Dalit Buddhist movement
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The Dalit Buddhist movement (also known as the Buddhist movement For Dalits, Ambedkarite Buddhist movement or Modern Buddhist movement
The movement was launched in 1956 by Ambedkar when nearly half a million Dalits – formerly untouchables – joined him and converted to Navayana Buddhism.[4] It rejected Hinduism, challenged the caste system in India and promoted the rights of the Dalit community.[5][4] The movement also rejected the teachings of Mahayana, Theravada and Vajrayana traditions of Buddhism, instead the movement claims to be a form of engaged Buddhism as taught by Ambedkar.[6][7][5]
History
Buddhism originated in ancient India and grew after Ashoka adopted it. By the 2nd century CE, Buddhism was widespread in India and had expanded outside of India into Central Asia, East Asia and parts of Southeast Asia.[8][9] During the Middle Ages, Buddhism slowly declined in India,[10] while it vanished from Persia and Central Asia as Islam became the state religion.[11][12]
According to Randall Collins, Buddhism was already declining in India by the 12th century, but with the pillage by Muslim invaders it nearly became extinct in India.[13] In the 13th century, states Craig Lockard, Buddhist monks in India fled to Tibet to escape Islamic persecution,[14] while the monks in western India, states Peter Harvey, escaped persecution by moving to south Indian Hindu kingdoms that were able to resist the Muslim power.[15]
Efforts to revive Buddhism in India began in the 19th century, such as with the efforts of Sri Lankan Buddhist leader Anagarika Dharmapala who founded the Maha Bodhi Society.[16] The Maha Bodhi Society, according to Bhagwan Das, was not a Dalit movement however, because it mainly attracted upper-caste Hindus to Buddhism.[17]
Northern India
The two Adi Dharma movements[18] – those that rejected Hinduism in favor of Buddhism – were launched by the Swami Achhutanand Harihar in Uttar Pradesh and Babu Mangu Ram in Punjab.
Born in an untouchable family, Achhutanand joined the Arya Samaj suddhi reform movement and worked there for about eight years (1905–1912). He felt Arya Samaj practiced untouchability in subtle ways,[clarification needed] and subsequently left it to launch the socio-political Bharitiya Achhut Mahasabha movement.[18] Achhutanand published the Adi-Hindu magazine, wherein he called on Dalits to return to Adi-Dharma as the "original religion of Indians." Achhutanand formulated his philosophy on the basis of a shared cultural and ethnic identity. He presented it to an audience beyond just Dalits, including tribal societies as well. He opposed Mahatma Gandhi's non-cooperation movement and fasts as well as the Indian National Congress, stating that Brahmins were "as foreign to India as were the British", according to Anand Teltumbde.[18]
Babu Mangu Ram was also born in an untouchable family of
In 1914, Prakash was ordained as a Bodhanand Mahastavir in Calcutta, and began preaching Buddhism in Lucknow. He founded the Bharatiye Buddh Samiti in 1916, and set up a vihara in 1928.[19]
Southern India
In 1898, Pandit Iyothee Thass founded the Sakya Buddhist Society also known as Indian Buddhist Association in Tamil Nadu.[20] He presented Buddhism as a religious alternative to Hinduism for Dalits. Thass's efforts led to the creation of a broader movement amongst Tamil Dalits in South India until the 1950s.[19] The first president of the Indian Buddhist Association was Paul Carus.[19] Unlike the Ambedkarite movement, the Indian Buddhist Association adopted the Theravada Buddhism tradition founded in Sri Lanka (where Thass had received his training and initiation in Buddhism).[20]
B. R. Ambedkar
Ambedkar was an Indian leader, influential during the colonial era and
During 1931–32, the
After Gandhi returned from Second Round Table conference, he started a new
Ambedkar accepted the Poona Pact under public pressure, but disagreed with Gandhi and his political methods. He dismissed Gandhi's ideas as loved by "blind Hindu devotees", primitive, influenced by spurious brew of Tolstoy and Ruskin, and "there is always some simpleton to preach them".[30][31]
Ambedkar concluded that Dalits must leave Hinduism and convert to another religion, and announced his intent to leave Hinduism in 1935. He considered Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism and Buddhism.[21][32][33][34] Ambedkar was approached by various leaders of different denominations and faiths. On 22 May 1936, an "All Religious Conference" was held at Lucknow. It was attended by prominent Dalit leaders including Jagjivan Ram, though Ambedkar could not attend it. At the conference, Muslim, Christian, Sikh, and Buddhist representatives presented the tenets of their respective religions in an effort to win over Dalits.[19] Ambedkar rejected the other religions and chose Buddhism.[21] However, Ambedkar remained a Hindu for the next 20 years, studied then re-interpreted Buddhism, and adopted Neo-Buddhism or Navayana few weeks before his death.[7][21]
The Italian Buddhist monk
According to Ambedkar, several of the core beliefs and doctrines of traditional Buddhist traditions such as the
Navayana as formulated by Ambedkar and at the root of Dalit Buddhist movement abandons mainstream traditional Buddhist practices and precepts such as the institution of monk after renunciation, ideas such as karma, rebirth in afterlife, samsara, meditation, nirvana and Four Noble Truths.[37] Ambedkar's new sect of Buddhism rejected these ideas and re-interpreted the Buddha's religion in terms of class struggle and social equality.[36][32][38]
Ambedkar called his version of Buddhism Navayana or Neo-Buddhism.[39] His book, The Buddha and His Dhamma is the holy book of Navayana or Dalit Buddhists.[40] According to Junghare, for the followers of Navyana, Ambedkar has become a deity and he is worshipped in its practice.[41]
Ambedkar's conversion
After publishing a series of books and articles arguing that Buddhism was the only way for the Untouchables to gain equality, Ambedkar publicly converted on 14 October 1956, at
The conversion ceremony was attended by Medharathi, his main disciple Bhoj Dev Mudit, and Mahastvir Bodhanand's Sri Lankan successor, Bhante Pragyanand.[19] Ambedkar asked Dalits not to get entangled in the existing branches of Buddhism (Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana), and called his version Navayana or 'Neo-Buddhism'. Ambedkar would die less than two months later, just after finishing his definitive work on Buddhism.
Many Dalits employ the term "Ambedkar(ite) Buddhism" to designate the Buddhist movement, which started with Ambedkar's conversion.[19] Many converted people call themselves "-Bauddha" i.e. Buddhists.
Twenty-two vows
The
After Ambedkar's death
The Buddhist movement was somewhat hindered by Ambedkar's death so shortly after his conversion. It did not receive the immediate mass support from the Untouchable population that Ambedkar had hoped for. Division and lack of direction among the leaders of the Ambedkarite movement have been an additional impediment. According to the 2011 census, there are currently 8.44 million Buddhists in India, at least 6.5 million of whom are Marathi Buddhists in Maharashtra.[47] This makes Buddhism the fifth-largest religion in India and 6% of the population of Maharashtra, but less than 1% of the overall population of India.
The Buddhist revival remains concentrated in two
Developments in Uttar Pradesh
Acharya Medharthi retired from his Buddhapuri school in 1960, and shifted to an ashram in Haridwar. He turned to the Arya Samaj and conducted Vedic yajnas all over India. After his death, he was cremated according to Arya Samaj rites.[19] His Buddhpuri school became embroiled in property disputes. His follower, Bhoj Dev Mudit, converted to Buddhism in 1968 and set up a school of his own.
Rajendranath Aherwar appeared as an important Dalit leader in Kanpur. He joined the Republican Party of India and converted to Buddhism along with his whole family in 1961. In 1967, he founded the Kanpur branch of "Bharatiya Buddh Mahasabha". He held regular meetings where he preached Buddhism, officiated at Buddhist weddings and life cycle ceremonies, and organised festivals on Ambedkar's Jayanti (birth day), Sambuddhatva jayanthi, Diksha Divas (the day Ambedkar converted), and Ambedkar Paranirvan Divas (the day Ambedkar died).[19]
The Dalit Buddhist movement in Kanpur gained impetus with the arrival of Dipankar, a Chamar bhikkhu, in 1980. Dipankar had come to Kanpur on a Buddhist mission and his first public appearance was scheduled at a mass conversion drive in 1981. The event was organised by Rahulan Ambawadekar, an RPI Dalit leader. In April 1981, Ambawadekar founded the Dalit Panthers (U.P. Branch) inspired by the Maharashtrian Dalit Panthers. The event met with severe criticism and opposition from Vishva Hindu Parishad and was banned.[19]
The number of Buddhists in the Lucknow district increased from 73 in 1951 to 4327 in 2001.[48] According to the 2001 census, almost 70% of the Buddhist population in Uttar Pradesh is from the scheduled castes background.[49]
In 2002,
Another popular Dalit leader, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati, has said that she and her followers will embrace Buddhism after the BSP forms a government at the Centre.[52]
Maharashtra
Japanese-born
A movement originating in Maharashtra but also active in Uttar Pradesh, and spread out over quite a few other pockets where Neo Buddhists live, is Triratna Bauddha Mahāsaṅgha (formerly called TBMSG for Trailokya Bauddha Mahasangha Sahayaka Gana). It is the Indian wing of the UK-based Triratna Buddhist Community founded by Sangharakshita. Its roots lie in the scattered contacts that Sangharakshita had in the 1950s with Ambedkar. Sangharakshita, then still a bhikshu, participated in the conversion movement from 1956 until his departure to the UK in 1963.
When his new ecumenical movement had gained enough ground in the West, Sangharakshita worked with Ambedkarites in India and the UK to develop Indian Buddhism further. After visits in the late 1970s by Dharmachari Lokamitra from UK, supporters developed a two-pronged approach: social work through the Bahujan Hitaj (also spelled as Bahujan Hitay) trust, mainly sponsored from the general public by the British Buddhist-inspired Karuna Trust (UK), and direct Dharma work. Currently the movement has viharas and groups in at least 20 major areas, a couple of retreat centres, and hundreds of Indian Dharmacharis and Dharmacharinis.[54]
Funding for movement's social and dharma work has come from foreign countries, including the Western countries and
Organized mass conversions
Since Ambedkar's conversion, several thousand people from different castes have converted to Buddhism in ceremonies including the twenty-two vows.
- 1957
- In 1957, Mahastvir Bodhanand's Sri Lankan successor, Bhante Pragyanand, held a mass conversion drive for 15,000 people in Lucknow.[19]
- 2001
- A prominent Indian Navayana Buddhist leader and political activist, Udit Raj, organised a large mass conversion on 4 November 2001, where he gave the 22 vows, but the event met with active opposition from the government.[57]
- 2006, Hyderabad
- A report from the UK daily Dalits should concentrate on trying to reduce illiteracy and poverty rather than looking for new religions.[58]
- 2006, Gulbarga
- On 14 October 2006, hundreds of people converted from Hinduism to Buddhism in
- 2006
- At 50th anniversary celebrations in 2006 of Ambedkar's deeksha.[60] Non-partisan sources put the number of attendees (not converts) at 30,000.[61] The move was criticised by Hindu groups as "unhelpful" and has been criticised as a "political stunt."[61]
- 2007, Mumbai
- On 27 May 2007, tens of thousands of Dalits from Ramdas Athvale.[63]
Critique
Prerna Singh Bindra argued a mass-conversion of Hindus to Ambedkarite Buddhism under Udit Raj to be a political stunt.[64]
Distinctive interpretation
According to Gail Omvedt, an American-born and naturalised Indian sociologist and human rights activist :
Ambedkar's Buddhism seemingly differs from that of those who accepted by faith, who 'go for
refuge' and accept the canon. This much is clear from its basis: it does not accept in totality the scriptures of the Theravada, the Mahayana, or the Vajrayana. The question that is then clearly put forth: is a fourth yana, a Navayana, a kind of modernistic Enlightenment version of the Dhamma really possible within the framework of Buddhism?[65]
According to Omvedt, Ambedkar and his Buddhist movement deny many of the core doctrines of Buddhism.[4] All the elements of religious modernism, state Christopher Queen and Sallie King, may be found in Ambedkar Buddhism where his The Buddha and His Dhamma abandons the traditional precepts and practices, then adopts science, activism and social reforms as a form of Engaged Buddhism.[66] Ambedkar's formulation of Buddhism is different from Western modernism, states Skaria, given his synthesis of the ideas of modern Karl Marx into the structure of ideas by the ancient Buddha.[67]
Criticism of the movement
Critics have argued that Neo-Buddhism does not have a strong influence, especially after the death of Ambedkar.[68]
Some critics also argue that Neo-Buddhism deviates too much from traditional Buddhism.[69] Even though traditional Buddhism emphasizes equality among people, it does not deny the caste system.[69] In addition, its emphasis on people's liberation in the religious sense does not deny social distinctions as the norm of organizations in society, as the Buddha himself was the founder of a monastic order.[69] A number of critics also argue that there is no moral foundation for the political practices that are based on Neo-Buddhist notions, since religion is totally voluntary, and Neo-Buddhism may thus violate democratic principles by restricting its followers to abide to certain non-religious rules.[69]
The mass conversions to Buddhism are also seen as a political stunt rather than a genuine spiritual movement.[70] Politicians such as Udit Raj, Ramdas Athawale, Kanshi Ram and Mayawati have also been involved in staging or planning to stage mass conversions—these politicians are members of either the Bahujan Samaj Party or the Republican Party of India.[71][72]
According to Janet Contursi, Ambedkar re-interprets Buddhist religion and with Navayana "speaks through Gautama and politicizes the Buddha philosophy as he theologizes his own political views".[73]
Ambedkar's reinterpretations
Ambedkar not only rejected Hinduism but also the most popular
, which Ambedkar claims to have been invented by wrong-headed monks.Ambedkar reinvents the traditional story of The Buddha and the Great Renunciation in order to try and gain mass appeal from Dalits by giving the impression that The Buddha founded Buddhism as a social reform movement rather than a spiritual movement. Virginia Hancock writes about Ambedkar's reinterpretations as turning the Buddha into a politician.
According to Ambedkar, the Buddha advocated a rational and peaceful resolution of an inter-tribe water conflict but was unable to gain the necessary political leverage because he lacked majority vote. He then went into exile and became a renunciant because it was the only way to prevent his tribe from going to war with their neighbors. Ambedkar omits any mention of old age, sickness, and death (the forms of suffering the Buddha is usually understood to have encountered). In this way the Buddha’s renunciation is motivated more by political exigencies rather than a desire to find the ultimate truth, and he becomes a figure not unlike a minority politician in contemporary India. The discussion of water rights was also a familiar topic after the Mahad Satyagraha. These changes, though unorthodox, create a character for the Buddha that might be easily understood by oppressed communities, specifically Dalits.[69]
Scholars broadly accept that the depictions of the Buddha as a social reformer are inaccurate.[38][75][a] Gombrich (2012),[76] states that there is no evidence that the Buddha began or pursued social reforms, rather his aim was at the salvation of those who joined his monastic order.[76][77][78] Modernist interpreters of Buddhism, states Gombrich, keep picking up this "mistake from western authors", a view that initially came into vogue during the colonial era.[76][79][80]
Richard Gombrich adds that Buddha should not be seen as a social reformer: "his concern was to reform individuals and help them leave society forever, not to reform the world... He never preached against social inequality, only declared it's irrelevance to salvation. He never tried to abolish the caste system nor to do away with slavery"[81]
Empirical evidence outside of India, such as in the Theravada Buddhist monasteries of the Sinhalese society, suggests that class ideas have been prevalent among the sangha monks, and between the Buddhist monks and the laity. In all canonical Buddhist texts, the khattiyas (warrior class) are always mentioned first and never other classes such as brahmans, vessas, suddas.[82]
See also
- The Buddha and His Dhamma
- Marathi Buddhists
- Buddhist Society of India
- Lord Buddha TV
- Namantar Andolan
- Chaitya Bhoomi
- Bhadant Anand Kausalyayan
- Bhadant Nagarjun Arya Surai Sasai
- Buddhism in India
- Buddhism in Nepal
- Buddhism in Sri Lanka
- Buddhist modernism
- Humanistic Buddhism
- List of converts to Buddhism from Hinduism
Notes
References
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- Surendra Jondhale; Johannes Beltz, eds. (2004). Reconstructing the World: B.R. Ambedkar and Buddhism in India. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-566529-1.
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External links
- The Buddha and His Dhamma, B. R. Ambedkar