[Buddha-l] Aung San Suu Kyi and the latest Burmese prosecutions

[jkirk]

Thanks for this report from the Ambedkarite trenches.
 
As for going to see--I'm not sure when or if I'll be going back
to S. Asia (India and Bangladesh), but if I do manage to get up
the gumption to go (considering my physical limitations), I'll be
sure to get info from you as offered, to meet some of the
ex-dalit Buddhists. 
I've reached the point in my life that I figure traveling alone's
not a good idea. But if connected to some tour, maybe a dharma
tour, I could cut loose after it's over and check out the new
Buddhist scene. I notice in latest issue of Tricyle that Stephen
Batchelor has been leading dharma tours to India and Lumbini--now
there would be a tour leader to be with. 
Wow.

Cheeers, Joanna




--- On Sat, 16/5/09, jkirk <jkirk at spro.net> wrote:

> and the dalits are still lowest on the social totem pole.
> Not very clear what converting to Buddhism under Ambedkar did
for 
> them, either.

Maybe you should talk to some of them and find out. I spent a
week with 400 Dalit Buddhists in Bodhgaya earlier this year and
they all seemed very grateful to Ambedkar for his role in their
lives. They now have a conception of being free of caste
prejudice. Even if they are not entirely free of it, they can at
least conceive of it, and have begun to work towards it. For
centuries they could not even conceive of things being different
- they bought into the caste dharma story and acquiesced. 

There is still strong conservatism in many Dalit communities -
one of my dear friends was rejected and persecuted by his family
and community for converting for instance. Even now Dalits
sometimes find it hard not to relate to each other on the basis
of jati! They often still marry within their caste for instance.
However even this is changing - especially in the cities.

One problem is that there are so few Dharma teachers, so few
people well versed enough in theory and practice to reach all of
the Dalits. One of my friends has a project based in Nagpur and
Sarnath to train up 10,000 Dharma workers to help address the
lack. It's so far reaching, and so ambitious, but I've seen what
he can do, what they can do, and I think the dharma-revolution is
in safe hands!

Many Ambedkarites have yet to have any significant instruction in
the Dharma, but, even so many years after the death of Ambedkar
and the struggles they face, they still have this radical idea of
being free of prejudice, and they haven't given up. Perhaps the
road will be long, but they have begun the journey - one that was
inconceivable before Ambedkar.

It's both daunting and inspiring to see how they live and yet
what their response to the Dharma is; to see how far they have
come, and yet how far they have to go. They have gained
everything in gaining an idea of freedom, and yet have not gained
much in a material or political sense. I suppose we must contrast
50 years of idealism with centuries of dumb oppression. 

I could arrange some introductions if you want to go and see the
Dalit Dhammakranti first hand.

Jayarava



      

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