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F ORUM TEACHINGS | EASTERN HORIZON 511
E

5
ORUM
F
HORIZ
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AS
TERN
ON
When lay people
Teach Dharma

The Buddha and many of his immediate disciples - many Avalokiteśvara and Kṣitigarbha, only Kṣitigarbha
of whom were great teachers - were all monastics. presents himself as a member of the Saṅgha. All the
Likewise, some of the greatest masters after the passing of others present themselves as lay people.
the Buddha were also monastics. And the teachings of the
Buddha have been preserved and handed down through A bodhisattva will relate his or her practice of insight
the centuries mainly by monastics. However, as Buddhism with the bodhicitta aspiration, the bodhisattva vows,
continues to grow in different parts of the world, the and the spirit of great compassion. Among these are the
number of monastics who can teach the sublime Buddha perfection of giving and the conferring of benefits on
Dharma has not grown as many as it should be. In many sentient beings.
countries where Buddhism has spread, it is the lay leaders
and lay teachers who are now teaching Buddhism instead However, the greatest gift that one can give is the gift
of the monastics. of the Dharma, and the kindest benefit one can confer
on sentient beings is teaching them the Dharma and
We ask our three panelists from the three Buddhist guiding them in the Dharma
traditions their views on how lay Buddhist teachers can
be effective messengers of the Buddha Dharma in the new Geshe Namgyal: The four-fold assembly is comprised of
millennium. fully ordained monks (bhikṣus) and nuns (bhikṣuṇīs),
and male and female lay practitioners holding the five-
The Buddha mentioned the four fold assembly of precept lay vows. Vimalakīrti was a lay practitioner,
monks, nuns, male lay disciples, and female lay during the time of the Buddha, and his virtue and skill
disciples. It is generally understood that the laity as a teacher are described in the Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa
provides material support to monastics, who in turn Sūtra. He demonstrated such great depth of knowl-
teach the Dharma to them. Are there instances during edge and realization that Buddha Sakyamunī recom-
the Buddha’s time or a few centuries after that where mended to the monks that they go and listen to and
the laity teach the Dharma to the monastics or other learn from him. Also, of note, in the Pāli tradition are
lay people, alongside the monastics? the lay teachers Citta of Macchikasanda and Hatthaka of
Alavi. Buddha is said to have encouraged his ordained
Aggacitta: In AN1 the Buddha gave a long list of disciples to emulate them as well. A few centuries after
his monastic and lay disciples outstanding in their the parinirvāṇa of the Buddha, another famous lay
respective fields. Citta was declared foremost among master is Chandragomin. He is said to have engaged in
the male lay disciples in preaching the Dharma and debate with Chandrakīrti and that debate is said to have
Khujjutarā among the female lay disciples in learning. lasted many years. Among his writings, he is especially
However, there is no mention of either of them known for his work, Twenty Verses on the Bodhisattva
preaching to or teaching monastics. In the Pāli tradition, Vow which is considered a root text. He also wrote, Let-
it seems that only the monastics, particularly monks, ter to a Disciple, and Śūraṅgama Mantra Sadhana. He
monopolized the teaching of the Buddha during the was an undisputed teacher and held in high regard by
abovementioned period. Chandrakīrti and others. Likewise, many among the 80
great Indian siddhas were lay masters of great accom-
Ming Wei: According to the Mahāyāna tradition, plishments. While by general assumption, monks teach
many bodhisattvas are lay people. Among the great the laity and the laity serve them, it’s not necessarily the
bodhisattvas such as Mañjuśrī, Samantabhadra, case, nor is it binding.