Ambedkar’s Vision on Social Justice – Buddhist Perspective

Sumanapal Bhikkhu

Like the Buddha B R Ambedkar was also concerned about social justice. But the difference between them was that while the Buddha did not have to face the problem personally, Ambedkar had to do it. He was born an outcaste or untouchable.  He had to wear cast off clothes, had to it the left over’s of the foods of his higher caste masters and all these were thought to be well-deserved punishment for some misdeeds which he committed in a former existence.

After coming back to India after the completion of his higher education in Europe and America, he returned to India and joined the Indian National Congress for taking part in the freedom movement. Gandhi and the congress party had proclaimed that no country is good enough to rule over another. Ambedkar went a step further. He maintained that no class was good enough to rule over another class. Though Ambedkar criticized the British for their oppression of India, he devoted more of his time and energy for the social, economic, educational and legal upliftment of the Depressed Classes. He demanded a separate electorate for them and as a result of this conflict started between him and the Indian National Congress under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. Ambedkar established the depressed classes Welfare Association for the purpose of spreading culture and education among the depressed classes of India and representing their grievances.

In those days, the Depresses classes had to face a lot of discrimination against them. They did not have the right to enter the Hindu temples, draw water from public tanks or wells, take admission to schools and move freely in the public places. Ambedkar led his followers in a series of non violent campaigns to assert the rights of the “untouchable” and due to this he became very unpopular in the Congress Party and among the caste Hindus who dominated it. The conflict reached a climax in the Second Round Table Conference where Mahatma Gandhi challenged Ambedkar’s right to represent the depressed classes. But the British Government was convinced by the arguments put forward by Ambedkar and granted the Dalits a separate electorate which they had demanded. In response Gandhiji threatened to fast till death and this created quite a stir among the Indians.  So eventually, Ambedkar accepted joint electorate instead of separate electorate though the number of reserved seats was increased. The Poona Pact was signed and with this Ambedkar emerged as an undisputed leader of the depressed classes.

Gradually, Ambedkar realized that the caste Hindus were not going to change their outlook and so he adopted a different tactics. He encouraged the depressed classes to raise their standard of living and join policies to have political power. He began to think of discarding Hinduism and adopt another faith as the depressed classes had not future as Hindus. He declared that though he had been born as a Hindu he did not intend to die as one. At that time he had been seriously considering the question of conversion. He thought that the best option was Buddhism because of its ideal of equality and peace. From then on the built up intimate relationship with many Buddhist nations such as Sri Lanka and Burma and established many Buddhist association lie the Bharatiya Buddha Mahasabha or Indian Buddhist Society in India. He further announced that he was going to adopt Buddhism in the October of the year 1956. And then finally on 14th October of that year he, true to his words, formally embraced Buddhism with 380,000 men, women and children.

Though Ambedkar died only after seven weeks of his conversion he did a lot for Buddhism. Gaining inspiration from him many people embraced Buddhism as their religion and that resulted in a staggering increase in the Buddhist population of India which became evident in the census of 1961.

Hinayana and Mahayana

                                                                                                                                Sumanapal Bhikkhu

In common parlance Buddhism is broadly divided into two schools in the Mahayana and the Hinayana. Mahayana is of later origin. Some scholars are however of the opinion that the name Hinayana was coined only to distinguish the Mahayana from the earlier schools of Buddhism. Thus the name Hinayana was of later origin than the name Mahayana. Hinayana means the lesser vehicle or the smaller vehicle whereas the Mahayana means greater vehicle. Some Buddhologists opine that the Mahayana school showed up as disagreeing with the tenets of Hinayana school. But no. But the great Chinese travelers who visited India tells us that the Hinayana devotes lived in the same monastery with the Mahayana devotees. Some scholars identify Theravada with Hinayana. The word Hinayana could have a pejorative connotation on the surface since it means lesser vehicle. As Walpola Rahula points out that Theravada is not synonymous with Hinayana. Buddhism reached Sri Lanka during the third century B. C. and nothing called Mahayana was there at that moment. Today there is no Hinayana sect in the world The World Fellowship of Buddhism of Sri Lanka unanimously decided that the term Hinayana should be dropped. When we refer to Buddhism in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia etc we must speak of Theravada Buddhism or the Buddhism of the elders.

In this essay we give an outline of Theravada Buddhism. Loosely called Hinayana. Theravada in the main refers to Tripitaka or the three baskets of wisdom as the fountain head of their doctrine. The language of the Theravada canonical text is Pali. The followers of Mahayana however pint their faith on other texts than Tripitaka which or not written in Pali. Tripitaka consists of some 84000 Buddha vacanas. Lord Buddha it is claimed spoke in the language of common men and women of the then Northern India which was Pali. The Tripitaka however not composed during the lifetime of Lord Buddha. After the Lords demise his Arhat disciples met at a conference in Rajagriha’ There Ananda recounted from his memory the entire Sutra Pitaka and Upali recited from his memory the entire Vinaya pitaka. As legend goes Mahakasyapa recounted the Abhidhamma pitaka there. While Vinaya dwells on the stern rules to observe by the inmates of a monastery, the Sutra pitaka is the compilation of the Lords teaching to the monks as well as to the laity. It is lessen with a plethora of tales dialogues Udanas or ecstatic speeches and the like. The Abhidhamma on their hand focuses on Buddhist psychology as propounded by the Lord. It must be remembered that according to tradition the whole of Tripitaka is an ad verbatim record of Lord Buddha’s speeches and sermons. The teachings of the Buddha as per the doctrine of Theravada is raised on the four pillars viz. the four noble truths. They are 1. To live is to suffer. Dukkha or suffering is sine qua non with existence. 2. Suffering or Dukkha has its causes. Nothing is uncaused whatever in the world. 3. There could be cessation of suffering 4. There are ways and means to get rid of dukkha or suffering. What could be the way out from suffering? The Lord says the observance of the Eightfold Path is the way out from suffering. They are 

1.       Right View

2.      Right Intention

3.      Right Speech

4.      Right Action

5.      Right Livelihood

6.      Right Effort

7.      Right Mindfulness

8.      Right Concentration.

Theravada Buddhism looks upon the Lord Buddha as human who excels the gods. On the surface it does not revel in metaphysical speculations. It seeks to determine what ails the humanity and how to overcome that sorrow. That is all. Theravada Buddhism asks to follow its tenets only to see how far they help men to get rid of sufferings. Buddhism does not ask for blind faith from its followers.

Schism in Buddhism church began during the lifetime of Buddha himself. Devadutta advocated a sterner way of life remaining in the field of Buddhism itself. When Lord Buddha passed away, his Arhat disciples compiled the Tripitaka, or the Three baskets of wisdom. They enshrined in the main all Buddha Vacana. The Theravada school or the doctrine of the elders pinned their faith on Tripitaka which was composed in Pali Language. But ambiguity is sine qua non with all language. No wonder that in course of time Buddha vacana was subject to interpretation on numerous levels. With the rolling of history therefore, different schools of interpretation of Buddha Vacana popped up. Besides emergent teachings of Lord Buddha were unearthed. There were fresh devotees of Buddhism who claimed that their teachings were authentically Buddha’s teachings. The followers of Buddhism who claimed these emergent teachings of the Lord as well as the Tripitaka to be authentic are known as the followers of Mahayana. Since Lord Buddha himself refers to the eightfold paths as the way from sufferings, the imagery of Yana quite fitted with the frame of Buddhist teachings. The Mahayana Buddhism must be understood in the context of Theravada. While both the Mahayana or Theravada or Hinayana Buddhism penned their faith on anatta or absence of any substance for soul and while both look forward to the eightfold path there are some salient differences between the two schools. While the Hinayana Buddhism looks forward to the literature of the self from the vale of tears that in the world, the Mahayana Buddhism underlines the notion of Bodhisattva. A Bodhisattva or an enlightened being is one who toils hard for liberation of every particle that contributes the existence. The Theravada system deems that the historical Buddha was a Bodhisattva in his earlier births. On the night of the enlightenment the Lord Sakya Sinha Buddha could espy in a flash the countless births and deaths that he had undergone before he became the Buddha. Lord Buddha himself recounts 547 tales of his earlier lives on earth. It is true that he had attained the ten paramis or perfections during these earlier lives. And Buddha himself was a Boddhisattva during these life times. As Siddhartha prince of Kapilavastu the historical Buddha renamed a bodhisattva. The Bodhisattva Siddharta became the enlightened one or the Buddha when he had the revelations at Buddhagaya under the Bodhitree. The Mahayana seemed to have taken the cue from the Jataka tales and claim that any person could look forward to become a Bodhisattva. Avolokiteswara was the type of Bodhisattva who refused Nibbana. He is still there on earth toiling hard to liberate every particle of the existence. As long as the whole existence is not liberated he will not accept Nibbana. But what is Nibbana? It is the extinction of all desires as such or something more? Or something beyond? It has been described as naiva Sanna na Sanna- neither not consciousness nor not not. Nagajuna is one of the greatest philosophers of Mahayana Buddhism who points that the world neither is nor is not. Philosophical arguments did not stop here. The Mahayana Buddhist philosophy ascended the dizzy heights of Bodhicitta. Bodhichitta is all in all. It is all that exists behind the show of things. And to recall Huineng there is neither north nor south in Bodhicittas. Relative Bodhicitta implies a state of mind in which the practitioner strives for the good of every being as it were his own .Absolute Bodhicitta is the wisdom of emptiness that alone is. Thus Mahayana Buddhism registers a great leap from the tenets of Hinayana Buddhism. But Saddharamapundarika observes that there is neither Hinayana nor Mahayana. There is only one Yana or transport to liberation which is Buddhayana. The scripture such as Saddharmapundarika asserts that every person is capable of becoming a Buddha and every person is could be a Buddha.

In this comtext one must thank the Mahanodhi Publidhers. They are different. Their only object is to republish the ancient classics and books that carry the freight of original thoughts so that the readers sympathy with hopes and fears which they heeded not earlier.

women in Buddhism

                                                                                                                               Sumanapal Bhikkhu

Gotama left his family at the age of twenty nine and attained enlightenment when he was thirty five. Then he started his practice as a spiritual teacher and continued his work for forty five years till his demise at the age of eighty. At first the Buddha inducted a group of five monks to doctrine in Ishipatana (Eightfold Path) and later people of all classes including women found their way to the Buddhist sangha. The number of women gradually increased in Buddhism and they played a very important part in spreading the Dhamma. In Indian society women are wrongly held to be inferior to men but the Buddha opposed the view. He was of the opinion that women occupied a very important place in society and is loved by the members of her family. 

When the Buddha started his sangha the monks used to live in caves and forests. It was when king Bimbisara presented him with Venuvana that he allowed the monks to live there. Though the Buddha was a person of democratic ideas the entry of women to the sangha was not entirely smooth. In those days women were considered to be a threat for a life of spirituality. However, the Svetambara Order of Jainism had allowed women to enter the sangha. 

The Buddha believed that women had an important place in society. She occupies a respectable position as a mother and compete with men in many fields. According to the Buddha a lay woman has certain characteristics and they are devotion, morality, wisdom, learning, and liberality. It is the duty of lay women to develop her inherent qualities. 

Siddhartha’s (Buddha’s birth name) father Suddhodana died five years after his enlightenment. In those days Sakyas and Koliyas were quarrelling over the water of the river Rohini. The Buddha went there to solve the crisis and after it was solved he was resting at the Nigrodharama at Kapilavastu. At that time Mahapajapati Gotami (maternal aunt and step-mother to Buddha) went there with the request to form an Bhikkhuni Sâsana (Order for the Buddhist Nuns). She prayed three times but the Buddha turned down her request. Mahapajapati Gotami was so saddened that she left the place weeping. After that the Buddha left Kapilavastu for Vesali. There Mahapajapati Gotami led a number of women to the Buddha on foot, covering a long distance. This time they got the sympathy of Ananda (one of the principal disciples and an attendant of the Buddha) who was very much moved after seeing their plight. Now Ananda himself requested the Buddha to grant the women their prayer and finally he obliged him. 

Among the women who entered the sangha we may first mention the name of Mahapajapati Goptami. After being ordained she engaged herself in meditational exercises under the guidance of the Buddha and soon attained arhathood. Once Mahapajapati made an excellent robe for the Buddha and presented it to him. But the Buddha did not accept the gift but instructed her to donate it to the Sangha. Hearing this order Mahapajapati was sad but the Buddha explained to her that it was for her greater good and at the same time it would serve as an example for everyone who would make similar gifts in future. The Buddha had great love and respect for Mahapajapati and when she was at her deathbed, he amended the rule and he himself went to preach to her. 

Yasodhara was another woman saint. She was the Buddha’s wife and Rahula’s mother. She was born on the same day as the Bodhisattva. When she was married to the Buddha she was sixteen years old and was the leader of the forty thousand women that the Buddha received from the Sakyans at the time of his marriage. After attaining Bodhi the Buddha returned to Kapilavastu and preached his Dhamma to his relatives. Suddhodana invited him to take meal in his palace and when the Buddha reached there all the court ladies went to pay their homage to him except Yasodhara who believed that if she had any virtue in her he would come to her. When the Buddha came to her with two disciples she touched his feet and placed her head on them. The Buddha was informed that after he had left home Yasodhara had started living a very simple and plain life, relinquishing all luxuries. As a Bhikkhuni, Yasodhara played a very important role in spreading Buddhism. She is considered to be very important in the list of the Bhikkhunis who possessed supernatural powers. 

As a newly born infant, Ambapali was found in the mango garden of Mahanama, a rich man of Vesali. He gave the baby to his wife and both of them started to rear her as their own daughter. The girl became very beautiful as she grew up and kings and princes wanted to marry her. As a result, a rivalry started among the suitors and Mahanama could not make up his mind regarding the matter. He convened a meeting of the Lichchhavis and confided everything to them. The members assembled in the meeting were struck by Ambapali’s beauty and it was decided that she would become the Nagarvadhu. Ambapali accepted the decision but under certain conditions. One day she met Lord Buddha and listened to his discourses. Having heard it she was so satisfied that she invited the Lord to her house with his disciples. When the Buddha and his disciples went there Ambapali served them to her entire satisfaction and finally presented her mango garden to the Buddha and the sangha. In a later period of her life she renounced family life and became a Bhikkhuni. She also attained arhathood. 

Apart from those mentioned above there were also many women saints who made great contributions in the spread of Buddhism. They were Khema, Patachara, Bhadda Kundalakesa, Isidasi, Kisas Gotami, Sumedha etc. 

The lay women or upasikas also played an important part in the cause of Buddhism. Among them the name of Visakha is the most important. She was the daughter of Dhananjaya, and Sumanadevi. Visakha was married to Punnavaddhana, son of the banker Migara. Visakha was a great devotee of the Buddha from her childhood but Migara was the follower of the Niganthas. Later due to Visakha’s influence Migara also became a devotee of the Buddha. Everyday Visakha offered meal to five hundred monks. Every afternoon she visited the Buddha and heard his discourses. The Buddha gave her eight boons and they were: as long as she lived she would give robes to the monks of the Order for the rainy season, food for monks coming into Savatthi, food for those going out, food for the sick, food for those who wait on the sick, medicine for the sick, a constant supply of rice gruel for anyone needing it and bathing robes for the Bhikkhunis. Visakha sold all her ornaments and collected nine crores of karshapanas. With this money she constructed a monastery named Migaramatapasada in the Pubbarama of Savatthi. 

Like Visakha many other lay women also contributed to the advancement of Buddhism. Mentionables include Mallika, Khujjuttara, Kali, Samavati, Bhadda, Migasala, etc. 

Today, when the role of the Women is an issue of worldwide interest, it is opportune that we should pause to look at it from Buddhist perspective. 

Buddhist does not restrict either the educational opportunities of women or their religious freedom. The Buddha unhesitatingly accepted that-women are capable of realizing the Truth, just as Men are. This is why, he permitted the admission of women in the Sangha. Once a women proved her capabilities of managing the affairs in the Sangha. The Buddha recognised their abilities and talents and gave them responsible positions. 

Even the “Theri-gatha” contains numerous stanzas, that clearly express the feelings of joy experienced by saintly bhikkhunis at their ability to enter the order and realize the truth

BUDDHISM IN HUMANITY

Bhikkhu Sumanapal

The Buddha taught us that profit and loss, defamation and fame, praise and blame, suffering and joy, all of these are impermanent and so any of these should not cause us satisfaction or dissatisfaction. They are a natural part of our life. So we should consider them as temporary and consider them as an opportunity to learn something new. If we can be successful in achieving this state we will concentrate more on what we do and not on what we get.

In order to prosper we must know how to behave. So we must know how to control the desires of our bodies. When this becomes known to us we come to know what to do and what not to do, when to act and when not to act. When we act or speak we should always do it with compassion which teaches us to be tolerant, patient and wise.

In the modern world we should be careful in our speech between of the coexistence of different cultures and groups. Something that is considered as a joke by one person may be considered as an insult by another person. That is why we should be very cautious about our remark. We should select our words with the intention of inspiring and helping people.

The Avatamsaka Sutra says,” The mind controls everything.” In order to control our body and speech we must learn to control our mind. When we learn to control our mind we can control everything. This concept is very well expressed in a passage written by Master Xing kong,” The practice of Buddhism can be compared to preside over a walled city; during the day, thieves and bandits must be kept at bay while at night one must be constantly alert. If the mind in charge is thoughtful and able, then there will be peace without the use of weapons.” In this metaphor our virtuous mind can be compared to the city while the thieves and bandits can be compared to the six senses that try to steal our peace and wisdom. 

The Buddhahas advised us to be patient in the face of insult. From the Sutra of Bequeathed Teachingswe can say, “There is nothing better than patience in the cultivation of virtue, morality and the practice of Buddhism. It adds,” One who knows how to be patient gains great power. If you cannot joyfully quaff the poison of evil insults as if you are quaffing sweet dew, then you cannot yet be called wise.”

Sentient beings generally suffer from the disease of greed. Ignorance is at the root of this greed. When we become greedy our higher sensibility becomes impaired and our morality is damaged. Greed sometimes appears before us wearing the mask of need or requirement. In Buddhist sutras we find greed mentioned in the list of six basic defilements, the other five are anger, ignorance, pride, doubt and false views. According to the Yogachara Bhumi Shastra grasping, sight, not having, having, evil behaviour, wanting to have children, friends and relatives the necessities of life, desire for eternal life and the desire not to have eternal life are the conditions that cause greed.  Though most of these conditions are normal we can become greedy if we fail to control our attachments to them. Greed prevents us from developing our Bodhi mind completely. When we try to free ourselves from greed it may seem at first that we are losing something, but if we pause and consider the issue judiciously we will realize that we have not lost anything and, on the contrary, we have gained everything. There is no way of avoiding grief completely because half of our life is made up of greed and the other half is made up of joy. We should try to control greed wisely otherwise it will lead to a subtler kind of greed. Buddhism advises us to take a middle path that lies midway between asceticism and self-indulgence. A combination of thoughtfulness introduction and introspection is the prescription for curing greed. The Yogacharbhumi Sastra says,” Greed is without essence, /All attachments are illusion.”The realization that greed is devoid of any fundamental reality is the first step towards the freedom from grief. “One who follows the teachings/ becomes as brilliant as the sun and the moon/ and can overcome all darkness.” Lotus Sutra.

Anger is another poison mentioned by the Buddha. Anger can appear in different disguises like resentment, hatred, cruelty, jealousy, abuse, and taking delight the misfortune of others. The cause of anger is the deluded belief that the self which is illusory in nature has lost its control over some important thing. From this an ignorant rage is produced which inspires us to restore the lost equilibrium. If the rage flares up in an instant we call it by the name of anger or fury. If this survives for a longer period of time it is called hatred or jealousy. According to the Buddha anger is a component of the five hindrances. They are anger, desire, drowsiness, excitability and doubt.

Anger can be divided into three main parts.  1. Anger for no reason: This form of anger originates in the mind without any reason. 2 Anger without some reason: This form of anger arises when something is done by someone to cause it. 3. Dialectical anger: This type of anger is originated when someone do not agree with us. In the Avatamsaka sutra it has been said,” Anger is the worst form of evil. A single moment of anger can obstruct our growth greatly.”

Anger is also one of the chief hindrances for the study of Buddhism. That is why the Buddha always advised his followers to be free from anger. We should learn how to get rid of it. From the Saddharma Smrty Upasthana Sutra we come to know that anger is like a poisonous snake, a knife and fire. So we should do everything to avoid anger.

The way to cure anger is to see it as a form of energy. There is another way to control anger and that is to recall the past instances in which we were angry. Now only the memory remains and it is devoid of any feeling.

Sutra of Bequeathed Teaching says, “If we do not know how to be satisfied, / Even if you are rich you will be poor, /If you know how to be satisfied, / Even if you are poor you will be rich.” We can never satisfy our desire. When we do not have something we feel dissatisfied but when we get it we feel dissatisfied because it proves tobe unable to fulfil our expectations. In these connections our needs should be separated from our desires. If we want to drink water when we are thirsty that is our need but if we want to drink lemonade that is our desire. We shall be successful in our practice of Buddhism when we will learn to be satisfied with our possessions.

One of Buddha’s disciples Mahakashyapa lived many years in distant graveyards as a part of his ascetic practice but he never felt dissatisfied for that. Though we live in a more complex society than the people of the past we can still have our feet firmly rooted to the ground.

Everyone wants to enjoy a good reputation. In order to achieve it we have to follow three principles. 1. Not to point out other people’s fault. We should always see others with a positive outlook i.e. notice only their good qualities. People with fault a finding and back biting nature becomes unpopular very quickly. A negative attitude and the habit to criticize excessively always prove disastrous. People who have such habit generally suffer from jealousy, anger or low self-esteem. If we fall a victim of such an attitude we should correct ourselves immediately. But at the same time we must learn not to overreact to criticism and not to become too sensitive to it.

We should not praise ourselves. We should not point out our own virtues to people. If we really possess any good qualities other people will praise that quality and we should remain silent about it.

The universe is immense and we know very few people in it. They are our friends and so we should learn to value them. In Buddhism the idea of friendship is considered to be very valuable and deep. Our friends are also our teachers. We should be honest in our dealings with our friends and consider our relationship sacred.

Compassion is another important factor in the practice of Buddhism. When we will become truly compassionate we shall find it easier to adjust with others and help them. Another important matter in the study of Buddhism is correcting our mistake. We should always remember that we are not perfect but we should try to rectify our faults and learn from them. If we follow this path shown by the Buddha we shall surely become a good human being.

Bibliography:

1.      Bryan Wilson and Daisaku Ikeda, Human Values in a Changing World: A Dialogue on the Social Role of Religion , Secaucus, NJ: Lyle Stuart Inc., 1987.

2.      Cai Delin, Toyo no chie no hikari: Ikeda Daisaku kenkyu, The Light of Eastern Wisdom: Collection of Research on Daisaku Ikeda, Tokyo: Otorisyoin, 2003.

3.      Daisaku Ikeda, "Mahayana Buddhism and Twenty-first-Century Civilization", Address at Harvard University, Cambridge, Sept. 24, 1993, A New Humanism: The University Addresses of Daisaku Ikeda, Tokyo: Weatherhill, 1996.

4.      Daisaku Ikeda, "Homage to the Sagarmatha of Humanism: The Living Lessons of Gautama Buddha" , Address at Tribhuvan University, Nepal, on Nov. 2, 1995, Monthly SGI Newsletter, No. 152, November 1995 Issue.

5.       Daisaku Ikeda, et al., The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra: A Discussion (Santa Monica, CA: World Tribune Press, 2000.

6.      Daisaku Ikeda, "Creative Life", Address at Institut de France, Paris, June 14, 1989.

7.      Ikeda, et al., The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra, vol. 3.

8.      K. R. Norman, tr., The Group of Discourses (Sutta-nipata), Oxford: The Pali Text Society, 1995, vol. 2.

9.      Norman, tr., The Group of Discourses (Sutta-nipata), vol. 2.