[Buddha-l] caste-ist term ?

[Chris Fynn]

Jayarava wrote:

> If you look back through the Buddhist scriptures you will find 
> this kind of argument all through history. Buddhists are often
> quite paranoid about defining who a Buddhist is; and about issues 
> of authenticity and lineage (ordination). Buddhists get into 
> disputes not only with other faiths, but also with other
> Buddhists, and describe people who disagree in the worst possible 
> terms. Hīnayāna being most likely a caste-ist term IMHO - hīna
> being used in a number of other compounds for describing out
> -castes and untouchables. Dayamati has translated it as Garbage 
> Vehicle, but I tend to suggest Nigger Vehicle for a modern 
> equivalent with a similar emotional sting.

One of the Bodhisattva precepts is not to disparage the Hīnayāna. If 
your reading of that term were correct, the precept itself does just that.

- CF