Category: Articles on Buddhism

QUESTION 1: As a practicing Buddhist, can you lie to save a life and can you mortally wound someone who is trying to kill you

Question 1: As a practicing Buddhist, can you lie to save a life and can you mortally wound someone who is trying to kill you? Answer by Shekhar Bodhakar: “Can you?” is not same as “should You?” Can you?.. of course yes, if you want to. Should you?.. depends on your intentions, which no one external dictates or […]

DID DR. AMBEDKAR OR ASHOKA-THE-GREAT “CELEBRATE” DEEPDAN UTSAV?

The day that Asoka the Great embraced Buddhism is called Asoka Vijay Dashmi (AVD). Centuries after the first celebration of AVD, the Brahmin Dharma festival of Dussehera started being celebrated on the same day. Eventually AVD was almost forgotten until the revival of Buddhism in India during the 20th century. It is said that when […]

MY THOUGHTS ON “CELEBRATING” DEEPDAN DIWAS ON DIWALI

The Indian Buddhist community is still going through a discovery and development phase trying to figure out what is the right thing to do regarding certain days/festivals/rituals etc. Many try to justify celebrating /not celebrating, to fit their personal agendas and views. On Karthik Amawassiya in the Buddhist calendar, the enlightened Ven Maha Moggallana was […]

Why did Dr. B. R. Ambedkar convert to Buddhism? What makes it so special?

Let Babasaheb Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar give you a BRIEF explanation of what initially attracted him to Buddhism, IN HIS OWN WORDS. The following text is the UNPUBLISHED PREFACE to one of his masterpieces, the “Buddha and his Dhamma” For clarity, I have written the Preface in TWO parts. PART 1 sufficiently answers the question posed. PART 2 […]

What are the settings of the book “The Buddha and His Dhamma” by B. R. Ambedkar?

The Buddha and His Dhamma, by Dr B. R. Ambedkar, is a bible in the sense it is a collection of eight books of various sizes. Each book is divided into three to eight named parts.The parts are further divided into numbered and named chapters containing numbered verses. It has 347 pages. The complete book […]

QUESTION 2: Isn’t it wrong to call 6th December “MahaPariNibbana” Day of Bodhisatta Dr. Ambedkar?

QUESTION 2: Isn’t it wrong to call 6th December “MahaPariNibbana” Day of Bodhisatta Dr. Ambedkar? डॉक्टर अम्बेडकर का निब्बान हुआ या परि निब्बान  या महापरिनिब्बान या निर्वाण या परि निर्वाण  या महापरिनिर्वाण  या निवत्त या परि निवत्त या महा परि निवत्त  या निव्रत  या परि निव्रत  या महा परि निव्रत …क्या है सच्चाई…जनिएगा…share  भी कीजिएगा.. ऐसी सभी बातें जाने  -Sudhir Raj Singh Dr. Ambedkar is referred to as BODDHISATTA by many. Meaning.. a person sure to attain Nibbana (Enlightenment) but is not YET an Arahat.  BUT Parinibbana implies he had attained Nibbana during his lifetime. Can those who […]

Why Was Nagpur Chosen?

From: Prabuddh Bharat, 27 October 1956, pp. 5-12, 18. Translated from the Marathi by Rekha Damle and Eleanor Zelliot, August-September 1964. This previously unpublished translation was provided by Eleanor Zelliot for this website. She wants readers to be aware that Dr. Ambedkar was very ill at the time he made this speech, and was to die […]

In Ambedkar’s, Buddha and his Dhamma Siddhartha becomes a monk without seeing those signs (an old man, a diseased man and the dead). Did he see those signs or was it a cooked up story?

In Ambedkar’s, Buddha and his Dhamma Siddhartha becomes a monk without seeing those signs (an old man, a diseased man and the dead). Did he see those signs or was it a cooked up story? Yes, this is false story. The story is told as the reason for Siddhartha undertaking Parivraja. It is completely absurd […]

What Path to Salvation? by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar

Speech delivered by Dr. Ambedkar to the Bombay Presidency Mahar Conference, 31st May 1936, Bombay. Translated from the Marathi by Vasant W. Moon. Edited by Frances W. Pritchett. Editing has consisted of breaking up very long paragraphs, correcting typographical errors, and making small adjustments in punctuation and in English grammar and usage. All material enclosed […]