Upali the barber given precedence
over Sakyans to enter the order

Rohan L. Jayetilleke

The Vedic society in which Prince Siddartha was born in the 6th century BC there was a four-tiered caste hierarchy (Catubbanovagga), namely Khattiya or Kshtriya (rulers and noblemen) Brahmana (priest) Vaishya-setti (Merchants, chiefs of trade and craft guilds) and Sudra (labourers). Price Siddartha was a Kshtriya and of the Sakyan clan of Kapilavastu Kingdom (Nepal Terai-Tilauracot at present). The Sakyans were fierce rulers and very proud of their lineage. It was a pre-condition, that any heir to the throne of India then, had to marry a Sakyan princess. However, Prince Siddartha, had a different outlook on ethnicity and renounced worldly life at the age of twenty-nine, attained Enlightenment at the age of thirty-five and advocated on religious, racial, economic, languages pluralism.

Once the Buddha was residing at Savatthi in the Palace of Migara�s Mother (Visakha, she made her father-in-law become a lay devotee of the Buddha) the Eastern Park and it was Uposatha day. The Buddha addressing the Bhikkhus said, �Bhikkhus, just as all the great rivers, the Ganges, the Yamuna, the Aciravati, the Sarabhu and the Mahi (Aciravati flows in the environs of Savatthi, little away from the mansion of Visalha and Angulimala stupa) give up their former names and identities when they reach the great ocean, they come to be reckoned one with the great ocean itself, likewise there are these four caste, the warriors, nobles the khattiyas, the brahaman priests, the burgess vessa and the labouring suddas, and when they renounced worldly life and enter the priesthood, they give up their former name and clan and come to be reckoned one with the bhikkhus who are sons of the Sakyans. (Vinaya Gulavagga 9:1; Udana 5:5 Anguttara Nikaya 8:20).

Once the Blessed One was staying at Anuppiya, a town of the ruling class Mallians. By that time many well-known Sakyans had entered the order. But there were two Sakyan brothers Mahanama and Anuruddha. Anuruddha was brought up with love and care. He had three palaces one for the summer (vasant), one for rains, one for winter with musicians to entertain him. It occurred to Mahanama, �Now many well-known Sakyan princess have entered the Order under the Buddha. Suppose, I or Anuruddha went forth?� He went to Anuruddha and told him of his wish and Anuruddha told him.� But I have been delicately brought up. I cannot enter the Order.

You do �Come then, Anuruddha, I shall instruct you in the household life. Now first a field must be ploughed, then it must sown, then water must be led into it, then water must be drained, then the field must be weeded, then the crop should be cut, then it should be gathered in, then it must be stacked, then it must be threshed, then the straw must be removed, then the chaff must be winnowed off, then it must be sifted, then it must be stored away. When it is done again next year the same process should be repeated, and continued year after year.

The work never finishes; there is no end to the work �There will be no time for leisure. So, now I shall renounce household life and enter the order under Blessed One the Buddha�.

Then Anuruddha went to his mother and told her, �Mother, I want to enter the Order. Please give me your permission.�

The mother told him �You two sons of mine are near and dear to me. In case you die we lose you against our will. He repeated his request to the mother thrice. Then the mother said, �My dear Anuruddham if Bhaddiya the royal Sakyan governing the Sakyans, enter the Order, you may do so.�

Anuruddha told Bhaddiya what his mother told him. Then Bhaddiya told, �Wait for seven years, for both of us to enter the Order� �Seven years is too long, I cannot wait for seven years�. Then Bhaddiya said wait for six years. That too is too long. Then wait for five years... four... three... two years..... one year..... seven months...... two months ...... one month .... wait half a month. Then we will enter the Order together. But that too is too long. Then wait for seven days, that too is too long. �Bhaddiya said there is sufficient time for me to hand over the kingdom to my children and my brothers�. Then I shall enter the Order with you in seven days,�

Then, Bhaddiya the Sakyan ruler and the other Sakyans Anuruddha, Ananda, Bhagu, Kimbila and Devadatta with their barber Upali, to shave their heads and to return their gold ornaments and dresses, set out with the four-constituent army.

Having gone some distance, they ordered the army to return to the palace. They crossed the frontier and entered another kingdom, that was Anuppiya. They took off their insignia, they rolled them in their upper robe and advised the barber Upali, �Upali, you had better go back. There is enough here for you to live on.�

Upali while returning to the palace, thought, �These Sakyans are fierce. They would accuse me of leading the princes to enter the order and I shall be beheaded. These Sakyans are now entering the Order, to save my life I too shall enter the Order under the Buddha. He opened the bundle and hung all the ornaments on the branch of a tree, saying, Let him who sees these take them away as given free �He then went back to the Sakyan princes. Being amazed the Sakyan princes asked him, �Why have you returned� He then told the fright that he was faced with. Then the Sakyans said, �Upali, you did well not to go home for the Sakyans are fierce and you would have been accused of helping us and put to death.�

Thereafter, these Sakyan princes went with Upali, the barber to the Blessed One, and having paid their respect, they sat down at one side. They then told the Buddha,� Sir, we are proud Sakyans. This Upali the barber has long attended on us. Let the Blessed One give him the going forth first so that we can pay homage to him and give him reverence and our salutation and also honour �Then the Blessed One gave then going forth to Upali, the barber first and afterwards to the Sakyans princes his relatives.

Later on Ananda Thera became the chief attendant of the Buddha and attained Arahantship one night before the First Great Buddhist Council (Sangayana) held at Sattaparni caves at Rajagaha, under the Arahant Maha Kassapa and an assembly of 500 Arahants. Ananda who had a superior memory rehearsed all the discourses of the Buddha at the assembly prefacing them, with evam me sutam meaning thus I have heard�. Arahant Upali, who was an expert on Vinaya, (Discipline) rehearsed the Vinaya discoursed by the Buddha, prefacing the, �ekena samayena�, meaning once upon a time.

Half way up the straight rising rock there are holes cut into the face of the rock, which indicates, beams were set and in the front of the cave there was a temporary shed put up for the assembly of gods. There is a cave with a stone door, which could never be opened and nobody knows what is inside it. Presently the sinage put up by the Arachaelogical Survey of India, in English and Hindi, does not mention that the First Great Buddhist Council was held there, but some facts about followers of Jainism of Nigantanatha Putta.

This writer is now in correspondence with the Archaeological Survey of India to have the signage correct giving reference to the First Buddhist Council held here. It is a pity that the Maha Bodhi Society of India, with a Sri Lankan bhikkhus as General Secretary and Deputy General Secretary, pursue lapses of this nature. In fact this writer has also represented that the name Buddha Gaya is mis-written and pronounced by the Archaeological Survey of India in the anglicised form Bodh Gaya to have it correct as Buddha Gaya.