Turns out the Buddha was about 2,600 years ahead of the rest of us when it comes to challenging norms about caste and gender while affirming equality.
In Episode 41 of Vibe with Venerables, Venerable Ajahn Canda, founder and spiritual director of Anukampa Bhikkhuni Project, walks through the Suttas where the Buddha quietly dismantled the social ladder of his day. A barber named Upāli ordains before six princes, who then bow to him for life. And when Mara tells the nun Soma that women cannot awaken, she delivers one of the greatest mic-drop replies in history.
In this episode, learn more from Suttas reflecting the Buddha’s ideals of inclusivity and mutual respect:
- Majjhima Nikaya 93 and 98: how true nobility is defined by conduct, not caste or birth
- Therigatha: how the verses of enlightened women reveal the universality of awakening
- Soma Sutta: how gender has no relevance to awakening
- Mahāparinibbāna Sutta: how the longevity of the teachings depends on the fourfold (or manifold) assembly
- Karaniya Metta Sutta: why the practice of universal loving-kindness is indispensable
- Samyutta Nikaya 48.9: how letting go leads to samādhi
- Uposatha Sutta: how genuine compassion is universal and never selective
With warmth and humor, Ajahn Canda makes the case that real wisdom and compassion always point the same way: toward including more people, not fewer.
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