Sample Header Ad - 728x90

Does there exist a Pali Canon sutta that claims that a Bodhisattva can only be a male Brahmin or Kshatriya? If yes, is it possibly apocryphal?

2 votes
3 answers
1359 views
I ask this question as someone on Twitter was arguing that Buddhism is casteist. He claimed that only upper castes were permitted to enter monkhood. I told him this was completely false and shared the example of Upali the barber. He shared the following link: [Buddhism: An Atheistic and Anti-Caste Religion?](https://t.co/3V1fy9fwKP?amp=1) by Edmund Weber. >The standpoint which caste a Buddha should belong to has not been revised in Buddhism up to the present day. It is dogmatised in the Lalitavistara in the following way: a Bodhisattva can by no means come from a lower or even mixed caste: > >>“After all Bodhisattvas were not born in despised lineage, among pariahs, in families of pipe or cart makers, or mixed castes.” > >Instead, in perfect harmony with the Great Sermon, it was said that: > >>“The Bodhisattvas appear only in two kinds of lineage, the one of the brahmanas and of the warriors (kshatriya).” I corrected him that the document referred to Bodhisattvas and not ordinary monks who could grow to become full Arahants. He claimed that the religion was still casteist as only Brahmin and Kshatriyas could become Bodhisattvas. What does the Pali cannon say regarding this? Can you share any studies done on this by scholars?
Asked by Luv (362 rep)
Jul 31, 2020, 02:32 PM
Last activity: May 5, 2021, 03:37 AM