Ambedkar And Buddhism

On the morning of 14 Octobe 1956,at a mass rally in the Indian town of Nagpur, rour hundred men and women turned their backs on a millennium of degradation and slavery. Finally renouncing Hinduism, with its cruel system of `graded inequality, they turned instead to Buddhism, in search of dignity, hope and a psth to self-improvemsent. Over the coming months, Hindu India shook as hundreds of thousands more followed their example, and as the Buddha Dhamma came back to life in the land of its birth. The man solely responsible for this historic revival was Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar; politician, and educationalist; India`s first law Minister, chief architect of her constitution- and lifelong hampion of her downtrodden million.

The Volume Examines The Ambedkar`S Sociology Of Religion And Highlights The Influences Which Have Shaped His Ideas. Brings Ambedkar`S Views Which Are Significant In Present Times-Shows His Treatment Of Buddhist Scriptures And How He Innovated Buddhism-Also Discusses What Shape The Movement Has Taken And The Direction In Which It Is Headed. Collects Fifteen Papers On The Subject.

The Buddha and His Dhamma was B.R. Ambedkar's last work. Published posthumously, it presented a radical reorientation of Buddhist thought and literature, aptly called navayana. It deals with Ambedkar's conceptualization of Buddhism and the possibilities it offered for liberation and upliftment of the Dalits. It presents his reflections on the life of the Buddha, his teachings, and the spread of Buddhism by interweaving anecdotes with detailed analyses of the religion's basic tenets. The author also includes important elements of the Buddhist canon and tradition to make the teachings more accessible. In the first critical and annotated edition of this work, the editors address the on-going debate on Ambedkar's interpretation of the Buddha's dhamma by focusing on the accuracy of his citations and providing missing sources. They also discuss Ambedkar's modification of source materials. The introduction contextualizes the scholarly work related to the text.

Papers presented at the Workshop on "Dr. Ambedkar, Buddhism and Social Change", held at Sarnath during 29-31 March 1991.

This companion to volume 9 continues the story of Dr B.R. Ambedkar and his role in the revival of Buddhism in India. It includes a celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of Dr Ambedkar’s conversion to Buddhism, a commentary on Dr Ambedkar’s article ‘Buddha and the Future of His Religion’, articles on the mass conversion in 1956, an account of Sangharakshita’s visit to Nagpur at the time of Dr Ambedkar’s death, and notes from some of the hundreds of talks Sangharakshita gave in India during the next few years, as well as later talks he gave both in India and in the West.

One of the most far-reaching of Sangharakshita's contributions to modern Buddhism was giving shape to the Buddhist conversion movement begun by the great Indian statesman and reformer, Dr B.R. Ambedkar. The first part tells the story of how Ambedkar overcame the suffering and struggle of his early years to become the shaper of the Indian constitution and the leader of his people to a new life. The second part is a collection of 36 talks from Sangharakshita's tour of the Buddhist communities in India in 1981-2.

1: Introduction 2. The Resurgence of Buddhism 3. Dr. Babasaheb Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar 4. Neo-Buddhism as a S ocial Philosophy 5. The Scripture of the Neo-Buddhists 6. The Ethico-Ritualistic Dimension ofNeo-Buddhism 7. Neo-Buddhism and Some Western Thinkers 8. Impact of Neo-Buddhism in India and Abroad 9. Conclusion Annexure I Annexure IIAnnexure III Bibliography Index