Buddha's Upāsaka and Upāsikā
Buddha's Upāsaka and UpāsikāUpāsaka- Technical terms for male Buddhist lay person. Becoming a lay person in the early Buddhist tradition requires a recitation of the Trisarana or"Three refugees" and formal acceptance of the Pañch-sila or "Five moral precepts". In so doing, an Upāsaka sets out in Buddhist path attempting to perform good deeds, thus accuring the corresponding merit(punya), and moving on to a more favourable rebirth, perhaps one in which he might be able to renounce worldly life and join monastic community. It is also the responsibility of the laity to provide for the welfare of the monastic community through offerings of clothing, food, and the like. Although there are some records in early Buddhism of members of the laity actually attaining Nibbāna, as a clearly more desirable path. In Mahayana, where the Bodhisatta ideal is predominant, with enlightenment clearly more accessible to all disciples, more emphasis is placed on the laity, thus upgrading the lay disciple's overall status in the community.
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Upāsikā- Technical term for a female Buddhist lay disciple. Although the Upāsikā recites the same Trisarana as the male lay disciple, and adheres to an identical Panch-Sila, in the earliest tradition, her status is theoretically equal to but pragmatically inferior to the male lay disciple. Like her male counterpart, she attempts to perform good deed, cultivates merit through acts of giving, and hopes to be reborn as a male, in order that she have a genuinely more accessible opportunity for the attainment of Nibbāna.
Thus, the Buddha gave equal opportunity both male and female in his Dhamma. Before the Buddha, female status in society is inferior. At the time of Buddha, placed female in his Dhamma is precious task. Female is also able to perform good deed and attained Nibbāna as male.
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