dvija varNa

[L.S.Cousins]

Dear Lynken Ghose,

You write:
>Since one of the distinctive features of the caste system seems to be the
>idea of being born into a certain jati or varna, to reject the idea of caste
>by birth seems to be a rejection of the caste system. The implication (in an
>earlier posting) that early Theravada Buddhism did not reject caste was what
>I originally reacted to.

Well, I didn't actually intend to address the issue of Buddhism and
caste. I think it is more difficult than people often assume. I
suppose that, if I have a view, it would be that the position of the
Buddha or of early Buddhism in regard to 'caste' was probably
critical rather than hostile. I suspect that it was taken for granted
as a necessary evil and not actively campaigned against.

But that said, I also suspect that the early Buddhist sangha may not
have been uniform in its views on the matter. Certainly, Buddhist
texts are opposed to the idea of the divine origin of the four
var.nas.

What is also clear is that there were brahmins who were Buddhists
throughout the known history of Buddhism in India. And subsequently
in Ceylon and South-East Asia. Indeed, there still are.

Lance Cousins
--
HEADINGTON, UK

CURRENT EMAIL ADDRESS:
selwyn at ntlworld.com