A Discussion of Human Dignity in the Buddhist Jātaka
Patricia Guernelli Palazzo Tsai
Abstract
The present paper aims to analyze, through the category of Buddhist Sūtras, more specifically the Jātaka No. 41, the process of inclusion in Buddhist communities of social outcasts in ancient India. It presents how Buddhist communities, inspired by the historical Buddha Śākyamuni, brought about change in the paradigm of Indian varṇas. It will explore the story of Losaka, preserved in Buddhist canons, an outcast subject to no rights and no voice, who is welcomed into the Buddhist community through Śāriputra, a being accepted inside a community that offered support and brought back his dignity as a human being. Losaka’s tale is an important reminder of how human outcasts, considered unworthy and therefore excluded from societies, can regain their human dignity and become arhats. The paper intends to contribute to the study of Buddhist texts as sources for understanding the social changes that Buddhadharma brought to India. This also provides us with alternatives to the analyses of the existence of human dignity in Buddhist traditions as well as the possibility to use Buddhist theories in the analysis of social structures of our time, notably with the rise of movements against human dignity and human rights.
Published: Dec 14, 2023
Publicado open access no Journal of Interreligious Studies, no. 40:
https://irstudies.org/index.php/jirs/article/view/805