This thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts degree in Buddhist Studies at the Sri Lanka International Buddhist Academy. Its purpose is to show the range of teachings presented in the Pāli Nikāyas as relevant for nonmonastics and in particular to that class of people known as ‘householders’. What the thesis demonstrates is that, while many scholars and traditions have taken the deeper teachings of the Buddha and the higher attainments of the Path to be reserved for monks, what the earliest texts actually show us is that the full range of teachings are presented to and as relevant for the laity. And in fact, the laity can, even as householders, attain to the highest goals of the practice, save perhaps for arahantship itself. Their role is not limited to providing material support for the Saṅgha in return for merit that may improve their state in this or future lives. Nor are the Buddha’s teachings directed to the laity limited to the kinds of practical advice found in texts like the Sigālaka Sutta, but in fact they contain all aspects of the teachings and in particular everything enumerated in the bodhipakkhiya-dhammā.
目次
Abstract 103 1. The Four Foundations of Mindfulness 106 2. The Four Right Efforts 108 3. The Four Roads to Power 109 4. The Five Spiritual Faculties 109 5. The Five Mental Powers 110 6. The Seven Factors of Enlightenment 111 7. The Noble Eightfold Path 113 Conclusion 113 End Notes 115 Abbreviations for Canonical Texts 116 Other Works Cited 116
