Insight into Lord Buddha’s unwavering stand against injustice

As today’s world grapples with the shadows of hatred, the Buddha’s teachings show a path to respond leading to change 

By Don de Silva 

In the turbulent epoch marked by wars and rampant injustice, the Buddha took an unwavering and fearless stand. The Buddha and the Sangha stood firm in their opposition to these wrongs.

As a result, in a toxic milieu where religious leaders vied for followers, power and supremacy, the Tipițaka in many discourses describes how the Buddha and his Sangha, bore the brunt of direct abuse, slander, and ridicule by individuals and mobs. There was also an attempt on the Buddha’s life.

Let’s consider just two of the many discourses in the Tipițaka concerning abuse. 

In Long Discourses 3, the encounter with Ambațțha, a young Brahmin, unfolds as a gripping testament to the Buddha’s resilience in the face of insults. Ambațțha, dispatched by a religious leader to scrutinise the Buddha’s virtue, spewed venom upon arrival. 

Disdainfully attacking the shaven-headed members of the Sangha with derogatory terms, Ambațțha launched a racial slur, branding the Sakyans as “primitives” who scorned Vedic traditions.

According to Long Discourses 3:

Ambattha arrived at the dwelling, where the Buddha was staying. He refused the Buddha’s invitation to sit down with him. 

He equated the Buddha as follows: 

“But as to these shavelings, fake ascetics, primitives, black spawn from the feet of our kinsman, I converse with them as I do with Master Gotama.” 

Ye ca kho te, bho gotama, muakā samaakā ibbhā kahā bandhupādāpaccā, tehipi me saddhi eva kathāsallāpo hoti, yathariva bhotā gotamenā”ti.”

Note the use of the term “shaveling” (mundaka) to mean those, who have shaved their heads. Also, take note of the racial connotations of using kaha (“black”) as a racial slur.

Ambațțha then went on further to describe the people of the Sakyan state, where the Buddha came from as: 

“Primitive they are, and primitive they remain! They don’t honour, respect, revere, worship, or venerate Brahmins.” 

ibbhā santā ibbhā samānā na brāhmae sakkaronti, na brāhmae garu karonti, na brāhmae mānenti, na brāhmae pūjenti, na brāhmae apacāyanti.”

Ambaha despises the Sakyans as “primitives” (ibbhā) who do not respect Vedic culture. Ibbha means menial, servile, low-caste, as related to servants.  Undeterred, the Buddha responded with sagacity, revealing Ambațțha’s lineage and dispelling the Brahmin’s delusions of grandeur. The Buddha went about describing the roots of Ambațțha’s ancestry as springing from a union between a ruler and a slave. The Brahmin’s arrogance was deflated. 

Against the Buddha’s tough response with facts, Ambațțha’s convictions crumbled, paving the way for his eventual embrace of the Buddha’s Dhamma.

In another dramatic episode, chronicled in the Vasalasutta in Anthology of Discourses 1.72, the Buddha faced the acerbic tongue of “Bhāradvāja the Rude”. 

Learning about a Brahmin from his clan joining the Sangha under the Buddha’s guidance, Bhāradvāja fumed. He then unleashed a torrent of insults upon the Buddha. 

Undeterred by the verbal onslaught, the Buddha responded with equanimity.

According to the discourse, entitled “The Low Life”, Vasalasutta:

Seeking almsfood in Sāvatthī (capital of the state of Kosala), the Buddha approached Bhāradvāja the Fire-Worshiper’s house.

Atha kho bhagavā sāvatthiya sapadāna piāya caramāno yena aggikabhāradvājassa brāhmaassa nivesana tenupasakami.

Bhāradvāja the Fire-Worshiper saw the Buddha coming off in the distance.

Addasā kho aggikabhāradvājo brāhmao bhagavanta dūratova āgacchanta.

Bharadvaja said to him,

Disvāna bhagavanta etadavoca:

“Stop right there, shaveling!

“tatreva, muaka;

Right there, worthless ascetic!

tatreva, samaaka;

Right there, despicable outcast!”

tatreva, vasalaka, tihāhī”ti.

When he said this, the Buddha said to him:

Eva vutte, bhagavā aggikabhāradvāja brāhmaa etadavoca:

“But brahmin, do you know what is a lowlife or what are the qualities that make you a lowlife?”

“jānāsi pana tva, brāhmaa, vasala vā vasalakarae vā dhamme”ti?

“No I do not, Master Gotama.

“Na khvāha, bho gotama, jānāmi vasala vā vasalakarae vā dhamme;

Please, Master Gotama, teach me this matter so I can understand what is a lowlife or what are the qualities that make you a lowlife.”

sādhu me bhava gotamo tathā dhamma desetu, yathāha jāneyya vasala vā vasalakarae vā dhamme”ti.

“Well then, brahmin, listen and apply your mind well, I will speak.”

“Tena hi, brāhmaa, suāhi, sādhuka manasi karohi; bhāsissāmī”ti.

“Yes sir,” Bhāradvāja the Fire-Worshiper replied.

“Eva, bho”ti kho aggikabhāradvājo brāhmao bhagavato paccassosi.

The Buddha then responded without mincing his words. Here are a few of the responses: 

Whether in village or wilderness,

Gāme vā yadi vā raññe,

he steals what belongs to others,

ya paresa mamāyita;

taking what has not been given:

Theyyā adinnamādeti

know him as a lowlife.

ta jaññā vasalo iti.

Having fallen into debt,

Yo have iamādāya,

when pressed to pay up he flees, saying

cujjamāno palāyati;

‘I don’t owe you anything!’:

Na hi te iamatthīti,

He deceives with lies

Yo brāhmaa samaa vā,

ascetics and brahmins

Añña vāpi vanibbaka;

and other supplicants:

Musāvādena vañceti,

know him as a lowlife.

Ta jaññā vasalo iti.

He’s a bully and a miser,

Rosako kadariyo ca,

of corrupt wishes, stingy, and devious,

Pāpiccho maccharī saho;

shameless, imprudent:

Ahiriko anottappī,

know him as a lowlife.

Ta jaññā vasalo iti.

He claims to be a perfected one,

Yo ve anaraha santo

when he really is no such thing.

Araha paijānāti; 

In the world with its Brahmās,

Coro sabrahmake loke,

that crook is truly the lowest lowlife.

Eso kho vasalādhamo;

These who are called lowlifes

Ete kho vasalā vuttā,

I have explained to you.

Mayā yete pakāsitā.

You’re not a lowlife by birth,

Na jaccā vasalo hoti,

nor by birth are you a brahmin.

Na jaccā hoti brāhmao;

You’re a lowlife by your deeds,

Kammunā vasalo hoti, 

by deeds you’re a brahmin.

Kammunā hoti brāhmao.

After he had spoken, the Brahmin Bhāradvāja decided to become a lay follower of the Buddha. 

These episodes resonate profoundly in today’s world, where insults and abuse, particularly of women, children and the vulnerable, are now the new normal.

The Buddha’s ability to dismantle prejudice, defuse hostility, and transform adversaries into followers underscores the relevance of his teachings in today’s fractured society. 

In the crucible of insult, the Buddha’s unwavering composure serves as a potent reminder that true nobility transcends the ephemeral realm of words. As today’s world grapples with the shadows of hatred, the Buddha’s teachings show a path to respond leading to change.

Sources: 

Long Discourses 3 Dīgha Nikāya 3 With Ambaha

Ambahasutta Anthology of Discourses 1.7 Sutta Nipata 1.7 The Low Life Vasalasutta

(The writer is a former director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) who links traditional knowledge, environmental sciences and spiritual/cultural heritage. Don de Silva is Buddhist Counsellor and Mentor at several UK universities. He is also involved with Sri Lankan universities. He researches the Buddhism based Intangible Cultural Heritage and its relevance to sustainability, peace, unity, abundance and communication systems.)