Special events

Celebrating Ambedkar

Buddhism changing lives

To join on Thursday the 14th - https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8179125195

This day commemorates the 65th anniversary of the mass conversion of ex-untouchable caste Hindus to Buddhism in India, at the behest of their leader Dr Ambedkar.

This community is closely knit with our own, and our mitra study groups have been studying Dr Ambedkar's life and legacy over the last year.

Tonight:

• Robert will give us an overview of Dr Ambedkar, the caste system, the ties between ex-untouchables and the Triratna Buddhist Community, and his own experience of India
• Then Felicity will share her personal response to the study material, and how she's put compassion into action this year
• We'll finish with a three-fold puja

Dr Ambedkar was born an untouchable - at the bottom of the Hindu caste system. Through good fortune, he was able to gain an education (as long as he sat outside the classroom), gained scholarships to some of the top universities in the UK and US, and was pivotal in drafting the Indian constitution. Despite this success, he was still seen and treated as inferior, and he dedicated his life to finding a way to free him and his fellow 'untouchables' from the tyranny of caste. He decided the answer lay in the true liberation of the heart and mind - and converted to Buddhism. Not long after the conversion of himself and thousands of his followers, he died, and the founder of the Triratna Buddhist Community, Sangharakshita, stepped in to help those people understand what they converted to, and give them guidance and hope in their practice. This forged strong bonds between our community and the Dalit (ex-untouchable) community in India, which remain to this day. A large part of our Order and mitra sangha worldwide is from this community.

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