Negotiating inequalities: Reflecting on the early Buddhist Saṁgha

Abstract

While in the Buddha’s universalist doctrine, caste and hierarchy were not relevant to human endeavour for liberation (nibbāna), the hierarchy existing in the world around the saṁgha could not but exert influence on Buddhist thought and practice. The article examines how far the social environment around him influenced the Buddha’s own decisions, despite his egalitarian impulses. It also deals with the forms of inequality that were allowed in the saṁgha owing to various circumstances.