[Buddha-l] women & , er, religion

[Richard Hayes]

On Jul 25, 2009, at 2:07 AM, Jayarava wrote:

> 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.

About fifteen years ago I related a story on buddha-l which might be  
worth repeating. In 1986 there was a conference on Buddhism in America  
to which monks and dharma teachers of many traditions were invited,  
along with academics who also practice Buddhism. Carl Bielefeldt gave  
a paper on the use of the term "hīnayāna" as used in the  
Saddharmapuṇḍarīkanāmamahāyānasūtra (the sutra of the  
grandiose vehicle called White Lotus of the Sad Dharma). His point, of  
course, was that the term was intended as a term of abuse and  
contempt, and he pointed out that in Buddhism the use of such terms as  
hīnakarma (substandard behavior), hīnavarṇa (inferior caste),  
hīnā saṃjñā (substandard understanding) are always use to warn  
people off things that are to be avoided.

No sooner had Bielefeldt finished than a Burmese layman was up on his  
feet expressing shock and outrage that a scholar would use the deeply  
offensive and provocative word "hīna". Bielefeldt explained that it is  
impossible to talk about the Lotus Sutra without using such language,  
since one of the principal messages of the Lotus Sutra is that forms  
of Buddhism not based on the Lotus Sutra should be avoided by those  
who seek the True Dharma. It is, he said, a sutra designed to offend  
and condemn and provoke, and one would miss that purpose entirely if  
one avoided offensive and provocative language.

Bielefeldt's answer delighted the Buddhist academics, but it managed  
to start a firestorm among the other Buddhists. Theravādins expressed  
outrage that the ugly word "hīna" had been spoken in a public forum  
with ladies present, and the Mahāyāna folk were outraged that anyone  
would suggest that Mahāyāna sutras might be polemical and aimed at  
denigrating other Buddhists. (Imagine endless references to  
bodhisattva vows saying that it is a grave offense to denigrate any  
Buddhist teaching. Moi? Denigrating?)

In the midst of all the ensuing proliferation of tranquil, benevolent,  
wise and compassionate discourse of the sort that one takes for  
granted among Buddhist practitioners, a Theravādin monk originally  
from Sri Lanka but then based in Chicago told a personal anecdote  
about an encounter he had had with an African-American man. Someone  
called the African-American a nigger, and the man so designated (dare  
I say denigrated?) became angry. The Theravādin monk tried to calm him  
down by pointing out that words are mere sounds and sounds can hurt no  
one, and there is nothing good to be gained by causing oneself mental  
hurt by becoming offended at mere sound waves in the air. (Right out  
of the textbook, eh?) A few months later, the bhikkhu and his African- 
American friend were attending a lecture at which someone referred to  
the Theravāda as a school with origins in the Hīnayāna. The bhikkhu  
admitted to feeling a swell of anger and jumping to his feet to  
protest. Before he could speak more than a few words, he felt a gentle  
tugging at the edge of his robe. His African-American friend quietly  
said "I think you now know how I feel when someone calls me a nigger."

-- 
Richard Hayes
Department of Philosophy
University of New Mexico
http://www.unm.edu/~rhayes
rhayes at unm.edu