35. Ven. Upāli

Aspiration in the Past

The future Upāli was born into a worthy family, in the city of Haṁsavati, during the time of Buddha Padumuttara. While he was listening to a discourse being delivered by the Buddha, he witnessed a monastic being designated as the foremost among the male monastic disciples who strictly lived by the Vinaya Rules. He wished to be honoured by the same title by some Bodhisatta. After making extraordinary offerings to the Buddha, he expressed his aspiration before him, and the Buddha predicted that the aspiration would be fulfilled.

Ascetic Life in His Final Existence

The future Upāli spent his whole life in meritorious actions and passed away to good destinations only. During the time of Buddha Gotama, he was reborn in the barber caste and was named Upāli. When he came of age, he served as barber to the six Sakyan princes: Bhaddiya, Anuruddha, Kimila, Bhagu, Ānanda and Devadatta. When the six Sakyan princes renounced the world and joined the Buddha at the Anupiya Mango grove in order to get admission into the Saṅgha, Upāli also became a monastic together with them.

For details of the episode about the group of Sakyan princes taking up the monastic life, refer to chapter 19.

After becoming a monastic, Ven. Upāli listened to a discourse by the Buddha and said to him: “Venerable sir, may the Fortunate One allow me to dwell in the forest.” To which the Buddha replied: “Son, if you live in the forest you will be pursuing insight-cultivation only. If you live by my side you will be pursuing insight-cultivation as well as pursuing learning.” Ven. Upāli gladly agreed, and with due diligence he became an Arahat not long afterwards. Then the Buddha personally taught the Vinaya extensively to Ven. Upāli.

Ven. Upāli proved himself the greatest disciple in the Vinaya Rules by his decisions on three cases, namely: 1) The Story of Bhārukacchaka; 2) the Story of Ajjuka; and 3) The Story of Kumāra Kassapa.

Of these three, the story of Kumāra Kassapa appears in section 28 of this chapter. The remaining two stories are briefly given below.

The Story of a Venerable from Bhārukaccha

A monastic from Bhārukaccha, a seaport town, dreamt that he had sexual intercourse with his previous wife in his lay life. He had qualms of conscience, and considered himself no longer a monastic. He returned to his native seaport town, Bhārukaccha, intending to return to lay life. On his way, he met Ven. Upāli and related his experience to [1338] him. Ven. Upāli said: “Friend, what you committed in a dream does not amount to a breach of the Vinaya Rules.” This episode is recorded in the Vinaya (Vin Ss1, PTS 3.39).

Ven. Upāli was giving judgment on a matter regarding which no decision had been pronounced by the Buddha because the Vinaya does not take dreams as acts of volition. But he knew that having a wet dream is not a fault and so he rightly decided that the monastic from Bhārukaccha was not at fault. When the Buddha learnt of that decision, he lauded Ven. Upāli, saying: “Monastics, Upāli has ruled on the matter correctly. He has done something like one who has made a foot-track in the sky.”

The Story of Ven. Ajjuka

Once, in the city of Vesālī, a certain lay supporter of Ven. Ajjuka, who had a son and a nephew as his possible heirs, entrusted Ven. Ajjuka with a weighty personal affair. He said to Ven. Ajjuka: “Venerable sir, here is my son and here is my nephew. Of these two boys, may Ven. Ajjuka show where my property is located to the one who has devotion to the Three Treasures.” Having thus created a private trust, the lay supporter died.

Ven. Ajjuka found that the nephew of the deceased man was devoted to the Three Treasures and so he showed him where the property of the man was located. The boy made proper use of his inheritance by engaging in business, which resulted in the preservation of his uncle’s wealth and enabled him to do deeds of generosity.

The son of the deceased man brought this question to Ven. Ānanda, asking: “Venerable sir, as between a son and a nephew, who is the rightful heir to a deceased person?”

“Lay supporter, the son is the rightful heir.”

“Venerable sir, Ven. Ajjuka has shown the property which is rightfully mine to my brother-in-law, my father’s nephew.”

Ven. Ajjuka then said to Ven. Ānanda: “Friend Ānanda, give me your decision on the matter.” Ven. Ānanda, without going into the details of this matter, said hastily: “In that case Ven. Ajjuka is no longer a monastic, he has fallen from the monastic life.” But on this problem Ven. Upāli sided with Ven. Ajjuka.

Herein, Ven. Upāli was not taking sides without a just cause. He was simply taking up the righteous cause of Ven. Ajjuka who was blameless under the Vinaya Rules. In other words, he was upholding the Vinaya.

Ven. Upāli put this question to Ven. Ānanda: “Friend Ānanda, where a certain monastic was told by someone: ‘Show my property to such and such a person,’ and the monastic did as he was told, what fault does he incur?”

“There is no fault whatsoever, venerable sir, not even a minor offence.”

“Friend Ānanda, Ven. Ajjuka was under instructions by the owner of the property to show it to such and such person, and he showed it to the nephew. Therefore, friend Ānanda, Ven. Ajjuka incurs no wrong under the Vinaya.”

The news of this bold decision reached the Buddha who said: “Monastics, Upāli has given a right decision,” and lauded him.

There are many more remarkable events that revealed the greatness of Ven. Upāli which may be found in the Traditions about the Elder Monks (Thera-apadāna, Tha-ap 8). The text and the interpretations are contained in the Covering of Faults (Chidda-pidhānānī) by the late Mahā-visuddhārāma Sayādaw.

Foremost Title Achieved

The Buddha endorsed the three Vinaya rulings given by Ven. Upāli, lauding him each time. Based on these three instances, on another occasion, the Buddha, sitting in a congregation of monastics, declared:

Etad-aggaṁ bhikkhave mama sāvakānaṁ bhikkhūnaṁ
Vinaya-dharānaṁ yad-idaṁ Upāli. [1339]

Monastics, among my monastic disciples who strictly uphold the Vinaya, Upāli is the foremost (etad-agga).