(Part
Two)
24. The Buddha on the Caste System
At the
time of the Buddha the caste system was firmly established
in India. According to this system, a person's position in
society was determined from the time he was born and there
was no way to change his lot in life. There were four castes,
or classes, of people in society:
- The Brahmins
or priests, who claimed to be the highest caste and the purest
of peoples
- The warriors
- The merchants and traders
- The untouchables,
who were considered the lowest class. They became workers and
servants who did all the menial jobs, and were treated as
slaves.
The Buddha
condemned the caste system, which he considered unjust. He
pointed out that there existed wicked and cruel people as
well as virtuous and kind people in every caste. Any person
who had committed a crime would be punished accordingly by
his karma no matter what caste he belonged to. He said a person
may be considered to have come from a high or low caste according
to his good and bad deeds. Therefore, according to the Buddha
it is the good and bad actions of a person and not his birth
that should determine his caste.
The Buddha
introduced the idea of placing a higher value on morality
and the equality of people instead of on which family or caste
a person is born into. This was also the first attempt to abolish
discrimination and slavery in the history of mankind.
The Buddha
said:
