उपासिका
Upāsikā
Female lay follower / Female lay devotee
優婆夷
beginnerMonastic & Textual (僧典)
Grammar 語法
feminine noun (ā-stem): feminine of upāsaka
Definition 釋義
A female lay Buddhist who has taken the Three Refuges and the Five Precepts. Upāsikās are the fourth of the four assemblies. Famous upāsikās include Visākhā (the great female lay patron) and Khujjuttarā (lay servant of Queen Sāmavatī). In modern Theravāda practice, upāsikās often maintain the eight precepts (aṭṭha-sīla) on Uposatha days and may become prominent teachers and practitioners without formal monastic ordination.
Canonical Example 典籍例句
Upāsikā ahaṃ bhante, svākkhāte dhammavinaye.
I am a female lay follower, venerable sir, in the well-expounded Dhamma-Vinaya.
Source: Standard lay declaration
At a Glance
- Pali
- Upāsikā
- IAST
- Upāsikā
- Devanagari
- उपासिका
- Chinese
- 優婆夷
- Difficulty
- beginner
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