How the Buddha
saved the "untouchables"
By
Charles Perera, Lankaweb, Oct 21, 2006
Venerable Sunita, who was an
untouchable, is a far relative of Indian Dalits
Colombo, Sri Lanka -- They are the Chandalas, the
Untouchables. Mahatma Gandhi called them the children of God-
Harijans. They belonged to the lowest caste in the Indian Hindu
Caste System. In ancient India they were little better than
animals.
They did menial, lowly work no body else would do. They cleaned
Streets, drains and toilets. They buried dead animals, picked food
in the dirt heaps and wore only loin clothes. They were not allowed
into Kovils- the Hindu Temples. They should neither come face to
face with the high caste gentry, nor should they look into their
faces. They should walk such that their shadows did not fall on a
member of a higher caste. They were prohibited from learning. If
they were heard to recite the Vedic prayers, their tongues were
cut. They had to hide themselves in street corners, when there were
people in the places they laboured.
Sunita was a Chandala in Rajgaha in ancient India. He was thin, his
dark skin contoured his fleshless bones. His lean stomach had sunk
deep back on to his bones. His black hair was unkempt and
dishevelled. He was one morning cleaning the roads and drains,
dressed in a dirty loin cloth, that hardly covered his nudity. He
may not have washed from a long time, because a chandala could not
approach, let alone drink the water, or wash himself with water
from a well in Rajagaha, without being castigated for soiling the
wells, which were meant only for the people of the higher
casts.
That morning Sunita could not clean the dirty road soon enough and
to his great dismay saw a group of yellow robed monks walking down
the road. He did not know where to hide as there were no shelter or
an alleyway. He backed against the wall, making himself very small,
and folding his arms in front of him stood humbly as possible
bending his head far down as he could.
The group of monks he saw was the Buddha and his retinue of Bikkhus
on their way to their Monastery. The Buddha saw Sunita, the
chandala standing humbly against the wall frightened and terrified
like a hunted fox. He approached him and speaking to him gently
said, do not have fear Friend. Do you want come with us ?
Sunita could not believe his ears, tears welled in his eyes, he
brought his hands together in front of him saluting the
Compassionate Buddha, and respectfully said in a frail voice. I am
a Chandala my lord, I have all my life been given orders, and had
never been addressed so kindly as you do. If you would accept this
dirty Chandala, I will follow you my Lord.
The Buddha then there ordained him, and on arriving at the
Monastery gave him an object of meditation, and was asked to
meditate. Meditating earnestly, Venerable Sunita become a noble
one, an Arahat. The Buddha addressing the Venerable Sunita said,
that the Order of the Sangha is like the sea into which the waters
of the four great rivers flow once in the sea, you cannot take a
handful of water and say this is the waters of the River Jamuna,
this is the waters of the river Ganges, for once in the sea the
waters become one with the waters of the sea. Now Venerable Sunita
noble one respected and venerated by all , from a humble citizen to
the King.
In 1956 five millions Dalits lead by Dr.B.R.Ambedhkar became
Buddhists. They said they are not converted to Buddhism, but going
back to the religion of their ancestors.On 4 November,2001, sixty
thousand Hindhi Dalits gathered at the Ambedkar Bhavan led by Udit
Raj, Anand Kumar and Hukum Das and became Buddhists taking Deeksha
from Bhante Buddha Priya Rahula.
In this month of October 2006, it is hoped to give deeksha to 100
000 Dalits making them Buddhists.
The Dalits consisting of 160 million people in India . They are
still a discriminated population group, despite untouchability was
officially banned in 1950. To stop discrimination against Dalits
government passed legislation known as The Prevention of Atrocities
Act in 1989. The act specifically made it illegal to parade people
naked through the streets, force them to eat faeces, force them to
drink urine, take away their land, foul their water, interfere with
their right to vote, and burn down their homes.
Nevertheless discrimination against them is said to have not
abated.