Classical Buddhism, Neo-Buddhism and the Question of Caste

1. Auflage 2020
ISBN: 978-0-8153-8167-9
Verlag: Routledge India

Buch, Englisch, 326 Seiten, Format (B × H): 161 mm x 240 mm, Gewicht: 658 g

This book examines the interface between Buddhism and the caste system in India. It discusses how Buddhism in different stages, from its early period to contemporary forms—Theravada, Mahayana, Tantrayana and Navayana—dealt with the question of caste. It also traces the intersections between the problem of caste with those of class and gender. The volume reflects on the interaction between Hinduism and Buddhism: it looks at critiques of caste in the classical Buddhist tradition while simultaneously drawing attention to the radical challenge posed by Dr B. R. Ambedkar’s Navayana Buddhism or neo-Buddhism. The essays in the book further compare approaches to varna and caste developed by modern thinkers such as M. K. Gandhi and S. Radhakrishnan with Ambedkar’s criticisms and his departures from mainstream appraisals.

With its interdisciplinary methodology, combining insights from literature, philosophy, political science and sociology, the volume explores contemporary critiques of caste from the perspective of Buddhism and its historical context. By analyzing religion through the lens of caste and gender, it also forays into the complex relationship between religion and politics, while offering a rigorous study of the textual tradition of Buddhism in India. This book will be useful to scholars and researchers of Indian philosophy, Buddhist studies, Indology, literature (especially Sanskrit and Pali), exclusion and discrimination studies, history, political studies, women studies, sociology, and South Asian studies.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Gokhale, Pradeep P.

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politikwissenschaft Allgemein Politische Geschichte
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften Interdisziplinär Regionalwissenschaften, Regionalstudien
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Literaturen sonstiger Sprachräume Indische & Dravidische Literatur
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Wirtschaftssoziologie, Arbeitssoziologie, Organisationssoziologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Asiatische Geschichte
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Religionssoziologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Religionsgeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Sozialphilosophie, Politische Philosophie
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Buddhismus
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Ethik, Moralphilosophie
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Mentalitäts- und Sozialgeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Geschichte der Westlichen Philosophie Antike Philosophie
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Religionsphilosophie, Philosophische Theologie
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Stadt- und Regionalsoziologie
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziale Gruppen/Soziale Themen Soziale Gruppen & Klassen
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziologie Allgemein
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Religionsphilosophie, Philosophische Theologie
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziale Gruppen/Soziale Themen Gender Studies, Geschlechtersoziologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Literaturen sonstiger Sprachräume Ost- & Südostasiatische Literatur
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Hinduismus
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politikwissenschaft Allgemein Politische Theorie, Politische Philosophie
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Nicht-Westliche Philosophie Indische & Asiatische Philosophie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction PART I Classical Buddhism and caste 1 Buddha’s attitude towards the caste system as available in Pali texts 2 Caste in classical Indian philosophy: some ontological problems 3 Epistemological foundations of caste identities: a review of Buddhist critique of classical orthodox Indian realism 4 Casting away the caste: a Buddhist standpoint in the Vimalaprabha commentary on the Kalacakra tantra PART II Neo-Buddhism: Ambedkar on caste, class and gender 5 Buddha and Ambedkar on caste: a comparative overview 6 Neo-Buddhism, Marxism and the caste question in India 7 Ambedkar’s critique of patriarchy: interrogating at intersection of caste and gender PART III Hinduism and Buddhism: interaction, conflict and beyond 8 Buddhism and Hindu society: some observations from medieval Marathi literature 9 The Buddhist past as a cultural conflict: Ambedkar’s exhumation of Indian history 10 Gandhi and Ambedkar on caste PART IV Religion, modernity and Navayana Buddhism 11 Social solidarity or individual perfection: conceptions of religion in Ambedkar and Radhakrishnan 12 Religion, caste and modernity: Ambedkar’s reconstruction of Buddhism 13 Ambedkar and modern Buddhism: continuity and discontinuity Appendix I: Vajrasuci Appendix II: Vajrasuci and its reverberations

Über Autor(innen)

Pradeep P. Gokhale is Honorary Adjunct Professor at the Department of Pali, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune, India. He has 31 years of postgraduate teaching and research experience in Philosophy at Savitribai Phule Pune University, and was Dr B. R. Ambedkar Research Professor at the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarnath (Varanasi) for six years. He has written in diverse areas such as Indian epistemology and logic; the schools of classical Indian philosophy such as Buddhism, Lokayata, Yoga and Jainism; Indian moral and social philosophy; Indian philosophy of religion; contemporary Buddhism and Ambedkar studies. His research interests have focused on the interface between orthodox and heterodox Indian thought, including between Nyaya and Buddhist logical thought. His published works include Inference and Fallacies Discussed in Ancient Indian Logic with Special Reference to Nyaya and Buddhism (1992) and Lokayata/Carvaka: A Philosophical Inquiry (2015), apart from six books in Marathi and the edited volume The Philosophy of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar (2008).