Rattibha

@RamaInExile These are outdated Protestant (mis)interpretations.
Buddha saying a Bhikshu isn't someone who wears the robe doesn't mean a Bhikshu doesn't/ shouldn't wear it. The verses merely highlight the importance of achara. There's no dichotomy b/w caste & ethical behaviour there.

@RamaInExile Indeed, Buddha explicitly criticized his contemporary people for rejecting the doctrine of caste (जातिवाद). The presence of caste in the Buddhist world is simply irrefutable.

@RamaInExile Indeed, ethical behaviour is the highest law for all in the Brahmanical traditions. But this doesn't necessarily mean people should reject austerities, traditional customs and Vedic learning.

@RamaInExile Excerpts from the Maitreya Upanishad and Mahabharata.
Rejection of caste???

@RamaInExile "Caste is not by birth".
Well, not exactly. In Buddhism, caste is recognized by birth because one is "reborn" in different castes for having done different actions.

@RamaInExile In the Buddhist caste system, purity of blood, jati, gotra, kula mattered a lot.

@RamaInExile Aśvaghoṣa in his anti-womxn chapter shows his opposition to intercaste love lmao

@RamaInExile Śāntideva: “To be reborn in a low-caste family is the effect of bad karma” 😭

@RamaInExile The views expressed by @Aabhas24 have scholarly support and are consistent with what modern Buddhist scholarship says about Buddhist caste. No pre-modern Buddhist would disagree with him.

@RamaInExile @Aabhas24 You seem to be upset with the alleged behaviour of Brahmins towards Buddha. Who's the elephant in the room?
Buddha who had a holier-than-thou approach never bowed before anyone. He routinely stereotyped and disrespected Brahmin-Sramanas, Jains, Ajivikas and non-Buddhists.

@RamaInExile @Aabhas24 The author of the Vajrasuchi is not Aśvaghoṣa. Both the Vajrasuchi Upanishad and its commentary (wrongly ascribed to Aśvaghoṣa) belong to the Hindu world. The author of the Vajrasuchi literally declares that the Vedas are the highest authority.

@RamaInExile @Aabhas24 The views of the Vajrasuchi Upanishad, the Vajrasuchi and other Brahmanical texts represent a particular non-dual Upanishadic view in the service of the ultimate Brahman.