Buddha’s Caste
Siddhartha Gothama was
born to a high caste
family. After becoming
the awakened one, he
visited his country. The
second day of his visit
he went out for food
collection as he had
always done from the day
he left the palace long
ago. It was a huge shock
to his family that their
son was begging in the
streets.
His father, King
Suddhodana, came to him
and asked, “What are you
doing? This is an insult
to our family! We never
beg for food.” Buddha
calmly replied, “I am
following the way of all
previous Buddhas who did
the same. I do not
belong to a caste
anymore. I am free from
cast and tradition.
Buddha’s Tradition
One day I was reading a
book on a flight to New
York. The person on the
other end of the isle
started talking to me.
He asked me where I am
from and many details
about my life. He
explained that he has
been to Tibet and he is
Buddhist. He asked about
the book that I was
reading. I gave it to
him, but he handed it
back to me, saying,
“This is not Tibetan
Buddhism. I am not
interested.”
One day I got a call
from somebody who was
interested in Buddha’s
teaching and meditation
practice. I told him
there is a temple close
to where he lives where
he can visit monks and
borrow some books. He
said, “That temple is
not in my tradition.”
I started to think,
“Whose mistake caused
this confusion? This is
not the teaching of
Buddha.” In Buddha’s
time monks were ordained
from various traditions
and various castes but
they shared equal status
as monks. Buddha said as
the four main rivers in
India flow to the ocean
and finally unite as the
same sea. Similarly,
whoever follows Buddha’s
path becomes equals as
soon as they enter that
path. There are no
traditions inside the
teaching. Anyone should
be able to understand
the core of the
teachings, regardless of
different backgrounds.
Buddhist Way Of Life
Still, today we can see
several methods of
Buddhist practice.
Examples are Theravada
(Sri Lanka, Thailand,
Burma, Laos, Cambodia),
Mahayana (China, Japan,
Vietnam, Korea),
Vajrayana (Tibet) and
Zen Buddhism. We see
these varieties as
Buddhist cultures
because each tradition
has their own way of
practicing Buddhism and
slightly different ideas
about Buddha. Buddhism
came to the West with an
adjective such as Sri
Lankan Buddhism, Thai
Buddhism, Cambodian
Buddhism, Tibetan
Buddhism, and Zen
Buddhism. Sometimes
Westerners can be
confused with this
identification as they
compare this concept
with the hundreds of
sects of Chrisitanity.
Many people have been
misled by
misunderstanding the
cultural influences on
Buddhist teaching in
different countries.
Even the Theravada
traditions in Sri Lanka,
Thailand, Myanmar, and
Cambodia monks have
their own rituals which
are different from each
other as well as
Mahayana and Vajrayana.
To understand this it is
better to refer to the
history of Buddhism.
Buddhism originated in
India around 2500 years
ago. India was well
populated by this time
and several cultures had
developed in different
regions. Buddha’s
teachings spread in the
countries where people
embraced the teaching
through the context of
their culture. Later
these cultures adjusted
to the Buddha’s teaching
and were nourished by
Buddhism. For example,
the culture may begin to
avoid hunting out of
compassion for animals.
At the same time these
cultures continued some
of their original
cultural practices and
habits. As an example
there are no Mantras or
prayers to Buddha in the
elder traditions of
Buddhism because
Buddha’s teaching is a
way of life
Water Pot
Buddha’s teaching is
just like water. Water
takes the shapes of its
container. When one
fills a pot with water,
it becomes a water pot.
If one pours water into
a cup, it becomes a
water cup. In the same
way, we get Sri Lankan
Buddhism, Chinese
Buddhism, Thai Buddhism,
and Tibetan Buddhism. We
need a container to hold
water in the same way we
need culture to hold a
Buddhist way of life.
We can decorate the
container with beautiful
colors and still it is
empty. We do not drink
the container, we drink
water. We need wisdom to
separate the water from
the container, but
without a solid
container we cannot hold
water. Culture is
flexible; it is always
changing with our
thoughts. We can shape a
culture that supports us
to hold dhamma.
Do Not Store Medicine
Buddha said that he is
like a doctor who
pointed out a medicine
for pain and suffering.
The foolish store this
medicine without using
it or even testing it.
They prefer to just read
the label and marvel at
it. Buddha said, “My
teaching is not for
them. My teaching is for
people who test the
dhamma.” Also he said,
“One who sees me sees
the Dhamma. One who sees
the Dhamma sees me.”
Drink From Your Cup
Everyone has their own
cup, or culture, to
drink from. We have to
get Dhamma in to that
cup. If we borrow a
foreign cup to drink the
Dhamma, we might be
misled. We cannot just
follow blindly. We have
to be wise enough to get
the Dhamma into our own
cup and decorate our cup
with Dhamma. We should
know the purpose of
something before we do
it. If we follow the
traditions without
knowing what they are
for, we could miss the
benefit of that
tradition. If we know
what we are doing we are
not acting blindly. In
that way Buddhism is not
a tradition, but
Buddhist followers can
have their own
traditions which they
may call Buddhist
traditions.
Do Not Just Pass the
Cup
One does not drink the
cup, they drink water.
It is our responsibility
to fill the container
with water.
Buddha’s teaching is
here to help us make our
lives easier and find
inner peace. We have to
be smart enough test the
Dhamma. Buddha said, “My
teaching is a subject
for the wise, not the
foolish.” (nayam Dhammo
pannatassa, nayam
duppannassa
Buddha said, “This
Dhamma is like a
poisoned snake. If one
holds this snake from
head he will survive,
but if one holds it by
the tail it may turn and
bite.
May this article help us
to hold the snake wisely
and use it well.