Navayana

2021-11-18T15:51:43Z

152.57.146.3:

{{About|a contemporary era Buddhist tradition |book publisher|Navayana (publishing house)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2017}}
[[File:Buddha Shrine with Ambedkar (244910903).jpg|thumb|A Navayana Buddhist shrine with [[B. R. Ambedkar|Ambedkar]]'s portrait and ''[[The Buddha and His Dhamma]]'' book. The photograph is on the event of the 50th [[Dhammachakra Pravartan Day]].]]
{{Buddhism}}
[[File:Young Indian Buddhist monk in Indian monastery.png|thumb|Young Indian [[samanera]] (novice Buddhist monk) in an Indian [[vihara]]. There are statues of the [[Buddha]] and [[bodhisattva]] [[B. R. Ambedkar|B.R. Ambedkar]].]]

'''Navayana''' ([[Devanagari]]: नवयान, [[IAST]]: ''Navayāna'') means "new vehicle" and refers to the re-interpretation of [[Buddhism]] by [[B. R. Ambedkar|Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar]];{{efn|Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar is also called Babasaheb Ambedkar.}} it is also called '''Neo-Buddhism''',<ref name="Robinson2003p192">{{cite book |author=Tartakov, Gary |year=2003 |editor=Robinson, Rowena |title=Religious Conversion in India: Modes, motivations, and meanings |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-566329-7 |pages=192–213 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eNsoAAAAYAAJ}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Queen, Christopher |year=2015 |editor=Emmanuel, Steven M. |title=A Companion to Buddhist Philosophy |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-119-14466-3 |pages=524–525 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P_lmCgAAQBAJ}}</ref> '''Ambedkarite Buddhism''', and '''Bhimayāna''' (after Ambedkar's first name, Bhimrao).<ref name="Jacobsen2015p361">{{cite book |first=Eleanor |last=Zelliot |year=2015 |editor-first=Knut A. |editor-last=Jacobsen |title=Routledge Handbook of Contemporary India |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-317-40357-9 |pages=13, 361–370 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tPBWCgAAQBAJ}}</ref> Ambedkar was born in a [[Dalit]] (untouchable) family during the colonial era of India, studied abroad, became a Mahar Dalit leader, and announced in 1935 his intent to convert from [[Hinduism]] to Buddhism.<ref name="Dirks2011p267">{{cite book |author=Dirks, Nicholas B. |year=2011 |title=Castes of Mind: Colonialism and the making of modern India |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1-4008-4094-6 |pages=267–274 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UP7vmkFSJhIC&pg=PA268}}</ref> Thereafter Ambedkar studied texts of Buddhism, found several of its core beliefs and doctrines such as ''[[Four Noble Truths]]'' and [[Anatta|"non-self"]] as flawed and pessimistic, then re-interpreted these into what he called "new vehicle" Buddhism, or ''Navayana''.<ref name="Jacobsen2015p361"/> Ambedkar held a press conference on 13 October 1956, announcing his rejection of [[Theravada]] and [[Mahayana]] Buddhism, as well as of Hinduism.<ref name=queen524>{{cite book |author=Queen, Christopher |year=2015 |editor=Emmanuel, Steven M. |title=A Companion to Buddhist Philosophy |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-119-14466-3 |pages=524–529 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P_lmCgAAQBAJ}}</ref> Thereafter, he left Hinduism and adopted Navayana, about six weeks before his death.<ref name="Robinson2003p192"/><ref name="Jacobsen2015p361"/><ref name=queen524/> Its adherents see Navayana Buddhism not as a sect with radically different ideas, but rather as new movement founded on the principles of Buddhism.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}

In the [[Dalit Buddhist movement]] of India, Navayana is considered a new branch of Buddhism, different from the traditionally recognized branches of [[Theravada]], [[Mahayana]], and [[Vajrayana]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Omvedt |first=Gail |year=2003 |title=Buddhism in India: Challenging Brahmanism and caste |edition=3rd |place=London, UK; New Delhi, IN; Thousand Oaks, CA |publisher=Sage |pages=2, 3–7, 8, 14–15, 19, 240, 266, 271}}</ref> – considered to be foundational in the Buddhist traditions.<ref name=Keown-Prebish-2013>{{cite book |author1=Keown, Damien |author2=Prebish, Charles S. |title=Encyclopedia of Buddhism |year=2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-98588-1 |page=25 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NFpcAgAAQBAJ}}</ref>{{efn|... the Buddhism upon which [Ambedkar] settled and about which he wrote in ''The Buddha and his Dhamma'' was, in many respects, unlike any form of Buddhism that had hitherto arisen within the tradition. Gone, for instance, were the doctrines of ''karma'' and rebirth, the traditional emphasis on renunciation of the world, the practice of meditation, and the experience of enlightenment. Gone too were any teachings that implied the existence of a trans-empirical realm ... . Most jarring, perhaps – especially among more traditional Buddhists – was the absence of the ''[[Four Noble Truths]]'', which Ambedkar regarded as the invention of wrong-headed monks.<ref name=Keown-Prebish-2013/>}} It radically re-interprets what Buddhism is,<ref name=Rich-to-uphold>{{cite book |author=Rich, Bruce |title=To Uphold the World |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-0-670-99946-0 |page=204 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g-RHBJjU6AoC&pg=PA204}}{{full citation|date=March 2021|reason=needs year published}}</ref>{{efn|Ambedkar's interpretation of Buddhism was a radical one; it took a revisionist approach to a number of widely accepted traditional Buddhist teachings.<ref name=Rich-to-uphold/>}} revising the original Buddha teaching to be about [[Class conflict|class struggle]] and social equality.<ref name="Jacobsen2015p361"/><ref name="KeownPrebish2013p24">{{cite book |author1=Keown, Damien |author2=Prebish, Charles S. |title=Encyclopedia of Buddhism |year=2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-98588-1 |pages=24–26 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NFpcAgAAQBAJ}}</ref><ref name=blackburn1/>

Ambedkar called his version of Buddhism ''Navayana'' or "Neo-Buddhism".<ref>{{cite book |author=Christopher S. Queen |year=2000 |title=Engaged Buddhism in the West |publisher=Wisdom Publications |isbn=978-0-86171-159-8 |page=23 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S7QEAAAAYAAJ}}</ref> His book, ''[[The Buddha and His Dhamma]]'' is the holy book of Navayana followers. Followers of Navayana Buddhism are generally called "Buddhists" (''Baud'dha'') as well as ''Ambedkarite Buddhists'', ''Neo-Buddhists'', and rarely ''Navayana Buddhists''.<ref>{{cite book |author=Queen, Christopher |year=2015 |editor=Emmanuel, Steven M. |title=A Companion to Buddhist Philosophy |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-119-14466-3 |pages=524–531 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P_lmCgAAQBAJ}}</ref>

While the term ''Navayana'' is most commonly used in reference to the movement Ambedkar founded in India, it is also (more rarely) used in a different sense, to refer to [[Buddhism in the West|Westernised forms of Buddhism]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Wiering|first=Jelle|date=2016-07-02|title=“Others Think I am Airy-fairy”: Practicing Navayana Buddhism in a Dutch Secular Climate|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/14639947.2016.1234751|journal=Contemporary Buddhism|volume=17|issue=2|pages=369–389|doi=10.1080/14639947.2016.1234751|issn=1463-9947|hdl=11370/5bd3579c-fc6d-45f8-8e69-fa081555ff2a|hdl-access=free}}</ref>

== Origins ==
[[File:Buddhist flag of Indian Buddhists.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Buddhist flag of Navayana Buddhists]]
Ambedkar was an Indian leader influential during the colonial era and the early post-independence period of India. He was the fourteenth child in an impoverished Maharashtra Dalit family, who studied abroad, returned to India in the 1920s and joined the political movement. His focus was social and political rights for the Dalits.<ref name="Buswell2013p34"/> To free his community from religious prejudice, he concluded that they must leave Hinduism and convert to a different religion. He chose Buddhism in the form of Navayana.<ref name="Buswell2013p34">{{cite book |author1=Buswell, Robert E., Jr. |author2=Lopez, Donald S., Jr. |title=The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism |year=2013 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1-4008-4805-8 |page=34 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DXN2AAAAQBAJ}}</ref><ref name="KeownPrebish2013p24"/>

== Doctrines and concepts ==
In 1935, during his disagreements with [[Mahatma Gandhi]], [[Ambedkar]] announced his intent to convert from Hinduism to Buddhism.<ref name="Dirks2011p267"/> Over the next two decades, Ambedkar studied texts of Buddhism and wrote his text, ''[[The Buddha and His Dhamma]]'', which is the primary doctrine of those who follow Navayana Buddhism.<ref>{{cite book |author=Queen, Christopher |year=2015 |editor=Steven M. Emmanuel |title=A Companion to Buddhist Philosophy |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-119-14466-3 |pages=529–531 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P_lmCgAAQBAJ}}</ref>

===Core beliefs===
In his unpublished editorial of the founding text of the Navayana, [[Ambedkar]] writes:
{{quote|To disarm all criticism I would like to make it clear that I claim no originality for the book. It is a compilation and assembly plant. The material has been gathered from various books. I would particularly like to mention Ashvaghosha's Buddhavita, whose poetry no one can excel. In the narrative of certain events I have even borrowed his language.<ref>{{cite book |author=Ambedkar, Bhimrao R. |author-link=B. R. Ambedkar |editor=Pritchett, Frances W. |title=The Buddha and his Dhamma |url=http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00ambedkar/ambedkar_buddha/index.html}}</ref> }}

This indicates that Navayana Buddhism is not a sect with radically different ideas, but a new movement from the same principles of Buddhism.

He goes on further to say that his doctrine simplifies the teachings of [[Buddhism]] and clear up the various misconceptions and possible points of confusion people may have about the faith. He explains
{{quote|The only originality that I can claim in is the order of presentation of the topics, in which I have tried to introduce simplicity and clarity. There are certain matters which give headaches to the student of Buddhism.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}} }}

===Buddhism's place within modernism and science===
In his essay, ''Buddha and the Future of His Religion'', [[Ambedkar]] mentions that the only major faith compatible with science is [[Buddhism]]. He compares [[Jesus]], the [[Prophet Muhammed]], and [[Krishna]] to the [[Buddha]], and mentions that while Jesus called himself the ''"son of god"'', the prophet Muhammad called himself the ''"messenger of god"'', and Krishna called himself the ''"god of gods"'' (''Parameswhar''), Buddha was
{{quote|born as a son of man and was content to remain a common man and preached his gospel as a common man. He never claimed any supernatural origin or supernatural powers, nor did he perform miracles to prove his supernatural powers.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ambedkar |first=Bhimrao R. |date=2015-05-31 |title=The Buddha and the Future of his Religion |publisher=Dr. Ambed Kar Books |website=drambedkarbooks.com |url=https://drambedkarbooks.com/2015/05/31/buddha-and-future-of-his-religion-dr-b-r-ambedkar/ |access-date=12 September 2020}}</ref>}}

In addition, he states, that Buddhism is one of the few religions that do not claim their values are derived from a god, and are therefore innately flexible and capable of withstanding Modernism. Ambedkar writes in the same essay:
{{quote|[T]he Buddha claimed no such infallibility for what he taught. In the ''Mahaparinibbana Sutta'' he told Ananda that his religion was based on reason and experience and that his followers should not accept his teaching as correct and binding merely because they emanated from him. Being based on reason and experience they were free to modify or even to abandon any of his teachings, if it was found that at a given time and in given circumstances they do not apply.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}} }}

===Buddhist ''karma'' and its misrepresentation by Hindus===
One of the major misunderstandings that [[Ambedkar]] sought to clear about Buddhism was that of ''[[karma]]'' and ''[[anatta]]'', and a seeming contradiction between the principles. Based on this, many believed [[Buddhism]] is very similar to [[Hinduism]] on the account of there being ''karma'' and rebirth in both faiths. On this, Ambedkar made it very clear that these are very different philosophies:
{{quote|Ignorant Hindus, out of sheer want of understanding, say by comparing merely the similarity of words, that Buddhism is the same as Brahmanism or Hinduism ... The [[karma in Hinduism|Hindu ''Law of Karma'']] is based on the [[soul]]. The [[Karma in Buddhism|Buddhist [karma] ]] is not. In fact, there is [[anatta|no soul in Buddhism]].{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}{{efn|''"No soul in Buddhism"'' refers to the Buddhist doctrine of ''[[Anatta]]'', or "no soul".}} }}

Therefore, he reasons, the [[karma in Buddhism|''karma'' in Buddhism]] is a moral philosophy based only on actions of one's immediate life, such that an individual is not rendered helpless. He argues that a [[Karma in Hinduism|karma based on previous life]] is a dangerous ideology, because
{{quote|for in [[karma in Hinduism|this interpretation of ''karma'']] there is no room left for human effort. Everything is predetermined for him by his past ''karma''.}}

He also claims that inherited ''[[karma]]'' is a blatantly anti-scientific concept, arguing that
{{quote|According to science, a child inherits the characteristics of his parents. In the [[Karma in Hinduism|Hindu doctrine of ''karma'']], a child inherits nothing from its parents except the body. The past [[Karma in Hinduism|''karma'' in the Hindu doctrine]] is the inheritance of the child by the child and for the child. The parents contributes nothing. The child brings everything. Such a doctrine is nothing short of an absurdity. As shown above, the [[Anatta|Buddha did not believe]] in such an absurdity.<ref>{{cite book |author=Ambedkar, Bhimrao R. |author-link=B. R. Ambedkar |editor=Pritchett, Frances W. |title=The Buddha and his Dhamma |publisher=Columbia University |place=New York, NY |url=http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00ambedkar/ambedkar_buddha/index.html}}</ref>}}

===Ambedkar's 22 vows===
{{see also|Dalit Buddhist movement}}
{{excerpt|Twenty-two vows of Ambedkar}}

== Commencement ==
[[File:Dr. Ambedkar delivering speech during conversion.jpg|thumb|Ambedkar delivering a speech during mass conversion in Nagpur, 14 October 1956.]]
Ambedkar re-interpreted Buddhism to address such issues in his mind, and re-formulated the traditional teachings of Buddhism into a "new vehicle" called ''Navayana''.<ref name="Robinson2003p192"/><ref name="Jacobsen2015p361"/> Navayana ''dhamma'' doctrine as propounded by Ambedkar, states Sumant (2004),<ref name=Sumant-2004/> "does not situate morality in a transcendental [religious] domain", nor in "a civil association, including the state". ''Dhamma'' is derived from and the guiding principle for social conscience.<ref name=Sumant-2004>{{cite book |author=Sumant, Yashwant |year=2004 |editor1=Jondhale, Surendra |editor2=Beltz, Johannes |title=Reconstructing the World: B.R. Ambedkar and Buddhism in India |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-566529-1 |pages=74–75 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K3VuAAAAMAAJ}}</ref>

Navayana Buddhism began in 1956, when [[B. R. Ambedkar|Bhimrao R. Ambedkar]] adopted it, and 380,000 Dalit community members converted to Navayana from [[Hinduism]] on 14 and 15 October 1956.<ref name="Buswell2013p34"/><ref name=queen524/> After that on every year 14 October is celebrated as [[Dhammachakra Pravartan Day]] at Dikshabhoomi, Nagpur:
{{quote|I will accept and follow the teachings of Buddha. I will keep my people away from the different opinions of Hinayana and Mahayana, two religious orders. Our Buddhism is a Neo-Buddhism, ''Navayana''.{{nowrap| — B.R. Ambedkar<ref>{{cite news |title=press interview at Sham Hotel, Nagpur |date=13 October 1956 |place=Nagpur, IN |website=Navayan: Homeland of Ambedkarite Buddhism, official website |url=http://www.navayan.com/navayan.php?about-navayan |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110208224554/http://www.navayan.com/navayan.php?about-navayan |archive-date=2011-02-08}}</ref>}} }}

== Scripture and practice ==
The writings of B.R. Ambedkar were posthumously published as ''[[The Buddha and His Dhamma]]'', and this is the scripture for those who follow Navayana Buddhism.<ref>{{cite book |author=Queen, Christopher |editor=Emmanuel, Steven M. |title=A Companion to Buddhist Philosophy |year=2015 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-119-14466-3 |pages=529–531 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P_lmCgAAQBAJ}}</ref> Among Navayana followers, state Keown & Prebish (2013),<ref name="KeownPrebish2013p24"/> this is "often referred to as their 'bible' and its novel interpretation of the Buddhist path commonly constitutes their only source of knowledge on the subject".<ref name="KeownPrebish2013p24"/>

B.R. Ambedkar is regarded as a ''[[bodhisattva]]'', the [[Maitreya]], among the Navayana followers.<ref name="Fitzgerald2003">{{cite book |author=Fitzgerald, Timothy |title=The Ideology of Religious Studies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R7A1f6Evy84C&pg=PA129 | year=2003 |publisher= Oxford University Press |isbn= 978-0-19-534715-9 |page=129}}</ref><ref name="KuldovaVarghese2017">{{cite book |author=Bose, M.B. |editor1=Kuldova, Tereza |editor2=Varghese, Mathew A. |year=2017 |title=Urban Utopias: Excess and expulsion in neoliberal south Asia |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-319-47623-0 |pages=144–146 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6c9NDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA144}}</ref> In practice, the Navayana followers revere Ambedkar, states Deitrick (2013),<ref name=Deitrick-2013/> as virtually on-par with the Buddha.<ref name=Deitrick-2013>{{cite book |author=Deitrick, Jim |year=2013 |editor1=Keown, Damien |editor2=Prebish, Charles S. |title=Encyclopedia of Buddhism |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-98588-1 |page=25 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NFpcAgAAQBAJ}}</ref> He is considered as the one prophesied to appear and teach the ''dhamma'' after it was forgotten; his iconography is a part of Navayana shrines and he is shown with a halo.<ref name="KuldovaVarghese2017"/> Though Ambedkar states ''Navayana'' to be atheist, Navayana ''viharas'' and shrines features images of the Buddha and Ambedkar, and the followers bow and offer prayers before them in practice.<ref>{{cite book |author=Robinson, Rowena |year=2003 |title=Religious Conversion in India: Modes, motivations, and meanings |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-566329-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eNsoAAAAYAAJ}}</ref> According to Junghare (1988),<ref name=Junghare-1988/> for the followers of Navayana, Ambedkar has become a deity and is devotionally worshipped.<ref name=Junghare-1988>{{cite journal |last=Junghare |first=I.Y. |year=1988 |url=http://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/nfile/1458 |title=Dr. Ambedkar: The hero of the Mahars, ex-untouchables of India |journal=Asian Folklore Studies |volume=47 |issue=1 |pages=93–121}}</ref>{{efn|... the new literature of the Mahars and their making of the Ambedkar deity for their new religion, Neo-Buddhism. ... Song five is clearly representative of the Mahar community's respect and devotion for Ambedkar. He has become their God and they worship him as the singer sings: ''{{‘}}We worship Bhima, too.{{’}}'' ... In the last song, Dr. Ambedkar is raised from a deity to a supreme deity. He is omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient.{{nowrap| — Junghare (1988)<ref name=Junghare-1988/>{{page needed|date=March 2021}} }} }}

== Reception ==
[[B. R. Ambedkar]]'s re-interpretation of Buddhism and his formulation of Navayana has attracted admirers and criticism.<ref name=blackburn1>{{cite journal |first=Anne M. |last=Blackburn |year=1993 |title=Religion, kinship and Buddhism: Ambedkar's vision of a moral community |journal=The Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=1–22 |url=http://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/jiabs/article/download/8805/2712}}</ref> The Navayana theories restate the core doctrines of Buddhism, according to Zelliot & Macy (1980),<ref name=zelliot134/> wherein Ambedkar's "social emphasis exclude[s] or distort some teaching, fundamental to traditional and canonical Buddhism".<ref name=zelliot134>{{cite book |first1=Eleanor |last1=Zelliot |first2=Joanna Rogers |last2=Macy |year=1980 |article=Tradition and innovation in contemporary Indian Buddhism |editor-first=A.K. |editor-last=Narain |title=Studies in the History of Buddhism |place=Delhi, IN |publisher=B.R. Publishing |pages=134–142}}</ref> Anne Blackburn states that Ambedkar re‑interprets core concepts of Buddhism in [[class conflict]] terms, where [[nirvana]] is not the aim and end of spiritual pursuits, but a preparation for social action against inequality:
{{quote|Ambedkar understands the Buddha's teaching that everything is characterized by [[Dukkha]], or unsatisfactoriness, as referring specifically to interpersonal relations. In one instance Ambedkar presents a dialogue in which the Buddha teaches that the root of dukkha is class conflict and asserts elsewhere that ''"the Buddha's conception of Dukkha is material"''.{{nowrap| — A. Blackburn<ref name=blackburn1/>}} }}
''Nibbana'' (Skt. [[nirvana]]) the state or process which describes enlightenment, is considered [by Ambedkar] a precursor for moral action in the world and explicitly associated with a non-monastic lifestyle. ''Nibbana'' "means enough control over passion so as to enable one to walk on the path of righteousness". Ambedkar's interpretation of ''[[dukkha]]'' and [[nirvana|''nibbana'']] implies that moral action, for which nibbana is preparation, will rectify the material suffering of inequality.<ref name=blackburn1/>

Ambedkar considered all ideas in Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism that relate to an individual's merit and spiritual development as insertions into Buddhism, and something that "cannot be accepted to be the word of the Buddha". Buddhism, to Ambedkar, must have been a social reform movement.<ref name=blackburn1/><ref name=zelliot134/> Martin Fuchs states that Ambedkar's effort is to be admired as an attempt to seek a "post-religious religion" which transcends distinctions and as being driven by the "reasonable principle of sociality", not in the sense of spiritual doctrines, philosophical speculations and existentialist questions.<ref>{{cite book |first=Martin |last=Fuchs |year=2001 |article=A religion for civil society? Ambedkar's Buddhism, the Dalit issue and the imagination of emergent possibilities |editor1=Dalmia, Vasudha |editor2=Malinar, Angelika |editor3=Christof, Martin |title=Charisma and Canon: Essays on the religious history of the Indian subcontinent |pages=250–273 |publisher=Oxford University Press |ISBN=978-01956-545-30}}</ref>

According to Blackburn, "neither view of traditional Buddhism — as a social reform movement or as some other stable entity interpreted (or misinterpreted) from a social reform perspective — is historically accurate", thereby placing Navayana theories to be a‑historical, though it served as an important means to Dalit political mobilization and social movement.<ref name=blackburn1/>

Scholars broadly accept that the depictions of the Buddha as a caste or social reformer are inaccurate.<ref name=blackburn1/><ref name=Krishan-1986>{{cite journal |first=Y. |last=Krishan |year=1986 |url=http://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/jiabs/article/download/8676/2583 |title=Buddhism and the caste system |journal=The Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=71–84}}</ref>{{efn|It has been long recognised that Buddhism and Jainism were not movements for social reform directed against the caste system, and that the Buddha's doctrine did not aim at transformation or improvement of the social conditions.<ref name=Krishan-1986/>}} [[Richard Gombrich|Gombrich]] (2012),<ref name=gombrich345/> states that there is no evidence that the Buddha began or pursued social reforms, or was against a caste system, rather his aim was at the salvation of those who joined his monastic order.<ref name=gombrich345>{{cite book |first=Richard |last=Gombrich |author-link=Richard Gombrich |year=2012 |title=Buddhist Precept & Practice |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-15623-6 |pages=344–345, context and discussion: 343–370 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lqp4LuZQnHsC}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Randall |last=Collins |year=2000 |title=The Sociology of Philosophies: A global theory of intellectual change |publisher=Harvard University Press |pages=205–206}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Queen, Christopher S. |author2=King, Sallie B. |year=1996 |title=Engaged Buddhism: Buddhist Liberation Movements in Asia |publisher=State University of New York Press |isbn=978-0-7914-2844-3 |pages=17–18 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6ZsTgY1lNNsC&pg=PA17}}</ref> Modernist interpreters of Buddhism, states Gombrich, keep picking up this "mistake from western authors", a view that initially came into vogue during the colonial era.<ref name=gombrich345/><ref>{{cite book |first=Wanda |last=Alberts |year=2007 |title=Integrative Religious Education in Europe: A study-of-religions approach |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-097134-7 |pages=258–259 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xvwKWS3VKfcC&pg=PA258}}</ref><ref name="lopez84">{{cite book |author=Lopez, Donald S., Jr. |year=2009 |title=Buddhism and Science: A guide for the perplexed |pages=84–91 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-49324-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M1rTNRb5uA4C}}</ref> Empirical evidence outside of India, such as in the Theravada Buddhist monasteries of the Sinhalese society, suggests that caste ideas have been prevalent among the ''sangha'' monks, and between the Buddhist monks and the laity. In all canonical Buddhist texts, the ''kshatriyas'' (warrior caste) are always mentioned first and never other classes such as ''brahmins'', ''vaishyas'', ''shudras'' or the untouchables.<ref>{{cite book |author=Gombrich, Richard |year=2012 |title=Buddhist Precept & Practice |pages=343–366 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-15623-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lqp4LuZQnHsC}}</ref>

The novel interpretations and the dismissal of mainstream doctrines of Buddhism by Ambedkar as he formulated Navayana has led some to suggest that Navayana may more properly be called Ambedkarism.<ref name="KeownPrebish2013p24"/> However, Ambedkar did not consider himself as the originator of a new Buddhism, but stated that he was merely reviving what was original Buddhism after centuries of "misguided interpretation" by wrong headed Buddhist monks.<ref name="KeownPrebish2013p24"/> Others, states Skaria, consider Ambedkar attempting a synthesis of the ideas of modern [[Karl Marx]] into the structure of ideas by the ancient Buddha, as Ambedkar worked on essays on both in the final years of his life.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Skaria |first=A. |year=201 |title=Ambedkar, Marx, and the Buddhist question |journal=Journal of South Asian Studies |publisher=Taylor & Francis |volume=38 |issue=3 |pages=450–4655 |doi=10.1080/00856401.2015.1049726 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

According to Janet Contursi, Ambedkar re-interprets Buddhist religion and with Navayana "speaks through Gautama and politicizes the Buddha philosophy as he theologizes his own political views".<ref>{{cite journal | last=Contursi | first=Janet A. | year=1993 | title=Political Theology: Text and Practice in a Dalit Panther Community | journal=The Journal of Asian Studies | publisher=Cambridge University Press | volume=52 | issue=2 | pages=320–339 | doi=10.2307/2059650 | jstor=2059650 }}</ref>

== Status in India ==
[[File:Buddhist sects.png|thumb|Map showing major [[Buddhist divisions]], Navayana in pink.]]
[[File:District wise Buddhist population percentage, India census 2011.png|thumb|District wise Buddhist population percentage, India census 2011. India's West-centre area [[Maharashtra]] shows Navayana [[Marathi Buddhists|Marathi Buddhist]] population]]

According to the [[2011 Census of India]] there are 8.4 million Buddhists in India. Navayana Buddhists comprise about 87% (7.3 million) of Indian Buddhist community, and nearly 90% (6.5 million) of all Navayana Buddhists in India live in [[Maharashtra]] state.<ref name=indiaspendnava/><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thequint.com/india/2017/06/17/dalits-converting-to-buddhism |title= Manu Moudgil, Dalits are still converting to Buddhism, but at a dwindling rate |website=The Quint |date=2017-06-17}}</ref> A 2017 IndiaSpend.com report on census data says "Buddhists have a literacy rate of 81.29%, higher than the national average of 72.98%", but it does not distinguish Navayana Buddhists from other Buddhists.<ref name=indiaspendnava>{{cite web |title=Conversion to Buddhism has brought literacy, gender equality and well-being to dalits |first=Manu |last=Moudgil |website=www.indiaspend.com |url=http://www.indiaspend.com/cover-story/conversion-to-buddhism-has-brought-literacy-gender-equality-and-well-being-to-dalits-18224 |quote=IndiaSpend-Journalism India - Data Journalism India - Investigative Journalism - IndiaSpend}}</ref> When compared to overall literacy rate of Maharashtra state where 80% of Buddhists are found, their literacy rate is 83.17% or slightly higher than statewide average of 82.34%.<ref name=indiaspendnava/>

According to Jean Darian, the conversion to Buddhism and its growth in India has in part been because of non-religious factors, in particular the political and economic needs of the community as well as the needs of the political leaders and the expanding administrative structure in India.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Darian | first=Jean C. | year=1977 | title=Social and Economic Factors in the Rise of Buddhism | journal=Sociological Analysis | publisher=Oxford University Press | volume=38 | issue=3 | pages=226–231 | doi=10.2307/3709803 | jstor=3709803 }}</ref> According to Trevor Ling and Steven Axelrod, the intellectual and political side of Navayana Buddhist movement lost traction after the death of Ambedkar.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Trevor Ling |author2=Steven Axelrod |year=1980 |title=Buddhist Revival in India: Aspects of the Sociology of Buddhism |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-1-349-16310-6 |pages=49–51 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zq2uCwAAQBAJ}}</ref>

==Festivals==
Major festivals among Navayana Buddhists are:
* [[Ambedkar Jayanti]]
* [[Dhammachakra Pravartan Day]]
* [[Buddha's Birthday]]

== See also ==
{{Commons category|Navayana}}
* [[Buddhism in India]]
* [[Buddhist modernism]]
* [[Buddhist socialism]]
* [[Engaged Buddhism]]
* [[Humanistic Buddhism]]
* [[Marathi Buddhists]]

== Footnotes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist|25em}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite journal |last=Ambedkar |first=Bhimrao R. |author-link=B. R. Ambedkar |year=1950 |title=Buddha and the Future of His Religion |journal=The Mahä-Bodhi |volume=58 |issue=4–5 |pages=117–118, 199–20 6|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.99895}}
* {{cite book |last=Ambedkar |first=Bhimrao R. |author-link=B. R. Ambedkar |year=2011 |editor-last1=Rathore |editor-first1=Aakash Singh |editor-last2=Verma |editor-first2=Ajay |title=The Buddha and his Dhamma: A critical edition |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780198068679}}
*{{cite journal |last=Gannon |first=Shane P. |year=2011 |title=Conversion as a thematic site: Academic representations of Ambedkar's Buddhist turn |journal=Method & Theory in the Study of Religion |volume=23 |issue=1 |pages=1–28 |jstor=23555728 |doi=10.1163/157006811X549670 }}
* {{cite book |author1=Jondhale, Surendra |author2=Beltz, Johannes |year=2004 |title=Reconstructing the world: B.R. Ambedkar and Buddhism in India |place=New Delhi, IN |publisher=Oxford University Press |ISBN=0195665295}}
* {{cite book |author=Singh, Aakash |year=2011 |article=The political theology of Navayana Buddhism |editor1=Losonczi, Péter |editor2=Luoma-aho, Mika |title=The Future of Political Theology: Religious and Theological Perspectives |place=Farnham, Surrey, UK; Burlington, VT |publisher=Ashgate |pages=159–172 |ISBN=9781409417606}}

== External links ==
* {{cite web |first=P.J.C.L. |last=van der Velde |year= |title=The Biography, ''Navayana'' as the ''new Vehicle'', and Upaya |publisher=Radboud University |place=The Netherlands |series=Psychotherapy and Buddhism |url=http://www.psychotherapieenboeddhisme.nl/documents/bionavupaya2.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005221937/http://www.psychotherapieenboeddhisme.nl/documents/bionavupaya2.pdf |archive-date=2011-10-05}}{{full citation|date=March 2021|reason=needs year published}}
* {{cite journal |first=Byung-Jo |last=Chung |date=September 2003 |title=Navayāna Buddhism: A fresh direction for Buddhism to reflect the new millenium |journal=International Journal of Buddhist Thought & Culture |volume=3 |via=eng.buddhapia.com |url=http://eng.buddhapia.com/_Service/_ContentView/ETC_CONTENT_2.ASP?pk=0001378004&sub_pk=&clss_cd=0002204363&top_menu_cd=0000000287&menu_cd=0000008843&menu_code=0000008843 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719081538/http://eng.buddhapia.com/_Service/_ContentView/ETC_CONTENT_2.ASP?pk=0001378004&sub_pk=&clss_cd=0002204363&top_menu_cd=0000000287&menu_cd=0000008843&menu_code=0000008843 |archive-date=2011-07-19}}

{{Buddhism topics}}
{{Religion topics}}

[[Category:Navayana| ]]
[[Category:B. R. Ambedkar]]
[[Category:Buddhism in Maharashtra]]
[[Category:Buddhist new religious movements]]
[[Category:Dalit]]
[[Category:Indian Buddhists]]

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