How Buddhist Beliefs Influence Attitudes Towards the Chandalas - Essay Sample

Introduction

The Chandalas are known to be the wicked men in society, and they are not allowed to interact and live with people. Throughout the Buddhist countries, people are prohibited from consuming certain things. For example, the consumption of onions, garlic, and intoxicating substances like alcohol is not allowed. The killing of any living creature is also prohibited to everyone except the Chandalas. Once these wicked people enter a marketplace, they must strike a piece of wood for people to be aware of their arrival. They announce their entry for the rest to identify and distance themselves. However, only the Chandalas have permission to sell flesh meat, and they are the only ones who practice hunting and gathering. Everyone else in the community is not allowed to domesticate pigs and fowls or sell live cows. Even in their markets, there are no butcher shops or sellers of intoxicating substances like alcohol. In summary, the Chandalas are regarded as misfits in the society who people perceive as evil, and they do not interact with them too.

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How Are the Rulers Described?

In Buddhist countries, rulers are described as humble human beings. They are not exempted from the Buddhist traditions and culture, and they follow the law like everyone else. For example, the kings also take their offerings to the monks. Upon arrival at the monastery, they remove their royal caps, and they distribute food to the monks with their hands together with the ministers and their relatives. After they are done with presenting their offerings to the monks, the kings spread a carpet on the ground by themselves and sit in front of the chairman. These kings cannot sit on the couches in front of the entire community. These laws explained about regarding how kings present themselves to the monks are still used up to date.

While the king is power, corporal punishments like decapitation are not conducted. The quality that is brought out in the above ruling method is the mercifulness of these leaders. Even in extreme criminal cases, the worst punishment on a criminal is cutting off their hands. The kings highly regard their employees who are all paid for the services they offer like protecting the palace and performing other duties. Leaders are also depicted as generous and kind to the monks. For example, they build viharas for the priests and give the monks houses, gardens, orchards, and the community with their livestock.

Comparison Between the Lives of Buddhist Monks to Those of Christian Monks

The words "monk" and "nun" are borrowed from Catholicism. Christian monks are not regarded as priests or part of the clergy. Before a Catholic monk is ordained to serve, they must take poverty, chastity, and obedience vows. However, they do not preach or perform other duties in church like priests, for example, giving sacraments to the believers. On the other hand, once a Buddhist monk is ordained, they perform tasks similar to those Catholic priests. They are allowed to preside over rituals and give teachings on the dharma.

However, there are several similarities between the Christian monks and the Buddhist bhikkhus. They all are people who choose to leave the cacophony of the world and devote themselves to serving and studying. Both the monks and the bhikkhus live straightforward lives and own few personal possessions. They also follow the monastery schedules.

Works Cited

Legge, James, ed. A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms: Being an account by the Chinese Monk Fa-Hien of his travels in India and Ceylon (AD 399-414) in search of the Buddhist Books of Discipline. Clarendon press, 1886.