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Talk on Buddhism, Caste & Angulimala's conversion at Sravasti, India
Buddhahood is inherent in everyone, including those in untouchable circles like Sunita, who makes great progress and is respected by monks and lay people. The notion of caste is created by man, but a human being has the capacity of waking up. Prakriti, of the Matanga family, falls in love with the Venerable Ananda. The Buddha teaches her that true love is not possession, which would destroy Ananda, but rather supporting his holy life to help everyone. She becomes a disciple under Bhikkhuni Khema, a former queen who transformed her pride into practice.
Attempts to discredit the Buddha include Miss Cinca, who feigns pregnancy before the assembly, and the murder of the nun Sundari, used to frame the Sangha. The True Dharma is proclaimed like a lion’s roar, waking people who consider the impermanent as permanent and suffering as joy. It is free from four kinds of traps:
- Sensual pleasures.
- The trap of knowledge, which acts as a prison preventing higher understanding.
- Ritual performances.
- The concept of Atman.
Dependent co-arising is the essence of reality. Sariputra, falsely accused of pushing a monk, compares his practice to earth, water, and fire—elements that neutralize clean and dirty things without pride or resentment—and likens himself to a poor child with nothing to be proud of. The fierce killer Angulimala chases the Buddha, who states that he has stopped all evil actions while Angulimala has not. Angulimala vows to protect life, ordains as the monk Ahimsaka, and transforms totally. He later uses the truth of his rebirth into the Dharma to assist a woman in difficult labor.
Part of the following collection
Talk on Events Around the Buddha’s Return to Rajgir with 1000 Monks and Creation of the First Monastery