उपसंहार

EPILOGUE

1. Tributes to the Buddha’s Greatness. 2. A Vow to Spread His Dhamma. 3. A Prayer for His Return to His Native Land.

(या पानावर मजकूर नाही — ते कोरे किंवा चित्राचे पान असू शकते.)

EPILOGUE VIII

§ 1. Tributes to the Buddha’s Greatness

1. The Buddha was born 2500 years ago.

2. What do modern thinkers and scientists say of him and his Dhamma? An anthology of their thoughts on the subject will be useful.

3. Prof. S. S. Raghavachar says :

4. “The period immediately antecedent to the life of the Buddha was one of the darkest ages in the history of India.

5. “It was intellectually a backward age. The thought of the time was characterised by an implicit veneration for the authority of the scriptures.

6. “Morally it was a dark age.

7. “Morality meant for the believing Hindus the correct performance of rites and ceremonies enjoined in the holy texts.

8. “The really ethical ideas like self-sacrifice or purity of will did not find appropriate positions in the moral consciousness of the time.”

9. Mr. R. J. Jackson says:

10. “The unique character of the Buddha’s teaching is shown forth in the study of Indian Religious thought.

11. “In the hymns of the Rig-Veda we see man’s thoughts turned outwards, away from himself, to the world of the gods.

12 “Buddhism directed man’s search inwards to the potentiality hidden within himself.

13. “In the Vedas we find prayer, praise and worship.

14. “In Buddhism for the first time we find training of the mind to make it act righteously.”

15. Winwood Reade says:

16. “It is when we open the book of nature, it is when we read the story of evolution through millions of years, written in blood and tears, it is when we study the laws regulating life, the laws productive of development, that we see plainly how illusive is the theory that God is love.

VIII

17. “In everything there is wicked profligate and abandoned waste. Of all animals that are born only a very small percentage survives.

18. “Eat and be eaten is the rule in the ocean, the air, the forest. Murder is the law of growth.”

19. This is what Reade says in his “Martyrdom of Man.” How different is the Dhamma of the Buddha.

20. This is what Dr. Ranjan Roy says:

21. “Throughout the second half of the nineteenth century the three laws of conservation held sway. Nobody challenged them.

22. “They were the laws of matter, mass and energy.

23. “They were the trump cards of those idealists who cherished the thought of their being indestructible.

24. “Nineteenth century scientists professed them as the governing factors of creation.

25. “Nineteenth century scientists professed them as constituting the fundamental nature of the Universe.

26. “They conceived that the Universe was filled with indestructible atoms.

27. “Just as the nineteenth century was drawing to a close, Sir J. J. Thompson and his followers began to hammer the atoms.

28. “Surprisingly enough the atoms began to break up into fragments.

29. “These fragments came to be called electrons, all similar and charged with negative electricity.

30. “Atoms hailed by Maxwell as imperishable foundation-stones of the Universe or Reality broke down.

31. “They got broken into tiny particles, protons and electrons charged with positive and negative electricity respectively.

32. “The concept of a fixed unalterable mass abandoned Science for good. In this century the Universal belief is that matter is being annihilated at every instant.

EPILOGUE VIII

33. “The Buddha’s doctrine of Anicca (transitoriness) is confirmed.

34. “Science has proved that the course of the Universe is a grouping and dissolution and regrouping.

35. “The trend of Modern Science is the trend of an ultimate reality, unity and diversity of ego.

36. “Modern Science is the echoing of the Buddhists doctrines of transitoriness (annica) and of egolessness (anatta).”

37. Mr. E. G. Taylor, in his “Buddhism and Modern Thought,” says:

38. “Man has been ruled by external authority long enough. If he is to be truly civilized, he must learn to be ruled by his own principles. Buddhism is the earliest ethical system where man is called upon to have himself governed by himself.

39. “Therefore a progressive world needs Buddhism to teach it this supreme lesson.”

40. The Reverend Leslie Bolton, unitarian minister, says :

41. “I see in the spiritual psychology of Buddhism its most powerful contribution.

42. “Unitarian Christians like Buddhists reject the external authority of church books or creeds and find in man himself the guiding lamp.

43. “Unitarians see in Jesus and Gautama noble exponents of the way of life.”

44. Prof. Dwight Goddard says:

45. “Among the world’s religious teachers, Buddha alone has the glory of having rightly judged the intrinsic greatness of man’s capacity to work out his salvation without extraneous aid.”

46. “If the worth of a truly great man consists in his raising the worth of all mankind, who is better entitled to be called truly great than the Blessed One.

47. “Who instead of degrading him by placing another being over him, has exalted him to the highest pinnacle of wisdom and love.”

48. Mr. E. J. Mills, author of “Buddhism,” says:

49. “In no other religion are the values of

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knowledge and evil of ignorance so much insisted upon as they are in Buddhism.”

50. “No other religion lays so much stress upon keeping one’s eyes open.

51. “No other religion has formulated such deep laid plans for mental culture.”

52. Prof. W. T. Stace says in his Buddhist ethics :

53. “the Buddhist moral ideal, the Arhat, had to be both morally and intellectually great.

54. “He had to be a philosopher, as well as a man of good conduct.

55. “Knowledge was always stressed by Buddhism as essential to Salvation, and ignorance as one of the two main causes of failure to attain it (craving or attachment being the other).

56. “On the contrary, knowledge has never been any part of the Christian ideal man.”

57. “Owing to the unphilosophical character of its founder in the Christian Scheme of thought the moral side of man has been divorced from the intellectual side.

58. “Far more of the world’s misery is caused by stupidity and blind faith than by wickedness.

59. “The Buddha did not allow this.”

60. Enough unto this to show how great and how unique is the Buddha and his Dhamma.

61. Who would not say let such a one be our Master ? § 2. A Vow to Spread His Dhamma

1. “There are beings without limit, Let us take the vow to convey them all across.

2. There are depravities in us without number, Let us take the vow to extinguish them all.

3. There are truths without end, Let us take the vow to comprehend them all.

4. There is the Way of Buddha without comparison, Let us take the vow to accomplish it perfectly.” Encyclopedia of Religion & Ethics, Vol. X, p. 168.

EPILOGUE VIII

§ 3. A Prayer for His Return to His Native Land

1. “O Exalted One! I trust myself whole-heartedly To the Tathagata whose light pervades, Without any impediment, the regions in the ten quarters, And express my earnest desire to be born in Thy Land.

2. In realizing in vision the appearance of Thy Land, I know that it surpasses all realms in the threefold existence.

3. That it is like sky, embracing all, Vast and spacious without boundaries,

4. Thy mercy and compassion in accordance with the righteous way, Is an outgrowth of the stock of merits (accumulated by Thee), which are beyond all worldly good;

5. And Thy light permeates everywhere, Like the mirrors of the Sun and the Moon.

6. Let me pray that all beings, having been born there, Shall proclaim the Truth, like Buddha Thyself.

7. Herewith I write down this essay and utter these verses, And pray that I could see Thee, O Buddha, face to face,

8. And that I could, together with all my fellowbeings, Attain the birth in the Land of Bliss.” Encyclopedia of Religion & Ethics, Vol. X, p. 169.

(या पानावर मजकूर नाही — ते कोरे किंवा चित्राचे पान असू शकते.)

PALI AND OTHER SOURCES OF Dr. B. R. Ambedkar’s

“THE BUDDHA AND HIS DHAMMA”

WITH AN INDEX

(या पानावर मजकूर नाही — ते कोरे किंवा चित्राचे पान असू शकते.)

Dr. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR WRITINGS AND SPEECHES Supplement To THE BUDDHA AND HIS DHAMMA Vol. 11

Sources and Index by Vasant Moon

(या पानावर मजकूर नाही — ते कोरे किंवा चित्राचे पान असू शकते.)

CONTENTS Page

1. Preface ... i-ii 2. Pali sources of the text with notes ... 1-24 3. Index to the text ... 25-35 4. Bibliography ... 36-38 5. Epithets of Buddha ... 39

(या पानावर मजकूर नाही — ते कोरे किंवा चित्राचे पान असू शकते.)

PREFACE

Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar’s “The Buddha and His Dhamma” was posthumeusly published in the year 1957 by the People’s Education Society, Bombay. The book was received by Ambedkarite Buddhists with great enthusiasm and devotion but the traditional Buddhist world could not readily accept the theories and interpretation of Buddhism propounded by Dr. Ambedkar. One of the arguments of critics was that the book did not indicate the sources from the original Buddhist scriptures and hence it lacks authenticity. The People’s Education Society thereafter released four editions but no efforts were made to incorporate the original sources from which Dr. Ambedkar had taken the references and based his theories.

The book was first translated into Hindi by the renowned Buddhist scholar Dr. Bhadant Anand Kausalyayan, which was published in 1961. Dr. Kausalyayan attempted to provide as many sources from the original text as possible. But these sources were not transferred either in any of the English editions or in any of the translations in Marathi or other languages, which came out later.

Mrs. Adele M. Fiske of the University of Pennsylvania studied this subject in detail for her Master of Arts dissertation. She had submitted a paper entitled ‘The use of Buddhist scriptures in Dr. Ambedkar’s ‘Buddha and His Dhamma’ for her degree.

‘The Buddha and His Dhamma’ was recently entrusted by the People’s Education Society to the Government of

viii PREFACE Maharashtra for publication in the series, ‘Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar:’ Writings and Speeches’.

I, having been in-charge of the project of Dr. Ambedkar’s works, was very much elated as I had studied this book as early as in 1957. I had given discourses on this book during 1958-60 in Yavatmal District, and thereafter published a brief commentary on this book in 1960 viz. Buddha Dhamma Pradeep. Although the book carried my pen-name as ‘NAG’, my real name, however, became known throughout Vidarbha within few years through this book. Ven. Anand Kausalyayan encouraged me. He was particularly happy with the diagram I had furnished in the book explaining ‘Nama-Rupa’. After the publication of this commentary viz. ‘Buddha Dhamma Pradeep’ in 1960, I wrote several articles on Buddhism based on the book by Dr. Ambedkar. ‘No-soul theory in Buddhism’ and ‘Ishwar’ are two such booklets. ‘The Buddha and His Dhamma’ which assumed a place of the Gospel among converts to Buddhism, came for publication in the series of Dr. Ambedkar’s works by Government of Maharashtra from the People’s Education Society, and with the approval of the State-level committee, I forwarded the book for printing to the Press. I had thought of incorporating the sources from the Pali text which Dr. Kausalyayan had included in the Hindi version. In addition, an index to the book was a necessity. Accordingly, I worked for about 6 months on this project. All references in Dr. Kausalyayan’s translation were verified from the English translations published by the Pali Text Society and other publishers in London.

References from ‘Buddhacharita’ were verified from Suryanarayan Choudhari’s Hindi translation while

(ix)PREFACE ‘Dhammapada’ references were checked from Prof. N. K. Bhagawat’s translation into English. Barring few insignificant errors, most of the references were found correct. Anandji had given the references at the end of the chapter or part, mentioning the corresponding number against a verse. At some places, one reference indicated several stanzas from ‘Buddhacharita’. This raised difficulty in locating the exact verse of the original text. The references which Dr. Kausalyayan quoted were from the canonical literature. I also tried to search sources of other remaining portion which Dr. Kausalyayan had left out. Very few people might be aware that Dr. Ambedkar used some non-canonical literature also to substantiate his theory. To mention here but two examples: Firstly, let me mention the name of Krishnaji Arjun Keluskar, former Principal, Wilson High School, Bombay who had published a biography of Bhagwan Gautam Buddha, in Marathi, in 1898, a copy of which he personally presented to young Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar on his success in the Matriculation examination of the University of Bombay, in 1907. In Keluskar’s book—which undoubtedly influenced Ambedkar—we find references to disputes on the waters of the Rohini river and Siddharth Gautam’s intervention to avert outbreak of hostilities between the Sakyas and the Koliyas. Secondly, a mention must be made of Professor Dharmanand Kosambi whose name is familier in Maharashtra. He had devoted his whole life to scholarship on Buddhist studies. The study of Pali in Pune and Bombay Universities was started with his efforts. Under his guidance and teachership, Buddhist studies flourished and several scholars in Pali came to the fore. Beside his scholarly editing of ‘Visuddhimagga’ and ‘Visuddhimaggadeepika’ in Pali, his books on Buddhism in Marathi are very popular. They reveal his analytical aptitude

(x) PREFACE and scholarly approach towards Buddhist studies. In his critical biography of Buddha’s life published in 1940, he was probably one of the few Indian scholars who questioned the rationale behind the story of Gautam’s renunciation narrated in Mahabhinishkraman Sutta. In his book, he said, three reasons appear evident which made Gautama leave his palace and become a recluse : (i) People were quarrelling, he hesitated to bear arms; (ii) when he saw people quarrelling, fear creeped into his mind; (iii) He found the whole world empty. He could not find a place for shelter. Obsessed by these quarrels he decided to become a Sanyasi. Explaining these reasons from the Attadandasutta, Prof. Kosambi further narrates how the Saleyas and Koliyas were quarrelling over the water of Rohini river. He says, ‘Once the armies of Sakyas and Koliyas gathered near the Rohini river to fight, but the Buddha reached there and intervened and recited the Attadand sutta decrying conlfict and the use of force. He thus suggests that this event occured before his enlightnment. This is described in Kunal Jataka and in Jataka attakatha at several places. He quotes Pabbaja and Mahasaccakasutta also to support this theory.

The traditional belief that Siddharth left his palace with Chhanna in the midnight without consulting his parents or intimating his wife is also questioned by Prof. Kosambi. He cites Ariyapariyesana Sutta to show that his parents were present when he cut his hair to become a Sannyasi. After analysing all the causes which resulted in Gautama’s renunciation, he concludes, that the frequent quarrels between Sakyas and Koliyas were responsible for his leaving home in search of finding the way for peace. Based on this theory, Prof. Dharmananda wrote a play entitled ‘Bodhisatwa’ and published it in 1949. I had read

(xi)PREFACE this play in 1962 and was surprised to find identical similarity in the story of the play and the one told by Dr. Ambedkar. I have tried to supplement Dr. Anand Kausalyayan’s sources with the information I have found in the scriptures and elsewhere.

I have also tried to prepare an Index as exhaustive as possible. I am keenly conscious of the little work done by me and the vast undone. Further efforts for exploration on this subject are left to genuine scholars from whom suggestions are welcome.

Several scholars and students of Buddhism showed concern for publication of this work. Among many who have laid me under a debt of gratitude, I wish to mention:— (1) the members of the Committee who resolved for Publication of this supplement even after the release of Vol. 11;

(2) Shri S. S. Rege, Ex-Librarian of the Siddharth College, Bombay and Shri Shrikant Talwatkar, Librarian of the Siddharth College, Bombay, who cheerfully spared me valuable books whenever required;

(3) Shri Lokmitra of Dapodi Buddha Mahavihar, Pune, and Dr. Bhalchandra Mungekar of the Bombay University who provided useful suggestions during discussion;

(4) Dr. Eleanor Zelliot of Minnesota University, a famous historian and internationally recognised American scholar of studies on Dr. Ambedkar and the Dalit Movement; and Dr. Munshilal Gautam, Commissioner, Tribal Development of the Maharashtra State; who showed so much interest and concern for seeing the script in print; and,