How the Buddha responded to abuse

In the turbulent epoch of the Buddha, wars raged and injustice soared. The Buddha and his followers took an unwavering and fearless stand against discrimination and injustice.

As a result, in a toxic milieu where religious leaders vied for followers, power and supremacy, the Tipi?aka in many discourses describes how the Buddha and his Sangha, bore the brunt of direct abuse, slander, and ridicule by individuals and mobs. There was also an attempt on the Buddha’s life.

Let’s consider just two of the many discourses in the Tipi?aka concerning abuse.

In Long Discourses 3, the encounter with Amba??ha, a young brahmin, unfolds as a gripping testament to the Buddha's resilience in the face of insults. Amba??ha, dispatched by a religious leader to scrutinise the Buddha's virtue, spewed venom upon arrival.

Disdainfully attacking the shaven-headed members of the Sangha with derogatory terms, Amba??ha launched a racial slur, branding the Sakyans as “primitives” who scorned Vedic traditions.

According to Long Discourses 3:

Ambattha arrived at the dwelling, where the Buddha was staying. He refused the Buddha’s invitation to sit down with him.

He equated the Buddha as follows:

“But as to these shavelings, fake ascetics, primitives, black spawn from the feet of our kinsman, I converse with them as I do with Master Gotama.”

Ye ca kho te, bho gotama, mu??akā sama?akā ibbhā ka?hā bandhupādāpaccā, tehipi me saddhi? eva? kathāsallāpo hoti, yathariva bhotā gotamenā”ti.”

Note the use of the term “shaveling” (mundaka) to mean those, who have shaved their heads. Also, take note of the racial connotations of using ka?ha (“black”) as a racial slur.

Amba??ha then went on further to describe the people of the Sakyan state, where the Buddha came from as:

“Primitive they are, and primitive they remain! They don’t honour, respect, revere, worship, or venerate brahmins.”

ibbhā santā ibbhā samānā na brāhma?e sakkaronti, na brāhma?e garu? karonti, na brāhma?e mānenti, na brāhma?e pūjenti, na brāhma?e apacāyanti.”

Amba??ha despises the Sakyans as “primitives” (ibbhā) who do not respect Vedic culture. Ibbha means menial, servile, low-caste, as related to servants.

Undeterred, the Buddha responded with sagacity, revealing Amba??ha's lineage and dispelling the brahmin's delusions of grandeur. The Buddha went about describing the roots of Amba??ha's ancestry as springing from a union between a ruler and a slave. The brahmin's arrogance was deflated.

Against the Buddha’s tough response with facts, Amba??ha's convictions crumbled, paving the way for his eventual embrace of the Buddha's Dhamma.

In another dramatic episode, chronicled in the Vasalasutta in Anthology of Discourses 1.72, the Buddha faced the acerbic tongue of “Bhāradvāja the Rude”.

Learning about a brahmin from his clan joining the Sangha under the Buddha's guidance, Bhāradvāja fumed. He then unleashed a torrent of insults upon the Buddha.

Undeterred by the verbal onslaught, the Buddha responded with equanimity.

According to the discourse, entitled “The Low Life”, Vasalasutta:

Seeking almsfood in Sāvatthī (capital of the state of Kosala), the Buddha approached Bhāradvāja the Fire-Worshiper’s house.

Atha kho bhagavā sāvatthiya? sapadāna? pi??āya caramāno yena aggikabhāradvājassa brāhma?assa nivesana? tenupasa?kami.

Bhāradvāja the Fire-Worshiper saw the Buddha coming off in the distance.

Addasā kho aggikabhāradvājo brāhma?o bhagavanta? dūratova āgacchanta?.

and said to him,

Disvāna bhagavanta? etadavoca:

“Stop right there, shaveling!

“tatreva, mu??aka;

Right there, worthless ascetic!

tatreva, sama?aka;

Right there, despicable outcast!”

tatreva, vasalaka, ti??hāhī”ti.

When he said this, the Buddha said to him:

Eva? vutte, bhagavā aggikabhāradvāja? brāhma?a? etadavoca:

“But brahmin, do you know what is a lowlife or what are the qualities that make you a lowlife?”

“jānāsi pana tva?, brāhma?a, vasala? vā vasalakara?e vā dhamme”ti?

“No I do not, Master Gotama.

“Na khvāha?, bho gotama, jānāmi vasala? vā vasalakara?e vā dhamme;

Please, Master Gotama, teach me this matter so I can understand what is a lowlife or what are the qualities that make you a lowlife.”

sādhu me bhava? gotamo tathā dhamma? desetu, yathāha? jāneyya? vasala? vā vasalakara?e vā dhamme”ti.

“Well then, brahmin, listen and apply your mind well, I will speak.”

“Tena hi, brāhma?a, su?āhi, sādhuka? manasi karohi; bhāsissāmī”ti.

“Yes sir,” Bhāradvāja the Fire-Worshiper replied.

“Eva?, bho”ti kho aggikabhāradvājo brāhma?o bhagavato paccassosi.

The Buddha then responded without mincing his words. Here are some of the responses:

“Irritable and hostile,

“Kodhano upanāhī ca,

wicked and offensive,

pāpamakkhī ca yo naro;

a man deficient in view, deceitful:

Vipannadi??hi māyāvī,

know him as a lowlife.

ta? ja??ā vasalo iti.

Whether in village or wilderness,

Gāme vā yadi vā ra??e,

he steals what belongs to others,

ya? paresa? mamāyita?;

taking what has not been given:

Theyyā adinnamādeti

know him as a lowlife.

ta? ja??ā vasalo iti.

Having fallen into debt,

Yo have i?amādāya,

when pressed to pay up he flees, saying

cujjamāno palāyati;

‘I don’t owe you anything!’:

Na hi te i?amatthīti,

He deceives with lies

Yo brāhma?a? sama?a? vā,

ascetics and brahmins

A??a? vāpi vanibbaka?;

and other supplicants:

Musāvādena va?ceti,

know him as a lowlife.

Ta? ja??ā vasalo iti.

He extols himself

Yo cattāna? samukka?se,

and disparages others,

Pare ca mavajānāti

brought down by his pride:

Nihīno sena mānena,

know him as a lowlife.

Ta? ja??ā vasalo iti.

He’s a bully and a miser,

Rosako kadariyo ca,

of corrupt wishes, stingy, and devious,

Pāpiccho maccharī sa?ho;

shameless, imprudent:

Ahiriko anottappī,

know him as a lowlife.

Ta? ja??ā vasalo iti.

He claims to be a perfected one,

Yo ve anaraha? santo

when he really is no such thing.

Araha? pa?ijānāti;

In the world with its Brahmās,

Coro sabrahmake loke,

that crook is truly the lowest lowlife.

Eso kho vasalādhamo;

These who are called lowlifes

Ete kho vasalā vuttā,

I have explained to you.

Mayā yete pakāsitā.

You’re not a lowlife by birth,

Na jaccā vasalo hoti,

nor by birth are you a brahmin.

Na jaccā hoti brāhma?o;

You’re a lowlife by your deeds,

Kammunā vasalo hoti,

by deeds you’re a brahmin.

Kammunā hoti brāhma?o.

After he had spoken, the brahmin Bhāradvāja decided to become a lay follower of the Buddha.

These episodes resonate profoundly in today's world, where insults and abuse, particularly of opponents, women, children and the vulnerable are now the new normal. These tactics go largely unchallenged by the mainstream media.

The Buddha's ability to dismantle prejudice, defuse hostility, and transform adversaries into followers underscores the relevance of his teachings in today's fractured society.

In the crucible of insult, the Buddha's unwavering composure serves as a potent reminder that true nobility transcends the ephemeral realm of words. As today’s politics grapples with the shadows of hatred, the Buddha's teachings show a path to respond leading to change.

Sources:

Long Discourses 3 Dīgha Nikāya 3 With Amba??ha

Amba??hasutta

Anthology of Discourses 1.7 Sutta Nipata 1.7 The Low Life Vasalasutta