Ancient Indian Education (Brahmanical and Buddhist) c25.14

c25.14

**Regular and Special Teachers.** Besides the regular teachers, the Upādhyāyas and Āchāryas, arrangements were also made for the imparting of instruction by distinguished teachers who were acknowledged as authorities and specialists in their subjects. Thus Upāli was such a specialist in the Vinaya, the *Vinayadhara*: "and so many Bhikkhus, old and middle-aged and young, learnt the Vinaya from the Venerable Upāli" [*Chullav.*, vi, 13, 1]. Thus the Vinaya classes that Upāli taught were very popular and largely attended. Upāli delivered his discourses standing, out of respect for the senior monks. And the seniors heard him standing, out of respect for the subject of his discourse. The rule in such cases was for the teacher or lecturer to sit on a seat of equal height or higher, while his audience, if his seniors, might sit on seats of equal height or lower [ib.]. Listening to religious discourses as a means of instruction is also instanced in another passage which describes how Devadatta “instructed and incited and aroused and gladdened the Bhikkhus far into the night with religious discourse” and yet the Assembly was still alert and sleepless, whereupon he said to Sāriputta: “Will you, friend Sāriputta, be so good as to think of some religious discourse to address to the Bhikkhus? My back is tired and I would stretch myself a little.” Then Sāriputta discoursed on the marvels of preaching, followed by Moggallāna, who discoursed on the marvels of Iddhi [*Chullav.*, 4, 2–3]. One of the ideal Saṁghas whose seat was at the Eastern Bamboo Park made it a rule that every five days they should “spend a whole night, sitting together, in religious discourse” [*Mahāv.*, x, 4, 5].