praesertim Indiae Orientalis (1821)
· Bulletin de la Société Botanique de France (1895)
· Species Plantarum, ed. 3 (1764)
· Kew Bulletin (1958)
· Nova Genera et Species Plantarum seu Prodromus (1847)
If you are looking for specific details regarding Upali, for example pregnancy safety, side effects, chemical composition, health benefits, diet and recipes, extract dosage, have a look at these references.
This sections includes definitions from the five kingdoms of living things: Animals, Plants, Fungi, Protists and Monera. It will include both the official binomial nomenclature (scientific names usually in Latin) as well as regional spellings and variants.
Languages of India and abroad
Marathi-English dictionary
upaḷī (उपळी).—f (upaḷa) A rill or streamlet trickling down hills, or oozing from the ground (in rainy weather).
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upāḷī (उपाळी).—f unc Jeering, deriding, ridiculing.
upaḷī (उपळी).—f A rill trickling downhill (in rainy weather).
Marathi is an Indo-European language having over 70 million native speakers people in (predominantly) Maharashtra India. Marathi, like many other Indo-Aryan languages, evolved from early forms of Prakrit, which itself is a subset of Sanskrit, one of the most ancient languages of the world.
Sanskrit dictionary
Upalī (उपली).—4 Ā. To lie close to, cling to; Mahābhārata (Bombay) 8.
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Upāli (उपालि).—Name of one of the Buddha's most eminent pupils; he was formerly a barber.
Derivable forms: upāliḥ (उपालिः).
Upāli (उपालि).—or °lin (= Pali id.), name of one of Buddha's leading disciples, a barber by caste and profession; story of his ordination, Mahāvastu iii.179.6 ff. Forms implying stem Upāli in Mahāvyutpatti 1062 °liḥ, nom.; Avadāna-śataka ii.112.5 °lir, 112.9; 113.7 °leḥ, gen.; 113.7 °liṃ, acc.; 113.2 °li-kalpako (ms.; Speyer em. °liḥ k°); Śikṣāsamuccaya 148.16 °lir; 164.9 ff. °le, voc.; stem Upālin, Divyāvadāna 21.21; 197.18 °lī, nom.; 197.21, 24 °lin, voc.; Upāli Sūtra, Hoernle [Manuscript Remains of Buddhist literature found in Eastern Turkestan] 29 passim °lī, nom.; non-Sanskrit form, Divyāvadāna 21.24 °li, voc.; in Mahāvastu the forms are mixed, as often in [Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit]: nom. °lir, °liḥ, °lis, iii.179.6; 180.10; 197.1; °li 179.10 (v.l. °lī), 11, 14, 18 (twice); 180.18 (v.l. °lī); 181.10, 16 (v.l. °lim, before vowel), 19; acc. °liṃ i.75.1; °li iii.180.12 (? or stem in composition?); 181.18 (mss.; Senart em. °liṃ); voc. °li iii.180.5, 13; gen. °lino i.178.2; °lisya iii.179.10, 17; 180.2, 4, 7, 16; 181.11, 13, 15; 182.1, 4, 6, 7. See next items. Written Udālin in Mūla-Sarvāstivāda-Vinaya i.248.11, 14; ii.91.10 (here Tibetan cited ñe bar ḥkhor = Upāli); 108.8; 113.14, etc.
1) Upalī (उपली):—[=upa-√lī] [Ātmanepada] -līyate, to lie close to, cling to, [Mahābhārata viii.]
2) Upāli (उपालि):—m. Name of one of Buddha’s most eminent pupils (mentioned as the first propounder of the Buddhist law and as having been formerly a barber).
Upāli (उपालि):—m. Nomen proprium eines Mannes, des Anordners des [VINAYA,] [Vyutpatti oder Mahāvyutpatti 33.] [Burnouf 45. 446.] [Lebensbeschreibung Śākyamuni’s 266 (36).]
Upāli (उपालि):—1. m. Nomen proprium eines Schülers Buddha's.
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Upāli (उपालि):—2. Adv. in Gegenwart der Freundin [Śiśupālavadha 10,26.]
Upalī (उपली) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Uvalli.
Upāli (in Sanskrit) can be associated with the following Chinese terms:
1) 優婆利 [yōu pó lì]: “Upāli” [Sanskrit personal name].
2) 優婆離 [yōu pó lí]: “Upāli” [Sanskrit personal name].
3) 優波利 [yōu bō lì]: “Upāli” [Sanskrit personal name].
4) 優波離 [yōu bō lí]: “Upāli” [Sanskrit personal name].
5) 戒渡離 [jiè dù lí]: “Upāli” [Sanskrit personal name].
6) 持律第一 [chí lǜ dì yī]: “Upāli” [Sanskrit personal name]; Alternatively: “most eminent in terms of observance of the precepts”.
7) 波離 [bō lí]: “Upāli” [Sanskrit personal name].
8) 近執 [jìn zhí]: “Upāli” [Sanskrit personal name].
9) 鄔波離 [wū bō lí]: “Udālin”; “Upāli” [Sanskrit personal name].
Sanskrit, also spelled संस्कृतम् (saṃskṛtam), is an ancient language of India commonly seen as the grandmother of the Indo-European language family (even English!). Closely allied with Prakrit and Pali, Sanskrit is more exhaustive in both grammar and terms and has the most extensive collection of literature in the world, greatly surpassing its sister-languages Greek and Latin.
Pali-English dictionary
upāli (ဥပါလိ) [(pu) (ပု)]—
[upa+ā+lī+i．apa,ṭṭha,1．312]
[ဥပ+အာ+လီ+ဣ။ အပ၊ဋ္ဌ၊၁။၃၁၂]
[Pali to Burmese]
upāli—
(Burmese text): ဥပါလိမည်သူ။မူရင်းကြည့်ပါ။
(Auto-Translation): Please take a look at the original.
Pali is the language of the Tipiṭaka, which is the sacred canon of Theravāda Buddhism and contains much of the Buddha’s speech. Closeley related to Sanskrit, both languages are used interchangeably between religions.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Partial matches (+0): Upa, I, A, Li.
Starts with (+14): Upali Gatha, Upali Pancaka, Upali Puccha Bhanavara, Upali Sutta, Upali Vagga, Upalidaraka, Upaliga, Upaligahapati, Upaligangapalanam-jatakam, Upalih, Upalijetthaka, Upalika, Upalikappaka, Upalikh, Upalikhya, Upalikkhanti, Upalikkhati, Upalimpana, Upalimpanti, Upalimpapetva.
Full-text (+100): Upali Gatha, Upali Sutta, You po li, Upalikappaka, Upaligahapati, Upalipanha, Upalivatthu, Upalipamukha, Upalijetthaka, Upalithera, Upaliyana, Upalidaraka, You bo li, Upalih, Boli, Upali Pancaka, You po li jing, Upali Puccha Bhanavara, Upali Vagga, Upaligangapalanam-jatakam.
Relevant text
Search found 71 books and stories containing Upali, Upa-a-li-i, Upa-ā-lī-i, Upa-li, Upa-lī, Upāli, Upaḷī, Upalī, Upāḷī, Upālī; (plurals include: Upalis, is, lis, līs, Upālis, Upaḷīs, Upalīs, Upāḷīs, Upālīs). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
On the Patriarchal Lineages of Vinaya Transmission Starting with Upāli < [Volume 14, Issue 4 (2023)]
Religious Cooperation between Thailand and Sri Lanka in the 19th Century < [Volume 15, Issue 7 (2024)]
From Aniruddha to Upāli—Examining the Compilation of the Sutra of... < [Volume 15, Issue 7 (2024)]
Taisho: Chinese Buddhist Canon
Chapter 163: The Story of Upali, Part 2 < [Part 190 - The Abhinishkramana-sutra]
Chapter 161: The Buddha's Revelation < [Part 190 - The Abhinishkramana-sutra]
Sutta 2: The Eight Precepts of the Sages < [Part 125 - Ekottara-Agama (Numbered Discourses)]
Dipavamsa (study) (by Sibani Barman)
Formal Education System in Ancient India (by Sushmita Nath)
Oral Method of Teaching < [Chapter 6 - Methods of Teaching and the Teacher–Student relationship]
Tours or Travelling (as a method of teaching) < [Chapter 6 - Methods of Teaching and the Teacher–Student relationship]
Maha Buddhavamsa—The Great Chronicle of Buddhas (by Ven. Mingun Sayadaw)
Chapter 19a - Ordination of One Thousand Sakyan Princes by the Buddha < [Volume 3]
Biography (35): Upāli Mahāthera < [Chapter 43 - Forty-one Arahat-Mahatheras and their Respective Etadagga titles]
Venerable Ānanda and the First Council < [Chapter 43 - Forty-one Arahat-Mahatheras and their Respective Etadagga titles]
Shurangama Sutra (with commentary) (English) (by Hsuan Hua)
Upali: the body consciousness < [Chapter 2 - Twenty-five Means to Enlightenment]
Lust and Killing < [Chapter 1 - The Three Gradual Stages]
Manjushri examines the six consciousnesses < [Chapter 3 - Manjushri Selects the Organ of Entry]