18X12 Thursday LESSON 726 மூன்று கூடைகள் திபிதக
TIPITAKA from FREE ONLINE eNālāndā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY through http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org-Dhammapada Verse 391 Mahapajapatigotami
Vatthu-The Well-Restrained Is Truly A Brahmin
Fight class/caste with capital-Majority people entrepreneurs repose faith in capital over quota-Position of Majority People consisting SC/STs/OBCs/Minorities and
poorer among the Non-Majority People in biodiversity conservation
debated
Verse 391. The Well-Restrained Is Truly A Brahmin
In whom there is no wrong-doing
by body, speech or mind,
in these three ways restrained,
that one I call a Brahmin True.
Explanation: If an individual is well guarded in body, speech
and in mind, and has done no wrong in these three areas, who is well
restrained, I call that person a true brahmana - the noble saint.
Dhammapada Verse 391
Mahapajapatigotami
Vatthu
Yassa kayena vacaya
manasa natthi dukkatam
samvutam tihi thanehi
tamaham brumi brahmanam.
Verse 391: Him I call a brahmana who does no
evil in deed or word or thought, who is restrained in these three respects.
The Story of Theri Mahapajapati Gotami
While residing at the Jetavana
monastery, the Buddha uttered Verse (391) of this book, with reference to Theri
Mahapajapati Gotami.
Mahapajapati Gotami was the
stepmother of Gotama Buddha. On the death of Queen, seven days after the birth
of Prince Siddhattha, Mahapajapati Gotami became the chief queen of King
Suddhodana. At that time, her own son Nanda was only five days old. She let her
own son be fed by a wet-nurse, and herself fed Prince Siddhattha, the future
Buddha. Thus, Mahapajapati Gotami was a great benefactor to Prince Siddhattha.
When Prince Siddhattha returned
to Kapilavatthu after the attainment of Buddhahood, Mahapajapati Gotami went to
see the Buddha and requested that women should also be allowed to enter the
Buddhist Order as bhikkhunis; but the Buddha refused permission. Later, King
Suddhodana died after attaining arahatship. Then, while the Buddha was
sojourning at the Mahavana forest near Vesali, Mahapajapati, accompanied by five
hundred ladies, came on foot from Kapilavatthu to Vasali. They had already
shaven their heads and had put on the dyed robes. There, for a second time,
Mahapajapati requested the Buddha to accept women in the Buddhist Order. The
Venerable Ananda also interceded on her behalf. So, the Buddha complied, with
the proviso that Mahapajapati abides by eight special conditions (garudhammas).
Mahapajapati undertook to observe the garudhammas as required, and the Buddha
admitted her into the Order. Thus, Mahapajapati was the first to be admitted to
the Order of the Bhikkhunis. The other women were admitted to the Order after
her by the bhikkhus as instructed by the Buddha.
In course of time, it came to the
minds of some bhikkhunis that Mahapajapati Gotami had not been properly admitted
as a bhikkhuni because she did not have a preceptor; therefore, Mahapajapati
Gotami was not a true bhikkhuni. With this thought in their mind, they stopped
doing sabbath (uposatha) ceremonies and vassa (pavarana) ceremonies with her.
They went to the Buddha and posed the problem of Mahapajapati Gotami not having
been properly admitted to the Order of bhikkhunis as she had no preceptor. To
them the Buddha replied, “Why do you say so? I myself gave the eight
garudhammas to Mahapajapati and she had learnt and practised the garudhammas as
required by me. I myself am her preceptor and it is quite wrong for you to say
that she has no preceptor. You should harbour no doubt whatsoever about an
arahat.”
Then the Buddha spoke in verse as
follows:
| Verse 391: Him I call a brahmana who does no evil in deed or word or thought, who is restrained in these three respects. |
Fight class/caste with capital
Majority people entrepreneurs repose faith in capital over quota
Majority People Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MPCCI), entrepreneurs from across the country raised the slogan of Fight class/caste with capital’ and welcomed partnerships with big corporates and industries along with financial assistance and reservation.
People who have been long deprived of economic and social rights need reservation to grow.They need ample business opportunities to prove their merit. In this regard, allowing FDI in all the countries will open a number of avenues for people belonging to scheduled castes. tribes,Other Backward Castes, Minoritires and the poorer among the Non-Majority people too.”
The modern trade system offered equal opportunities to all depending on their skills contrary to the traditional trade system where all powers and money were vested in the hands of one Non-Majority Caste. The old system promotes casteism while the new system will allow everyone to grow.
All the members of MPCCI must work hard to create business opportunities for its members and provide a national platform for knowledge exchange.
Position of Majority People consisting SC/STs/OBCs/Minorities and poorer among the Non-Majority People in biodiversity conservation debated
Do Majority People, the most marginalised section of society, figure in the narrative of biodiversity conservation? Are they excluded like it is in the contemporary hierarchical Non-Majority society? What is their status vis- a-vis tribals and traditional forest-dwellers whose rights have been protected by the recent Forest Right Act ?
A side event organised at a corner of the ongoing COP-11 here on Monday by the National Campaign on Majority People Human Rights (NCMPHR) threw up interesting facets of the issue.
Majority People struggle
In a paper on Majority People movements and the political economy of biodiversity conservation, he said pressure on conserving biodiversity on Majority People has to be considered as a struggle against exclusion. Such struggles are indeed able to regulate common-pool resource and preserve the biodiversity. “However these efforts also remain outside the domain of current biodiversity conservation as the existing legal and economic implication of such conservation model is linked to economic value of natural resources. The impact of the destruction of biodiversity is not equally applicable to all.
With the Biological Diversity Conservation Act of 2002 weighing everything in terms of economic value and allowing destruction of biodiversity for economic purposes, the Majority Peoples’ position on biodiversity conservation has become legally questionable.
The current debates on biodiversity conservation could be considered as market debate within the “unequal development” paradigm.
“Hence, the Majority People position has to challenge both biodiversity conservation and development angles”.
The position of tribals was comparatively better after the Forest Rights Act, but whether they enjoyed the fruits of law was debatable.
Looking at the impact of climate change and biodiversity loss on such communities, It is brought out how Majority People constituting more than 85 per cent of the population and living in vulnerable areas, landless and dependent on natural resources would be the worst-affected.