Citta's celibacy and release of his wives

Q & A
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I searched for this topic as I was sure someone had asked about it before, so if I missed it, I apologize. I recall reading about Citta’s decision to become celibate, and his release of his four (?) wives from their vows. I even seem to recall one of his wives identifying the man to whom she wanted to be “given.” As I don’t spend a lot of time with commentaries, I assumed this story was in a sutta, but now I can’t find it and am starting to doubt it–it just doesn’t seem like sutta material :-). Anyway, I know that I read, it I just don’t know where. Can anyone help?

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AN8.21? Maybe you confused Ugga with Citta.

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Again in AN8.22, with another Ugga.

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A little confused by this:

And I undertook the five training rules with celibacy as the fifth.

As far as I know, the adultery clause is the fourth Sila. One would think that complete chastity would then replace this.

If not and with chastity just added, there would result 6 Sila.

So why does it specifically say “as the fifth”?

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If we follow the traditional numbering, the “sexual misconduct” rule is the third. It seems the statement here doesn’t follow this specific order. Why this is so, I have no idea.

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  • The statement about the “celibacy as the fifth precept” was made by a layperson, not by a member of the Sangha well-versed in the Dhamma, who would be more accustomed to repetitive recitations and numerical lists.
  • Positioning celibacy as the fifth precept may have been Ugga’s way of emphasizing this practice as superior to the other precepts he was following and distinguishing it more clearly from the third precept in the list of five, which is more permissive regarding sexual activity within a conjugal relationship.
  • I prefer the term “conjugal relationship” over “marriage” since, according to the Buddha, accepting a garland of flowers from a suitor was already sufficient to consider a person committed to another.

Apparently, Ugga did not become a non-returner upon his first contact with the Dhamma. He first committed to celibacy (and likely to meditation as well) for some time before attaining the stage of non-returner.

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Yes, my confusion–it was 8.21 and the householder is Ugga. Thanks to all of you…

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I think the way he spoke was just a way of expressing the otherwise clunky “the five precepts substituting celibacy for the sexual misconduct precept”.

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