What is a
Good Buddhist Disciple?
The
Sakyan Mahānāma once asked the Blessed
Buddha:
Venerable Sir, What is a
Lay
Disciple?
By
having
taken refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma,
and Sangha, one is a
Lay
Disciple!
Venerable Sir, What is a
Pure
Disciple?
By avoiding all killing, all stealing, all sexual abuse,
all lying, all drinking and drugging,
which causes
neglect,
one becomes a
Pure Disciple!
Venerable Sir, What is a
Faithful Disciple?
By
placing
faith
in the perfect enlightenment
of the Tathāgata thus:
Worthy, honourable and perfectly
self-enlightened is the Buddha! ... teacher and
guide of
gods and humans, exalted, and awakened ...
one is a
Faithful
Disciple!
Venerable Sir, What is a
Generous Disciple?
Living mentally devoid of stinginess,
liberal, open-handed, delighting in donation,
devoted to charity, enjoying all giving and sharing, one is a
Generous
Disciple!
Venerable Sir, What is a
Disciple who Understands?
One who understands the cause of
arising and ceasing, which is
Noble, decisive,
and which enables eradication of Suffering
is a wise
Disciple who Understands!
More on the Buddhist Lay
Disciple (Upāsaka):
https://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/DPPN/wtb/u_v/upaasaka.htm
https://what-buddha-said.net/drops/V/The_Good_Disciple.htm
The
Buddha Gotama's first five disciples (Pañcavaggiyā)
Source
(edited extract):
The
Grouped Sayings of the Buddha. Samyutta
Nikāya. [V:395]
Section 55 on Stream-Entry:
Sotāpattisamyutta.
Thread 37: Mahānāma.
