Upāsaka and Upāsikā

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Upasaka (Sanskrit, Pali Upasaka, female. Upasika ), literally " Sitting Here " is a Buddhist lay followers, who by the Triple Refuge ( Skt. triśaraṇa ) confesses and vowed to abide by the five Silas as such.

After frühbuddhistischer teachings believe that the amateurs from the last goal of salvation, far removed as they are not willing to give up their worldly life and its pleasures. But they can accumulate mainly by practicing the virtue of generosity (Sanskrit, Pali dāna ) religious merit ( punya Sanskrit ), enabling them to budget for the further progress on the path to nirvana rebirth.

In Theravāda the laity are the carriers of the Buddhist cult, by offer food, clothing, processions and the like as offerings. On the part of the monastic community is expected that the laity take care of the material welfare of the monks and nuns. In return, the laity get it " merits " (religious merit, see Tham bun ).

In Mahāyāna the laity is of greater importance as they will no longer be denied the opportunity to obtain salvation. In some sutras the laity be assimilated to the monks, and taught in Vimalakīrtinirdeśa even a layman all the great disciples of the Buddha. The ideal figure of the Mahayana, the bodhisattva, may be even a layman.

In Vajrayana, a special development of the Mahayana, the lay practitioners ( so-called yogis ) becomes even more important. Many of the tantras of Vajrayana were originally transmitted not by monks but by lay practitioners. In Vajrayana, it depends on the integration of the entire reality of life in the Buddhist path, so is ultimately not important whether one is a monk or layman.