laity. Other sutras continue the themes of this work,
sometimes introducing laywomen as the protagonists.
Two such examples are Vimalakrti’s daughter in the
Candrottaradarikavyakarana-sutra (Discourse on the
Prediction Made about the Girl Candrottara) and
Queen S ́rimala in the S ́rimaladevlsimhanada-sutra
(Lion’s Roar of Queen S ́rimala).
Other Mahayana texts present filial piety as a kind
of Buddhist morality, in a concession to the promi-
nence of this principle especially among the laity in
East Asia. The central role of the priesthood in funer-
ary and ancestral rites in East Asian Buddhism stems
from the elevation of filial piety as an ethical ideal in
such works as the Ullambana-sutra.
Laity in Theravada countries
Lay life in Theravada countries is greatly influenced by
the custom of men entering a Buddhist monastery for
a period of time, later returning to lay life. Nearly all
Burmese men and about half the men in Thailand,
Laos, and Cambodia have spent at least one rains-
retreat, and often much longer, as an ordained monk.
This means that the laity of several Theravada coun-
tries has significant personal experience of monastic
life, unparalleled by any comparable custom in coun-
tries where Mahayana predominates. This custom cre-
ates close ties between laity and the ordained and
expands the range of religious experience for lay men.
Women are excluded because the tradition of valid OR-
DINATIONfor NUNSis believed to have died out.Lay practice revolves around the precepts and
merit-making activities. Laypeople observe the five ba-
sic precepts already discussed, and on holy days they
may take a further five: refraining from sex, eating af-
ter noon, perfumes and adornments, seeing public en-
tertainments, and the use of grand beds. Giving food
to monks on a daily basis is a widespread practice, as
is contributing to such ceremonies as a man’s ordina-
tion, New Year’s, an abbot’s promotion, meals for
monks, presentation of robes, cremations, and to gen-
eral monastery fund-raising or repairs. Donations may
take the form of money, items involved in a particu-
lar ceremony, or they may be things monks are allowed
to own, such as bedding, a razor, an umbrella, or a nee-LAITY
Laypersons dip lotus flowers in holy water and sprinkle it on themselves at Phra Kaew Monastery, Bangkok, Thailand, 1991. © Don
Farber 2003. All rights reserved. Reproduced by permission.