In June 2019 the 16th Sakyadhita conference will be held, for the first time ever in Australia. See
here for details. These are large meetings; the
previous one,
held in Hong Kong in 2017, attracted about 800 attendees from 31
countries. BODHI Australia will be attending this meeting, represented
by at least 4 committee members and one partner, Karunadeepa. Below is
the summary of our paper, and below that is our current draft of the
full paper.
The paper is designed to be read; some repetition is deliberate
Authors: Maxine Ross, Karunadeepa, Emilia Della Torre; Colin D. Butler
Summary:
In 1956 the great reformer Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar led, in Nagpur, India, a
mass conversion to Buddhism, involving at least 300,000 people.
Millions more have since converted in an ongoing social movement, still
keenly needed, reaching for greater justice in India, particularly for
women, and particularly for Dalits, once called “untouchables”. Since
2005 the NGO BODHI Australia (founded in 1989) has supported the work of
a team led by
Karunadeepa,
a Dalit whose grandfather took part in the historic Nagpur conversion,
and who for decades has worked for an Indian NGO, based in Pune, India,
itself largely supported by the UK Karuna Trust, allied with Triratna,
whose founder (Venerable Sangharakshita) first met Dr Ambedkar in 1952.
The work BODHI Australia has supported with Karunadeepa and her team
mainly seeks to enhance the life-chances of slum-dwellers, especially
migrants from rural Maharashtra (not necessarily Dalit, nor Buddhist) by
improving education, health and awareness of family planning. In 2017
Karunadeepa, with Dalit colleagues, started to develop a new NGO, the
Bahujan Hitay Pune Project, entirely governed by Dalit women, which will
extend and deepen this work, but which also presents new challenges. In
this talk, Karunadeepa, during her first visit to Australia, will
discuss these activities, together with representatives of BODHI
Australia. BODHI’s work to support Dalit-led and other
development-promoting projects in India may seem a drop but can also be
seen as a key to inspire, to resist oppression, to support development
and to assist escape from poverty and vulnerability.
Dr Ambedkar. https://www.culturalindia.net/reformers/br-ambedkar.html original source unknown
Full paper:
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This paper starts by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land this conference is held on, the
Gundungurra, the Indigenous people who have thrived on this continent for
at least 65,000
years. The authors of this paper are all apprentices of dharma. Between
us, we have been exposed to about two centuries of close contact with
Buddhism. One of us (Karunadeepa) was born Buddhist. However, none of us
claim, or admit, deep knowledge of Buddhist scholarship. We thank the
organisers of this historic conference for the opportunity to speak and
to be published in this setting, alongside the work of people with far
more scholarly knowledge of Buddhism than we will ever have.
The main motivation for this talk and essay is to provide information about the work of some followers (in Pune, India) of
Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, who lived in India from 1891 until 1956. Dr Ambedkar was 65 years old when he died, coinciding with the
Buddha Jayanti festival,
to honour Buddhism’s 2500th year. The Dalai Lama first arrived in
India, mainly to attend this celebration, only a few days before Dr
Ambedkar died.
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Add caption
The traditional Buddhist dharma wheel,
representing interdependence and liberation, was added to the Indian national
flag at Dr. Ambedkar’s suggestion. Here it is on a stamp, issued to celebrate 2500 years of Buddhism. Source
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While three of us were not born Buddhist, an
important reason for our attraction to it is its links with social
justice, or fairness, including its rejection of the principle that
hereditarily transmitted inequality is legitimate. A basic teaching of
many religions (maybe all of them) is the principle of cause and effect.
In both Buddhism and Hinduism this principle is called karma, yet the
dominant group in each of these two faiths, otherwise quite similar,
appears to have a drastically different interpretation of this
principle. Because we are not scholars, even more than from lack of
time, we cannot trace these differences to early teachings. Instead, the
observations in this paper are based mainly on our own personal
experience, and our understanding of world events, both today and in the
fairly recent past.
Whether or not there is a future life, the three
authors of this paper, not born Buddhist, have all been, at various
times, intensely moved by the unfairness of the social world, as was Dr
Ambedkar, born a Hindu, but who converted to Buddhism in October 1956.
This was in Nagpur, Maharashtra, in central India, at a mass gathering
attended by over 300,000 people, one of whom was a grandfather of the
fourth author of this paper,
Karunadeepa, the only one of us who was born Buddhist.
In
Australia, even among those of European descent, much inequality is
passed through the generations, and along family lines, by privilege and
unequal access to opportunity. Many people who are wealthy went to
exclusive, expensive schools, where, in time, they send their own
children. It is well-known, and not just allegation, that many rich
people do not pay a fair share of tax. Mackenzie Bezos, the soon to be
divorced wife of Jeff Bezos, the founder of the company Amazon, is
reported to be due to receive almost US$70 billion in her divorce
settlement. In so doing, she will become the richest woman in the world.
Bezos, himself, is reported to have humble origins, the son of a
teenage mother and a father who has been described as “deadbeat”. But
his example of transition from hardship to fabulous wealth is more the
exception than the rule.
Dr Ambedkar, who served as Law Minister
in the first Indian government in 1947, was also exceptional. This was
not through extraordinary entrepreneurial skills and alleged
“robotization” of employees (the Bezos route), but from an vigorous and
courageous intellect, some protection in childhood (due to descent from
several generations of soldiers, including his father who rose to be an
officer, in an army whose British leaders were far less caste-conscious
than most Indians) (1) and hard work. Timing and history was also important.
Ambedkar became a leading public figure through his central role in the
struggle for Indian independence from Britain, recently reported as
plundering the equivalent of $45 trillion from India during its long
occupation (2).
We said that Dr Ambedkar was born Hindu. More
accurately, as a member of the Mahar caste, he was born “untouchable”,
meaning that close contact with him (even if indirect) was considered,
by orthodox Hindus, to pollute or contaminate those who were
conditioned, usually since birth, to consider themselves “higher born”,
such as Brahmins.
For example, as a schoolboy, Ambedkar not only
had to sit in a separate section at school (sometimes outside) but could
not touch the tap if he was thirsty. In order to drink, a peon,
considered “touchable” had to be found to turn it on.
Once, while
travelling to visit his father, Ambedkar, aged 9, with a brother and
two young nephews, all children, were stranded for over an hour at the
station (following their first ever train ride), waiting for a servant that
never arrived. The stationmaster was at first sympathetic to four
well-dressed children, until discovering their lowly caste. Eventually,
however, he helped them to find, with difficulty, a bullock cart driver,
who agreed to take them to their destination, for twice the normal fee.
But this was on condition that the children acted as driver while the
driver walked, for fear of caste “pollution”. En route (on an overnight
journey), as part of a harrowing ordeal, they were refused water (3).
Reflecting on this, Ambedkar wrote: “it left an
indelible impression .. before this incident occurred, I knew that I was an
untouchable, and that untouchables were subjected to certain indignities and
discriminations. All this I knew.
But this incident gave me a shock such as I had never received before, and it
made me think about untouchability--which, before this incident happened, was
with me a matter of course, as it is with many touchables as well as the
untouchables.
To non-Indigenous Australians the
idea of caste might seem ludicrous. But there are traces of the caste
system here too. We see it in films of past European royalty, and there
are echoes in Australia’s treatment of asylum seekers and in the
different punishments for white collar (executive) crime compared to
those committed by blue collar wearers (working class). Discrimination
based on skin colour, religion or age is officially banned (but
persists) in Australia, though discrimination based on ability to pay is
everywhere. We are nor arguing against laws and punishment, we are
instead proclaiming support for the need for a fairer world, including
of more equal opportunity.
Today, in India, the injustice of caste is
milder, especially in urban areas, than in Dr Ambedkar’s time. This is
partly due to Dr Ambedkar, partly to increased Westernisation of
affluent Indians, and partly the work of liberal Hindus, such as the
Ramakrishna mission. But chiefly, it is from the struggle and
inspiration of tens of millions of people (sometimes called Dalits) who
have renounced the legitimacy of caste as a concept. Karma may still
exist, but it no longer can be unquestioningly interpreted as meaning,
at least in India, that parental status and income completely determines
one’s life course, though, naturally, the culture that children are
reared in has a powerful “throwing” effect.
Many injustices still
exist, in India and elsewhere, including for millions of “tribal”
people. One group, seeking to reduce this injustice, and inspired by the
teaching and legacy of Dr Ambedkar, is led by Karunadeepa. In 2017,
with colleagues, almost all of whom are women, Karunadeepa started to
develop a new non-government organization (NGO), called the
Bahujan Hitay Pune Project.
Since 1982, this work has been undertaken under the umbrella of a
larger NGO, the Trailokya Baudha Maha Sangh Gana, but the time has come
for a new, legally distinct group.
Bahujan refers to the people
in the majority, meaning in India, “Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes
and Other Backward Castes”. Bahujan Hitay roughly translates as “for the
welfare of many”. The work of the Bahujan Hitay Pune Project is
principally with disadvantaged slum dwellers (scheduled castes and
scheduled tribes) in this city of about six million, in the sprawling
state of Maharashtra, parts of which are afflicted by drought and
accompanying desperation, including farmer suicide. Consequently, many
people migrate to Pune, seeking better conditions.
This work in Pune has, since 1982, been supported by the
Karuna Trust
a British charity founded by the late Ven Sangharakshita, who, as young
man seeking to work for the good of Buddhism, based mainly in
Kalimpong, in the Himalayan foothills, met Dr Ambedkar three times,
including shortly before his conversion (4). Since 2005, this work led
by Karunadeepa has also been supported by two NGOs with an Australian
connection. These NGOs (
BODHI and
BODHI Australia) were co-founded by
Colin Butler and his late wife Susan, in 1989. Since then, these groups
have raised and distributed about A$0.5M to partners in six countries in
Asia, mostly in India. The acronym means Benevolent Organisation for
Development, Health and Insight. BODHI Australia also helps to support
the Aryaloka Education Society, a Dalit-led NGO, based in Nagpur, which
teaches basic computing skills, mostly to young women from poor
villages.
In this talk, Karunadeepa, during her first visit to
Australia, will discuss some of the activities of the Bahujan Hitay Pune
Project. Four members of BODHI Australia’s committee, in addition to
Karunadeepa, are attending the whole conference, and they hope to learn
from and gain inspiration and encouragement from other individuals or
NGOs engaged in similar development work.
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| Mrs Rubina Khan who trains slum dwellers in beauty therapy and hairdressing trainer. With permission.These three photos were taken in Pune, Maharashtra, India, in March 2018 (by Colin Butler) |
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| Mrs Sushma Chavan, an assistant teacher in the an assistant teacher at the Hadaspar balwadi (kindergarten) (Pune), with her two daughters. |
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| The boy (Aniketh) is soon to have surgery - provided for free by the Indian government. |
Whether or not there is
a future life, we believe that the creation of good karma is important
to try to reduce suffering, in this life. In our understanding of
Buddhism, core values are compassion (karuna) and wisdom (panna or
prajna), while the first Noble truth refers to the reality of suffering,
not only of the perceiver, but also of others – human, animal and even
Nature herself.
In the three decades of BODHI’s work the barriers
facing partner organizations, in order to receive foreign funds have
worsened. This steepens the challenge to reach the poorest people and to
promote genuinely long-lasting development. But there is still great
need. We ask for your support, either directly, or in many other ways.
References
2. Patnaik U.
How the British impoverished India. Hindustan Times. 2018.
3. Ambedkar BR.
Waiting for a visa. In: Moon V, editor. Dr Babasaheb
Ambedkar: Writings and Speeches. Bombay, India: Education Department,
Government of Maharashtra; 1993.
4. Sangharakshita U. Ambedkar and Buddhism: Windhorse Publications; 1986. Free
pdf of book
here.
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