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Tamsin Bradley & Zara Ramsay

Buddhist Engagements with Social Justice: A comparison between exiled Tibetan Buddhists in Dharamsala and Dalit Buddhists of Pune . Tamsin Bradley & Zara Ramsay. Overview. Focus on two Indian locations: Pune and Dharamsala (home to Dalai Lama & Tibetan refugees)

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Tamsin Bradley & Zara Ramsay

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  1. Buddhist Engagements with Social Justice: A comparison between exiled Tibetan Buddhists in Dharamsalaand Dalit Buddhists of Pune. Tamsin Bradley & Zara Ramsay

  2. Overview • Focus on two Indian locations: Pune and Dharamsala (home to Dalai Lama & Tibetan refugees) • Reasons for this comparative paper: Monolithic perceptions of religion amongst western NGO workers in India • Core argument: Buddhism both shapes and is shaped by local socio-political environments; its impact on development visions/approaches must be evaluated by context

  3. Contrasts • Dharamsala: 1. Tibetans persecuted because of faith 2. Long-standing Buddhist beliefs have shaped the Tibetan response to persecution – gentle, even passive • Pune: 1. Ambedkarite Buddhism was created in order to tackle social injustice – vocal, potentially aggressive

  4. Buddhist principles: Interconnection and compassion • Individuality is an illusion • Spiritual liberation (nirvana) = ultimate realisation of ‘oneness’ • Consequent rejection of human division/ stratification, linked to Buddhist focus on compassion (karuna) and loving kindness (metta)

  5. Tibetan Buddhism: Interconnection and compassion • To demand Tibetan sovereignty = assertion of inherent division between humans • Dalai Lama “allows the Chinese to take advantage of Tibet as long as there is some level of dignity”

  6. Ambedkarite Buddhism: Interconnection and compassion • Interconnection/oneness must be taught to ALL people – Dalits should demand this recognition • Dalits should also demand compassion from others; should expect the assistance of others in process of their development

  7. Buddhist principles:Karma • The notion that one is cosmically punished/rewarded for one’s actions, usually in one’s next incarnation • Has frequently been interpreted as fatalism

  8. Tibetan Buddhism:Karma • Fatalism? Debates have even questioned whether Tibetan Buddhists would say that Jewish people ‘deserved’ the Holocaust • Not entirely fatalistic; a psychological tool for acceptance/peace of mind

  9. Ambedkarite Buddhism:Karma • Rejects the multiple-birth interpretation of karma • Emphasises the karmic response in current lifetime • Encourages hope and effort for development

  10. Reasons for social justice • Pune: • Struggle for social equality is based on desire for development. Buddhism provides a practical methodology for this. • Dharamsala: • Struggle for development is based on desire for religious and national freedom. Buddhism is the priority and the goal, as well as the methodology.

  11. Summary • Tibetan Buddhism and Ambedkarite Buddhism promote very different attitudes towards the struggles for social justice and development • Not only are the approaches to these struggles different, but the relative importance of religion vis-a-vis development is very different in each place too.

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