Would dāsakammakarā be better translated as “slaves and workers” or “servants and labourers” in DN 31?
I believe ‘dāsa’ has the sense of an enslaved worker.
maybe, “slaves and employees”
It seems strange for the Buddha to preach against slavery, yet then in this passage he makes it sound ok to own people. It’s also strange because it talks about essentially paying them. Were slaves ever paid I wonder?
I’m not sure if the Buddha spoke out against slavery, as it existed in India at his time. Of course, buying or selling of human lives is considered wrong livelihood. So the word ‘slave’ may carry a different connotation than the European/American sense.
They might have been enslaved to pay off debts (a temporary situation, indenture)
He seems to say they should be treated well.
Also see here:
He didn’t seek to abolish it, but he taught its wrong livelihood. So, I find it hard to see how he can then advise a householder on how to treat them, instead of saying they shouldn’t have them at all.
well, it seems there is a distinction being made between slavery in the Western sense (e.g. slavery in America, clearly prohibited as “wrong livelihood”) and indentured servants, which, as I mentioned above was a temporary situation. Wikipedia explains this as, “a form of labor in which a person is contracted to work without salary for a specific number of years.”
So, perhaps “slave” is not the best choice since it has these various meanings. But, I am not an expert on ancient India’s societal-economic situation. See the previous thread I linked to above.
Perhaps you might like the rendering, “indentured servants and employees” better.
Although people will paint the Buddha as this great social reformer, he really wasn’t. That he would teach about how to treat others in whatever social dynamic that exists doesn’t seem strange to me.
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I agree, but in this case he’s advising how to be one of his lay followers. Instead of saying “don’t keep slaves” he’s saying “treat them well”.
Indentured servants are still effectively slaves. This is the fate of many migrant workers in the gulf states, sadly.