In the Caṇḍālasutta (AN 5.175), the Buddha mentions five unfavorable qualities of "a stain of a lay follower" and five favorable qualities of "a lotus of a lay follower". Those who possess the former were described as an 'outcaste' while those who possess the latter are a 'jewel'.
“Endowed with these five qualities, a lay follower is an outcaste of a lay follower, a stain of a lay follower, a dregs of a lay follower. Which five? He/she does not have conviction [in the Buddha’s Awakening]; is unvirtuous; is eager for protective charms & ceremonies; trusts protective charms & ceremonies, not kamma; and searches for recipients of his/her offerings outside [of the Sangha], and gives offerings there first. Endowed with these five qualities, a lay follower is an outcaste of a lay follower, a stain of a lay follower, a dregs of a lay follower.
“Endowed with these five qualities, a lay follower is a jewel of a lay follower, a lotus of a lay follower, a fine flower of a lay follower. Which five? He/she has conviction; is virtuous; is not eager for protective charms & ceremonies; trusts kamma, not protective charms & ceremonies; does not search for recipients of his/her offerings outside [of the Sangha], and gives offerings here first. Endowed with these five qualities, a lay follower is a jewel of a lay follower, a lotus of a lay follower, a fine flower of a lay follower.”
To begin, it is worth noting that while the first set of qualities are presented negatively in this sutta, it does not change the status of an individual from a Buddhist to a non-Buddhist. A person remains as a lay follower.
The first set of qualities, which are unfavorable qualities of a lay follower that is an outcaste of a lay follow, is as follows:
- Faithless
- Unethical
- Follows boisterous, superstitious rites, believing in omens rather than deeds
- Seeks for those worthy of [religious] donations outside the Buddhist community
- Makes offerings to those outside the Buddhist community first
- Faithful
- Ethical
- Doesn’t practice boisterous, superstitious rites, and believe in deeds rather than omens
- Doesn't seek for those worthy of [religious] donations outside the Buddhist community
- Doesn't make offerings to those outside the Buddhist community first
Faith
Faithless in this context means those who do not believe nor have conviction in the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Saṅgha. The basis of the Buddhist faith is the idea that Siddhattha Gotama found the path towards liberation, became the Buddha, taught the Dhamma, and established the Fourfold Assembly (i.e., male and female monastics and male and female lay followers). It is through the Buddha's realization that we have the Dhamma and by his authority that we have the Saṅgha. To reject the Buddha is to remove the foundation of both the Dhamma and the Saṅgha, while to reject either the Dhamma or the Saṅgha is to reject the realization and authority of the Buddha.
In the Paṭhamamahānāmasutta (AN 11.11), the Buddha's first answer to Mahānāma's question is: "The faithful succeed, not the faithless." In the Veḷudvāreyyasutta (SN 55.7), the Buddha states that a person may exclaim that they have reached stream-entry when, among other qualities, have "experiential confidence in the Buddha... the teaching... [and] the Saṅgha..." This is expounded upon in the Paṭhamaverasutta (AN 9.27):
What are the four factors of stream-entry that they possess? It’s when a noble disciple has experiential confidence in the Buddha: ‘That Blessed One is perfected, a fully awakened Buddha, accomplished in knowledge and conduct, holy, knower of the world, supreme guide for those fit for training, teacher of gods and humans, awakened, blessed.’
They have experiential confidence in the teaching: ‘The teaching is well explained by the Buddha—apparent in the present life, immediately effective, inviting inspection, relevant, so that sensible people can know it for themselves.’
They have experiential confidence in the Saṅgha: ‘The Saṅgha of the Buddha’s disciples is practicing the way that’s good, direct, systematic, and proper. It consists of the four pairs, the eight individual persons. This is the Saṅgha of the Buddha’s disciples that is worthy of offerings dedicated to the gods, worthy of hospitality, worthy of a religious donation, worthy of greeting with cupped palms, and is the supreme field of merit for the world.’
Ultimately, it is also the basic requirement for a lay follower to have gone for refuge to the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Dhamma. In the Mahānāmasutta (AN 8.25), it says:
“Sir, how is a lay follower defined?”
“Mahānāma, when you’ve gone for refuge to the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Saṅgha, you’re considered to be a lay follower.”
While having doubts and figuring things out do not mean one is faithless, equivocally rejecting any of the Three Jewels is tantamount to abandoning Buddhism. This is being mentioned solely to prevent any wrong idea that one can keep only some of the Three Jewels but not all and still be considered a Buddhist. The canon is clear that a lay follower is one who has gone for refuge to the Three Jewels.
Ethics
Ethics in this context refers to conduct and behavior. It covers what and how Buddhists should behave and conduct themselves in order to be considered ethical or virtuous. The primary basis of ethics for lay followers are the five precepts, which in the Mahānāmasutta (AN 8.25) are characterized to be how lay followers are considered virtuous or ethical:
“But how is an ethical lay follower defined?”
“When a lay follower doesn’t kill living creatures, steal, commit sexual misconduct, lie, or consume intoxicants of beer, wine, and liquor, they’re considered to be an ethical lay follower.”
These are the basics for lay followers. Based on observing these precepts alone, a lay follower can be considered ethical. The Buddha himself had said so, and there is no reason to assume otherwise. However, there are ways to supplement, augment, and build upon these five. The Siṅgālasutta (DN 31) offers a comprehensive outline of lay conduct. Specifically, it mentions four corrupt deeds to be given up, four grounds one does not do bad deeds on, six drains on wealth, six drawbacks of drinking, six drawbacks of wandering at night, six drawbacks of festivals, six drawbacks of gambling, six drawbacks of bad friends, six drawbacks of laziness, grounds on which fake friends can be recognized, grounds on which good-hearted friends can be recognized, and how to cover the six directions (i.e., who these are and how one conducts oneself towards them).
These additional instructions from the Buddha are not precepts in and of themselves, and violating them are not necessarily violations of the precepts. However, living by them allows us to distance ourselves from near occasions of breaking the precepts as they flow from or are based on the precepts. Additionally, they help ensure that we present the best versions of ourselves to others. For example, habitual drinking is associated in the sutta to susceptibility to disrepute, which is a common occurrence even today. Buddhists ethics can therefore be divided into two: proscriptive (in the sense of the precepts being prohibitions) and hortatory (in that they are guiding principles but not mandatory). By doing what are considered hortatory, the precepts are already met as the former are meant to safeguard lay followers from violating the latter.
The line between the ethical and the unethical for lay Buddhists is the five precepts. While it is always going to be better to do more and follow the additional instructions provided by the Buddha in order to benefit ourselves in this life and the next and complement our keeping of the precepts, there is no compulsion on doing so.
Other references for householder conduct (non-exhaustive): Dīghajāṇusutta (AN 8.54), Dhammikasutta (Snp 2.14), Sāleyyakasutta (MN 41), Veḷudvāreyyasutta (SN 55.7), Paṭhamasamajīvīsutta (AN 4.55), Ānaṇyasutta (AN 4.62), Ṭhānasutta (AN 4.192), Sikkhāpadasutta (AN 4.201), and Ādiyasutta (AN 5.41).
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