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'''Upāsaka''' (masculine) or '''Upāsikā''' (feminine) are from the [[Sanskrit]] and Pāli words for "attendant".<ref>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."</ref> This is the title of followers of [[Buddhism]] (or, historically, of [[Gautama Buddha]]) who are not [[Bhikkhu|monk]]s, [[bhiksuni|nun]]s, or [[Samanera|novice]] monastics in a Buddhist order, and who undertake certain vows.<ref>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."</ref> In modern times they have a connotation of dedicated piety that is best suggested by terms such as "[[Laity|lay]] devotee" or "devout lay follower."<ref>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.</ref>
'''Upāsaka''' (masculine) (fem. ''upāsikā'') are from the [[Sanskrit]] and Pāli words for "attendant" or "he who serves" and the word is best understood as "lay auxiliary" of a [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] monastic community who are not monks, nuns, or novice monastics, and who undertake certain vows.<ref>Jan Nattier, ''A Few Good Men: The Bodhisattva Path according to The Inquiry of Ugra (Ugraparpṛcchā)'' (Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2003), 25</ref>


== Notes ==
== Notes ==

Revision as of 16:51, 11 May 2012

Upāsaka (masculine) (fem. upāsikā) are from the Sanskrit and Pāli words for "attendant" or "he who serves" and the word is best understood as "lay auxiliary" of a Buddhist monastic community who are not monks, nuns, or novice monastics, and who undertake certain vows.[1]

Notes

  1. ↑ Jan Nattier, A Few Good Men: The Bodhisattva Path according to The Inquiry of Ugra (Ugraparpṛcchā) (Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2003), 25


Further reading

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