Early Buddhism, Slaves, Outcasts, and the Lowest Social Classes

Essays
42

I haven’t fully digested this entire thread, which has been an excellent subject, but on the subject of the Buddha’s relationship with the “lowest social classes,” as the OP states, the story of Sunita always comes to my mind, and I cannot read this story (the below is a story narrative from Thich Nhat Hanh) without feeling a tear well up. Maybe I am getting older and more sentimental, but the idea that the Buddha embraced this man and the way the two met is such a compelling story, and speaks to the Buddha’s heart when in contact with the lowliest of the castes at his time.

verses of the senior monks
the book of the twelves
chapter one

12.2. Sunīta

https://suttacentral.net/thag12.2/en/sujato

One day, as the Buddha and bhikkhus were begging in a village near the banks of the Ganga, the Buddha spotted a man carrying nightsoil. The man was an untouchable named Sunita. Sunita had heard about the Buddha and bhikkhus, but this was the first time he had ever seen them. He was alarmed, knowing how dirty his clothes were and how foul he smelled from carrying nightsoil. … He hastily put the buckets of nightsoil down and looked for a place to hide. Above him stood the bhikkhus in their saffron robes, whiIe before him approached the Buddha and two other bhikkhus. Not knowing what else to do, Sunita waded up to his knees in water and stood with his palms joined.

Curious villagers came out of their homes and lined the shore to watch what was happening. Sunita had veered off the path because he was afraid he would pollute the bhikkhus. He could not have guessed the Buddha would follow him. Sunita knew that the Sangha included many men from noble castes. He was sure that polluting a bhikkhu was an unforgivable act. He hoped the Buddha and bhikkhus would leave him and return to the road. But the Buddha did not leave. He walked right up to the water’s edge and said, “My friend, please come closer so we may talk.”

sunita 1

Sunita, his palms still joined, protested, “Lord, I don’t dare!”

“Why not?” asked the Buddha.

“I am an untouchable. I don’t want to pollute you and your monks.”

The Buddha replied, “On our path, we no longer distinguish between castes. You are a human being like the rest of us. We are not afraid we will be polluted. Only greed, hatred, and delusion can pollute us. A person as pleasant as yourself brings us nothing but happiness. What is yom name?”

“Lord, my name is Sunita.”

“Sunita, would you like to become a bhikkhu like the rest of us?”

“I couldn 't!”

“Why not?”

''I’m an untouchable!"

“Sunita, I have already explained that on our path there is no caste. In the Way of Awakening, caste no longer exists. It is like the Ganga, Yamuno, Aciravati, Sarabhu, Mahi and Rohini rivers. Once they empty into the sea, they no longer retain their separate identities. A person who leaves home to follow the way leaves caste behind whether he was born a brahman, ksatriya, sudra or untouchable.(1) Sunita, if you like, you can become a bhikkhu like the rest of us.” …

The Buddha handed his bowl to Meghiya and reached his hand out to Sunita. He said, “Sariputta! Help me bathe Sunita. We will ordain him a bhikkhu right here on the bank of the river.” … .

Never in the history of Kosala had an untouchable been accepted into a spiritual community. Many condemned the Buddha for violating sacred tradition. Others went so far as to suggest that the Buddha was plotting to overthrow the existing order and wreak havoc in the country.

The Buddha said, “Accepting untouchables into the sangha was simply a matter of time. Our way is a way of equality. We do not recognize caste. Though we may encounter difficulties over Sunita’s ordination now, we will have opened a door for the first time in history that future generations will thank us for. We must have courage.” …

Before long, the uproar over Sunita’s ordination reached the ears of King Pasenadi. A group of religious leaders requested a private audience with him and expressed their grave concerns over the matter. Their convincing arguments disturbed the king, and although he was a devoted follower of the Buddha, be promised the leaders that he would look into the matter. Some days later he paid a visit to Jetavana.

He climbed down from his carriage and walked into the monastery grounds alone. Bhikkhus passed him on the path beneath the cool shade of trees. The king followed the path that led to the Buddha’s hut. He bowed to each bhikkhu he passed. As always, the serene and composed manner of the bhikkhus reinforced his faith in the Buddha. Halfway to the hut, he encountered a bhikkhu sitting on a large rock beneath a great pine tree teaching a small group of bhikkhus and lay disciples. It was a most appealing sight. The bhikkhu offering the teaching looked less than forty years old, yet his face radiated great peace and wisdom. His li steners were clearly absorbed by what he had to say. The king paused to listen and was moved by what he heard . But suddenly he remembered the purpose of his visit, and he continued on his way . . …

The Buddha welcomed the king outside his hut, inviting him to sit on a bamboo chair. After they exchanged formal greetings, the king asked the Buddha who the bhikkhu sitting on the rock was. The Buddha smiled and answered, “That is Bhikkhu Sunita. He was once an untouchable who carried nightsoil. What do you think of his teachings?”

The king felt embarrassed. The bhikkhu with so radiant a bearing was none other than the nightsoil carrier Sunita! He would never have guessed such was possible. Before he knew how to respond, the Buddha said, “Bhikkhu Sunita has devoted himself wholeheartedly to his practice from the day of hi s ordination. He is a man of great sincerity, intelligence, and resolve. Though he was ordained only three months ago, he has already earned a reputation for great virtue and purity of heart. Would you like to meet him and make an offering to this most worthy bhikkhu?”

The king replied with frankness, “I would indeed like to meet Bhikkhu Sunita and make an offering to him. Master, your teaching is deep and wondrous! I have never met any other spiritual teacher with so open a heart and mind. I do not think there is a person, animal or plant that does not benefit from the presence of your understanding. I must tell you that I came here today with the intention of asking how you could accept an untouchable into your sangha. But I have seen, heard, and understood why. I no longer dare ask such a question. Instead allow me to prostrate myself before you.”

1. In traditional Indian society brahman refers to the caste of priests, ksatriya the caste of warriors and such·a the caste of ordinary people. The untouchables are people of the lowest caste who traditionally are not allowed to physically touch people of other caste s.

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43

I assume this is the commentary’s story?

44

I’m wondering if the reason for Christianity’s “siding with the poor” is because the early Christians were persecuted/stigmatized, not to mention that so many of them were Jews who had to live through the Jewish War. In other words, the early Christian writers probably felt a need to console those who lost their fortunes, as there were a great many of them. The Early Buddhists, by contrast, might have experienced some tension/conflict with rival religious groups, but nothing approaching outright “persecution.” They even enjoyed some patronage from Kings, so the early Buddhists might have felt obliged to accommodate their teachings for the ruling classes.

The earliest Buddhists enjoyed more privilege than the earliest Christians, in other words.

45

That is very probably the case. The situation of sectarian movements in Palestine was probably very different from the charismatic samanas in East India. My comment was meant to generally (and oversimply) state that low social class can be in the scope of upcoming religions and is not necessarily overlooked as maybe other characteristics.

46

Not so easy in the beginning probably

The Master was sojourning in Shravasti and Ananda was wont daily to repair to the town on his begging round. Once upon a time, as he was returning from the town, he became thirsty and say a Chandala maiden, named Parakriti, fetching water from a well. ‘Sister.’ said he to her, give me some water to drink.‘’ Prakriti replied, '“i am a chandala girl, revered Ananda.” “Sister,” said Ananda, “I do not ask you about your family and your caste, but if you have any water left, give it to me and I will drink.”

ThelattersummonedPrakriti to himself and ostensibly consented to her desire that Ananda shouldbeherhusband. Soon,however,he brings her to a frame of mind in which she takes the vow of spinsterly chastity and turns a nun. She not only has her hair shaven and dons the nun’s weeds, but dives into the profundity of the four Noble Truths and understands the religion of the Buddha in its entirety.
When, however, the Brahmans, warriors and citizens of
Shravasti heard that the Buddha made a Chandala daughter
a nun, they were greatly perturbed, conveyed it to the king Prasenajit and the latter immediately set out for the Master to remonstrate with him. Numerous Brahmans, warriors and citizens of Shravasti had gathered together there. Then the Buddha related the story of Trishanku, the Chandala chieftain. The latter, ages ago, was desirous of matching his learned son Shardulakarna to the daughter of the proud Brahman Pushkarasari. The Brahman rejected his over- tures with disdain and now follows a most interesting dia- logue in which Trishanku subjects to searching criticism the caste system and the Brahmanic code of morality. He demonstrates that between members of the various castes there exists no such natural difference as between diverse species of animals and plants.

(From the following book itself)

… spread of his doctrine of celibacy is perpetuated at page 126. Here is the clear echo of the opposition offered to the Buddha, whose gospel was not promulgated bo smoothly and without restraint, as may be inferred from the majority of the Pali books, in which sermon after sermon ends in the conversion of thou- sands of human and non-human beings: Kimh/ushmalcam
shramano Gautamah karoti, sopi pravrajito yuyam api pravrajitah bhikshacarah (p. 126). We also see further the door being closed in the Buddha’s face.

The “middle path” of the Buddha was ridiculed by his opponents as impossible to lead to salvation, being loo worldly and luxurious. People were
in fact scandalised, and the hostile satire is again characteris-
tic of the objection to the practices of Buddhism, which were considered to be not sufficiently rigid to suit an ascetic life:
bhuktva annam saghritam prdbhutapishitam dadhuyttama-- larikritam Shakyeshu indriya nigrahoyadiihavet Vindhydh plavetsagare (p. 420). The important point to be observed is that they are, even at this comparative remote period, accused of eating flesh, which is clearly in conformity with indifference on this point shown by the Buddha

From NOTES ON THE DIVYAVADANA.

LITERARY HISTORY

OF

Sanskrit Buddhism
by
G. K. NARIMAN

47

It seems to be Thich Nhat Hanh’s retelling of the sutta linked to. It’s a very free retelling, but maintains the spirit of the shorter text beautifully. :slight_smile:

One thing tho: I believe I’ve heard that the caste system (not fully represented in the sutta) didn’t develop until after the Buddha’s time. @Gabriel is this correct?

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48

I try to answer this question in detail in my paper. There are several terms to consider. If you think of the varna/vanna system, then the fourfold system of brahamas, ksatriyas, vaisyas, and sudras is already mentioned in Rigveda 10.90. Also the Srauta Sutras (of which the earliest are probably pre-Buddha) mention the four ‘castes’.

Problem is, was this system valid also for the Buddha’s environment? - which was not in the Brahmin heartland. Kosala/Magadha was in the far east form where this system was established. It is mentioned however also in the Brhadaranyaka Upanisad which was probably edited closer to the Buddhist region.

So at least the Brahmins in the Buddha’s region seem to have stuck to the fourfold system. But it might well be that the non-Brahmin majority of the population was not determined by it. So it’s well possible that the vannas in the suttas belong to a later stratum, from a time when the fourfold system was more wide-spread.

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49

Interestingly, I just discovered that Jonathan Silk very recently wrote an article with a similar topic, even though he focuses on candalas: Indian Buddhist Attitudes toward Outcastes. Rhetoric around caṇḍālas. He covers more ground historically, an interesting read…

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50

Thank you @Gillian. I am enjoying so far. Will do. :grinning:

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