Śrāvaka
| Translations of Śrāvaka |
|
|---|---|
| Pali | sāvaka |
| Sanskrit | श्रावक śrāvaka |
| Burmese |
သာဝက (IPA: [θàwəka̰]) |
| Chinese |
聲聞 (Pinyin: shēngwén) |
| Japanese |
声聞 (rōmaji: shōmon) |
| Sinhala |
ශ්රාවක (Shravaka) |
| Glossary of Buddhism | |
Śrāvaka (Sanskrit) or Sāvaka (Pali) means "hearer" or, more generally, "disciple". This term is used in Buddhism and Jainism. In Jainism, a śrāvaka is any lay Jain so the term śrāvaka has been used for the Jain community itself (for example see Sarak and Sarawagi).
In Buddhism, the term is sometimes reserved for distinguished disciples of the Buddha.
In early Buddhism, a śrāvaka or śrāvikā is a disciple who accepts:
In the Nikāya, depending on the context, a sāvaka can also refer to a disciple of a teacher other than the Buddha.
In the Pāli Canon, the term "disciple" transcends monastic-lay divisions and can refer to anyone from the following "four assemblies":
Buddhist texts further mention three types of disciples based on spiritual accomplishment:
In the Pali commentaries, the term ariyasāvaka is explained as "the disciple of the Noble One (i.e. Buddha)". Accordingly, Soma Thera and Thanissaro Bhikkhu translate this term as "The disciple of the Noble Ones"
However Bhikkhu Bodhi interprets this term as "noble disciple", and according to him, in the Pali suttas, this term is used in two ways:
The canon occasionally references the "four pairs" and "eight types" of disciples. This refers to disciples who have achieved one of the four stages of enlightenment:
In regards to disciples achieving arahantship, Bhikkhu Bodhi writes:
In principle the entire practice of the Noble Eightfold Path is open to people from any mode of life, monastic or lay, and the Buddha confirms that many among his lay followers were accomplished in the Dhamma and had attained the first three of the four stages of awakening, up to nonreturning (anāgāmi; Theravāda commentators say that lay followers can also attain the fourth stage, arahantship, but they do so either on the verge of death or after attainment immediately seek the going forth [that is, homelessness, associated with becoming a monastic]).
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