Early Monastic Buddhism v2.c38.s5.1

v2.c38.s5.1

The Gahapatis mentioned above were more or less devout listeners to the moral or religious discourses delivered by the monks. They offered food, clothing and other necessaries of life to the monks. Occasionally at the end of a discourse, they signified their appreciation by saying that they would take Trisarana and become upāsakas till the end of their lives. A number of Brāhmaṇas, Gahapatis, Gāmaṇis, Paribbājakas, nobles and princes¹ are found to say that they would become upāsakas, but there is nothing to show that they actually followed the moral code and performed the duties prescribed for the Upāsakas. These may be taken as lay-supporters of the Buddhist Saṅgha. The fact that there was a large number of such supporters is evidenced by the remark in the Mahāparinibbānasutta that Buddha should choose for his parinibbāna one of the towns like Campā, Rājagaha, Sāvatthi, Sāketa, Kosambī, and Vārāṇasī where are many Khattiya, Brāhmaṇa and Gahapati mahāsālas to worship his relics.