In English translations of Buddhist texts, householder denotes a variety of terms. Most broadly, it refers to any layperson, and most narrowly, to a wealthy and prestigious familial patriarch.In regards to the narrower definition of what today is often translated from the Pali Canon as "householder," see, for instance, the description of in Nattier (2003), pp. 22-25. For more information, see Note 3 below. In contemporary Buddhist communities, householder is often used synonymously with laity, or non-monastics.
The Buddhist notion of householder is often contrasted with that of wandering ascetics (: ; Sanskrit: ) 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.
Upāsakas and upāsikās, also called śrāvakas and śrāvikās - are householders and other laypersons who take refuge in the Three Jewels (the Buddha, the teachings and the community) and practice the Five Precepts. In southeast Asian communities, lay disciples also give alms to monks on their daily rounds and observe weekly uposatha days. In Buddhist thought, the cultivation of ethical conduct and dāna or "almsgiving" will themselves refine consciousness to such a level that rebirth in one of the lower heavens is likely even if there is no further "Noble" Buddhist practice (connected with the Supramundane goal of Nibbana, "Unbinding"). This level of attainment is viewed as a proper aim for laypersons.Stewart McFarlane in Peter Harvey, ed., Buddhism. Continuum, 2001, pages 195-196.
In some traditional Buddhist societies, such as in Myanmar and Thailand, people transition between householder and monk and back to householder with regularity and celebration as in the practice of shinbyu among the Bamar people.In Buckley (2007), a BBC News article describing Burma's monks, the subheading includes: "...even those who do not choose to become a 'career monk' usually enter the orders for short periods of their lives...." In addition, the article's initial source is a BBC Burmese service professional who mentions that during his adult life he himself entered monastic life three times, each time for a few weeks. One of the evolving features of Buddhism in the West is the increasing dissolution of the traditional distinction between monastics and laity.
Theravāda perspectives
In the Pāli Canon, householders received diverse advice and instructions from the Buddha and his noble disciples.
Core householder practices include undertaking the Five Precepts and taking refuge in the Triple Gem, leading an ethical livelihood and practicing generosity. In addition, the canon nurtures the essential spiritual bond between householders and monastics still apparent today in Southeast Asian communities.
Who is a householder? In traditional Indian society, a householder (Sanskrit gṛhastin) is typically a settled adult male with a family. In the Pali canon, various Pali words have been translated into the English word "householder", including agārika, gahapati, gahattha and gihin.The Pali Text Society's (PTS) "Pali-English Dictionary" provides the following definitions for these various householder-related Pali words (listed alphabetically below): agārika - "having a house..., householder, layman," juxtaposed with anagārika. Similarly, agārikā is translated as "housewife." (PTS, 1921-25, p. 3, entry for agārika.) gahapati - "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, suggesting comfort and wealth; may be used as a form of address comparable to "Sir." (PTS, 1921-25, p. 248, entry for gahapati.) See also Buddhadatta, 2002, p. 96, where "gaha-ttha" is defined as "a layman; householder" and "gaha-pati" is defined as "master of a house"; and, Nattier (2003), pp. 22-25, which provides contextual information to support its conclusion: "The word [Sanskrit for the Pali gahapati] is thus not an indicator of simple householder status but rather of significant social and financial standing, and it would have been applied only to a relatively limited segment of the lay Buddhist population." gahattha - "a householder, one who leads the life of a layman." (PTS, 1921-25, p. 247, entry for gaha with mention of use with the suffix -ttha.) gihin - "a householder, one who leads a domestic life, a layman." (PTS, 1921-25, p. 251, entry for gihin.)
In the Pali canon, these terms for "householder" can be combined with some other appellations. For instance, in the Sāleyyaka Sutta (MN 41), the Buddha is addressed by sāleyyakā brāhmana-gahapatikā which, for instance, is translated by Bhikkhu Bodhi (2005, p. 156) as "brahmin householders of Sālā."
Within the Pali canon, there is a "Householder section" (Gahapativagga) in the following nikayas: the Majjhima Nikaya (MN 51 to MN 60) (see Nanamoli & Bodhi, 2001, pp. 441-519). the Samyutta Nikaya (SN 12.41 to SN 12.50) (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). the Anguttara Nikaya (AN 8.3) (see, in the Sinhalese Tipitaka, http://www.metta.lk/tipitaka/2Sutta-Pitaka/4Anguttara-Nikaya/Anguttara5/8-atthakanipata/003-gahapativaggo-e.html). Vocations most often associated with householders in the Pali canon are those of guild foreman, banker and merchant (Pali, ) but other vocations are mentioned such as farmer and carpenter.See PTS (1921–25) entries for "Gahapati" (p. 248; retrieved 2008-02-16 at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.1:1:1150.pali) and "" (p. 722; retrieved 2008-02-16 at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.4:1:416.pali). Gombrich (2002, pp. 56–7) states: Who were these people in terms of class or profession? In the Canon, most of them evidently own land, but they usually have labourers to do the physical work. Sometimes they are also in business. In fact, they illustrate how it is in the first instance wealth derived from agriculture which provides business capital. The average gahapati who gave material support to the Buddha and his Sangha thus seems to have been something like a gentleman farmer, perhaps with a town house. On the other hand, inscriptions in the western Deccan, where Buddhism flourished in the early centuries CE, use the term gahapati to refer to urban merchants. We must distinguish between reference and meaning: the meaning of gahapati is simple and unvarying, but the reference shifts with the social context. Other people in the canon who are sometimes identified as "householders" in contemporary translations are simply those individuals who dwelt in a home or who had not renounced "home life" (Pali, agārasmā) for "homelessness" (Pali, anagāriya).
Householder ethics While there is no formal "householder discipline" in the vinaya or "code of ethics", the Sigalovāda Sutta (DN 31)DN 31 is translated in Narada (1996). has been referred to as "the Vinaya of the householder" (gihi-vinaya).This epithet is attributed to Buddhaghosa in Narada (1995) and is referenced in Bodhi (2005), p. 109; Hinüber (2000), p. 31; and Law (1932-33), p. 85, n. 1. This sutta includes: an enumeration of the Five Precepts an analysis of good-hearted (Pali: su-hada) friends a description of respectful actions for one's parents, teachers, spouse, friends, workers and religious guides.
Similarly, in the "Dhammika Sutta" (Sn 2.14),Ireland (1983). the Buddha articulates the "layman's rule of conduct" (Pali, gahatthavatta),PTS, p. 247, under the entry for "gaha (1)" as follows: the Five Precepts the Five Precepts for Uposatha days support of one's parents engaging in fair business.
The Mahānāma sūtra has been called the "locus classicus on the definition of upāsaka.""Indian Views of the Buddhist Laity: Precepts and Upāsaka Status" by Giulio Agostini. PhD dissertation. Berkeley: 2004 pg 6 This sutra is preserved in five versions (two in Pali, three in Chinese) representing two different recensions, one in the Samyuktāgama/Samyuttanikāya, the other in the Anguttaranikāya and in the Samyuktāgama and further developed in the Abhidharmaskandha, one of the canonical books of the Sarvastivadin Abhidharma. In this sutra the Buddha defines an upāsaka in terms of faith (śraddhā), morality (śīla), liberality (tyāga), and wisdom (prajñā), as follows:"Indian Views of the Buddhist Laity: Precepts and Upāsaka Status" by Giulio Agostini. PhD dissertation. Berkeley: 2004 pg 7 "One produces a deep thought of faith toward the Tathagata and is established in faith. He never lacks faith or is evil towards śramaṇas, brāhmaṇas, or deva, or māra, or brahmā. This is called the faith of an upāsaka." "Not to kill, not to steal, not to seduce, not to lie, and not to drink liquor, etc. This is called the morality of an upāsaka". "It is a rule (dharma) for an upāsaka that he should abandon stinginess. As for all living beings, without exception, stinginess, and envy are destroyed by him. Therefore, his mind should be devoid of stinginess and envy, and he should produce thoughts of liberality and personally donate, tirelessly. This is called 'possessed of liberality.'" "An upāsaka knows suffering according to reality, knows the collection of suffering according to reality, knows the extinction of suffering according to reality, and knows the path to the extinction of suffering according to reality. He understands with certainty. This is called 'possessed of wisdom.'"
Some early schools, particularly the Sautrāntika, allowed for aparipūrṇa-upāsaka (partial lay vow holders), who took anywhere from one to four of the śīla observances.
Other suttas in the canon likewise underline keeping the precepts, maintaining virtuous friends, homage to one's benefactors and earning one's wealth honestly.See, for instance, the Dighajanu Sutta.
Elsewhere in the Sutta Pitaka the Buddha provides moral instruction to householders and their family membersFor example, in DN 31, the Buddha addresses "Sigalaka the householder's son" (Bodhi, 2005, pp. 116-8). on how to be good parents, spouses and children.See, for instance, additional examples in Narada (1995) and in Bodhi (2005)'s chapter, "The Happiness Visible in this Present Life," pp. 107-142.
Buddha's advice to Buddhist laywomen is contained mostly in the Anguttara Nikaya 8:49; IV 269-71. His advice was as follows: Be capable at one's work Work with diligence and skill Manage domestic help skillfully (if relevant) and treat them fairly Perform household duties efficiently Be hospitable to one's husband's parents and friends Be faithful to one's husband; protect and invest family earnings Discharge responsibilities lovingly and conscientiously; accomplish faith (faith in the possibility of enlightenment, and of the enlightenment of the Buddha.) Accomplish moral discipline (observe/practise the five precepts.) Practise generosity (cultivate a mind free from stinginess or avarice; delight in charity, giving and sharing.) Cultivate wisdom (Perceive the impermanence of all things.).
The Buddha also gave advice on householders' financial matters. In the Anguttara Nikaya (4.61; II 65-68) it is said that the Buddha stated that there are four worthy ways in which to spend one's wealth: On the everyday maintenance of the happiness of oneself and one's family (as well as any employees, friends and co-workers); On providing insurance (against losses from fire, floods, unloved heirs and misfortune generally);