Householder

Category: Sangha

From Buddhist Encyclopedia

Householder refers to a particular strata of society whose individuals are typified by having a home life and family. In contemporary Buddhist communities, householder is often used synonymously with "laity."

The Buddhist notion of householder is often contrasted with that of ascetics (Pāḷi: samana) and monastics (bhikkhu and bhikkhuni), who would not live (for extended periods) in a normal house and who would pursue freedom from attachments to houses and families.

In some traditional Buddhist societies, such as in Thailand, people transition between householder and monk and back to householder with regularity and celebration. One of the evolving features of Buddhism in the West is the increasing dissolution of the traditional distinction between monastics and laity.

Theravada perspectives

In traditional Indian society, a householder (Sanskrit, grihastha) is typically a settled adult male with a family.

In terms of the Pali canon, a variety of Pali words and phrases have been translated into the English-language "householder," including the Pali words gahattha and gahapti. The Pali Text Society's Pali-English Dictionary defines gahattha as "a householder, one who leads the life of a layman" while gahapati is defined as "the possessor of a house, the head of the household, pater familias," often with a social status similar to high-ranking personages (Pali, khattiyā) and brahmins.

In addition, by today's standards, there are a number of other people mentioned in the Pali canon who modern readers might consider to be a "householder." These are people, for instance, who ply a variety of trades or who identify with sensual pleasures or who might simply dwell in a home or who have not renounced "home life" (Pali, agārasmā) for "homelessness" (Pali, anagāriya).

In the Pali canon, householders received diverse advice from the Buddha and his disciples. Some householders were even identified as having acheived nibbana. Core practices include undertaking the Five Precepts and taking refuge in the Triple Gem.

Householder Vinaya

While there is no formal "householder discipline" in the Vinaya, Buddhaghosa has referred to the Sigalovada Sutta as "the Vinaya of the householder."

Elsewhere in the Sutta Pitaka the Buddha provides moral instruction to householders and their family members on how to be good parents, spouses and children.<ref>See, for instance, additional examples in Narada (1995) and in Bodhi (2005)'s chapter, "The Happiness Visible in this Present Life,"

Householders and Nibbana

The Anguttara Nikaya identifies 19 householders (gahapati) who have "seen deathlessness" (Pali, amata) and "realized the highest" (Pali, niṭṭhamgata) through their "unwavering faith" (Pali, aveccappasādena) in six things :

• The Buddha
• the Dharma
• the Sangha
• noble discipline (Pali, ariyena sīlena)
• noble knowledge (Pali, ariyena ñānena)
• noble release (Pali, ariyāya vimuttiyā)

Canonical householder sections

Within the Pali canon, there is a "Householder section" (Gahapativagga) in the following nikayas:

• the Majjhima Nikaya (MN 51 to MN 60)<ref>See Nanamoli & Bodhi (2001), pp. 441-519.</ref>
• the Samyutta Nikaya (SN 12.41 to SN 12.50)<ref>See Bodhi (2000), pp. 578-86, and, in the Sinhalese Tipitaka, http://www.metta.lk/tipitaka/2Sutta-Pitaka/3Samyutta-Nikaya/Samyutta2/12-Abhisamaya-Samyutta/05-Gahapativaggo-e.html.</ref>
• the Anguttara Nikaya (AN 8.3).<ref>See, in the Sinhalese Tipitaka, http://www.metta.lk/tipitaka/2Sutta-Pitaka/4Anguttara-Nikaya/Anguttara5/8-atthakanipata/003-gahapativaggo-e.html.</ref>

Prominent householders in the Pali canon

The following are examples of individuals who are explicitly identified as a "householder" (Pali, gahapati) in multiple suttas:

• Anathapindika, is referenced for instance in AN 1.14.249 as "the householder Sudatta, the foremost lay devotee."<ref>In an on-line English-language Sinhalese Tipitaka, see http://www.metta.lk/tipitaka/2Sutta-Pitaka/4Anguttara-Nikaya/Anguttara1/1-ekanipata/014-Etadaggapali-e.html. Also see, Nyanaponika & Hecker (2003), pp. 337-62.</ref>
• Citta, referenced for instance in AN 1.14.250 as "the [foremost] householder for explaining the Teaching."<ref>In an on-line English-language Sinhalese Tipitaka, see http://www.metta.lk/tipitaka/2Sutta-Pitaka/4Anguttara-Nikaya/Anguttara1/1-ekanipata/014-Etadaggapali-e.html. Also see, Nyanaponika & Hecker (2003), pp. 365-72.</ref>
• Nakulapita and Nakulamata, referenced for instance in AN 1.14.257 and AN 1.14.266, respectively, as "the best confident" and the foremost "for undivided pleasantness."<ref>Also see AN 4.55 in Bodhi (2005), pp. 121-2, 433 n. 3. Note that, technically, Nakulapita is identified as the "householder" and, his spouse, Nakulamata as the "householder's wife."</ref>

Other individuals who are not explicitly identified in the suttas as "householder" but who, by contemporary standards, might be considered a householder include:

• Ghatikara was a potter in the time of Kassapa Buddha. He was an Anagami and the chief supporter of Kassapa Buddha MN 81.

Mahayana perspectives

In the Zen tradition, Vimalakīrti and Páng Yùn were prominent householders who achieved enlightenment.

Dogen recommended that householders meditate five minutes each day.

Contemporary Buddhist householder practices

• Practicing the Five Precepts
• Taking refuge in the Triple Gem
• prostrations to Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha
• chanting
• observing the Uposatha days
• undertaking a pilgrimage
• practicing meditation
• visiting and supporting Buddhist monks
• visiting and supporting Buddhist monasteries
• studying Buddhist scriptures

See also

• householder vows
• Upasaka

References

• Bodhi, Bhikkhu (trans.) (2000). The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Samyutta Nikaya. Boston: Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0-86171-331-1.
• Bodhi,Bhikkhu (ed.) (2005), In the Buddha's Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0-86171-491-1.
• Ireland,John D. (trans.) (1983). Sn 2.14, Dhammika Sutta: Dhammika (excerpt). Available on-line at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/snp.2.14.irel.html.
• Law, Bimala Churn (1932-33), "Nirvana and Buddhist Laymen" in the Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Vol. 14, 1932-1933, pp. 80-86. Available on-line at: http://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-ENG/lawn.htm.
• Ñāṇamoli, Bhikkhu (trans.) & Bhikkhu Bodhi (ed.) (2001). The Middle-Length Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Majjhima Nikāya. Boston: Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0-86171-072-X.
• Narada Thera (1995). Everyman's Ethics: Four Discourses of the Buddha. Available on-line at: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/narada/wheel014.html.
• Narada Thera (trans.) (1996). DN 31, Sigalovada Sutta: The Discourse to Sigala, The Layperson's Code of Discipline. Available on-line at: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.31.0.nara.html.
• Nyanaponika Thera & Hellmuth Hecker, Bhikkhu Bodhi (ed.) (2003). Great Disciples of the Buddha: Their Lives, their Works, their Legacy. Somerville, MA:Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0-86171-381-8.
• Pali Text Society (PTS) (1921-1925). The Pali Text Society's Pali-English dictionary. London: Chipstead. Available on-line at: http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/pali/.
• Wallace,Alan (2002). "The Spectrum of Buddhist Practice in the West" in Charles Prebish & Martin Baumann (eds.), Westward Dharma: Buddhism Beyond Asia. Berkeley:University of California Press. ISBN 0-52022-625-9. Also available on-line at: http://www.alanwallace.org/The%20Spectrum%20of%20Buddhist%20Practice.pdf.