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This informal talk tells the inspiring story of the Mahar community and their leader Dr Ambedkar, whose struggle against the caste system is an example of the possibilities modern Buddhism provides for individual development and mass social uplift.
Talk given in 1983.
This talk is part of the series Two Lectures to a Conference on Reality, Consciousness and Order.
| 1. | Description of lecture tour in India (5:40) | |
| 2. | Sangharakshita's strong feelings for ex-Untouchables (4:38) | |
| 3. | History of development of the Hinayana; the Abhidharma (7:33) | |
| 4. | The Development of the Mahayana and the Bodhisattva Ideal; the Madhyamika school and shunyavada - a critique of the Abhidharma (6:00) | |
| 5. | The Mahayana attitude to monasticism; the Gandavyuha or Avatamsaka Sutra: Indra's Net as an illustration of Reality (5:43) | |
| 6. | Vajrayana and the ideal of the Siddhi; geographical spread of the three yanas of Buddhism; the decline of Buddhism in India (7:54) | |
| 7. | The Hindu caste system and the Untouchables (4:03) | |
| 8. | Conditions for ex-Untouchables in modern Maharashtra (3:32) | |
| 9. | Dr. Ambedkar and the mass conversion of Untouchables to Buddhism (4:39) | |
| 10. | Sangharakshita's background (3:60) | |
| 11. | Events immediately after Dr. Ambedkar's death; the FWBO and the ex-Untouchables (6:57) | |
| 12. | Improvements for ex-Untouchables through societal change founded on spiritual vision; the need for change in our society (6:34) |
Total running time: 1:07:13
