as i met with various communities in india they would ask me "give a short talk". my first talk was five minutes long. i was told, "too short". so i expanded my message a bit and over my journey my talk evolved into something like this:
"thank you for inviting me to join you here today. thank you to my hosts for taking such good care of me, and thank you to all of you for making me feel so warmly-welcomed. i am so happy to be at this gathering of your sangha. i feel inspired seeing all your beautiful faces and feeling the spirit and commitment of this group. i am especially happy to be gathered her with my buddhist sisters, and am pleased to see so many women, of all ages, here at this gathering.
i am very happy to be india. being with all of you here, i imagine what i was like 2,500 years ago when people gathered, just as we are doing, to practice with the buddha. i feel the spirit of those gatherings very much alive here, in this sangha. i can also imagine the people who gathered with dr. ambedkar all over india, and feel the legacy of his work alive in all of you, in this community of people, andin the other communities i have visited on this trip.
buddhism has a long history, 2,500 years, in india. its history in the united states is much shorter, only about 100 years old. there was a long peiod in india that buddhism was lost, but thanks to dr. ambedkar, it has been revived, and has been enjoying a renaissance in this country, continuing to spread to different communities all over india. our shared tradition, the tbmsg/fwbo has been spreading in the west for the past 45 years, thanks to bhante sanghrakshita. the fwbo has blossomed in my country, and in my city, as the san francisco buddhist center, where i practice. so truly we are one sangha, going for refuge to the three jewels of the buddha, the ideal of enlightenment, the sangha, this gathering of friends, and the dharma, the buddhist teaching which can inspire and guide us, individually and collectively.
personally, i feel very grateful to be practicing the buddhist dhamma. there are no buddhists in my family. i was raised catholic, and yet i always felt drawn to the buddha, and began studying the dhamma on my own as a teenager. for university i studied in japan, and felt very drawn to the buddhist tradition there. i also spent 3 years teaching in indonesia, after university, which had once been a great center of buddhist learning and buddhist culture. and many years ago i began studying hatha yoga, where i learned to meditate, and began a daily sitting practice. as my asana and meditation practice deepened i longed for deeper teachings, and the hindu-based yoga teachings did not make sense to me. so i looked for a sangha, and found the san francisco buddhist center. when i started studying the buddha's dhamma there i felt my heart open, and knew that i found a tradition in which i could practice, a sangha to which i could commit. i have been a dhamma mitra at our center for 8 years, and am preparing for ordination, as a dhammachari in the western buddhist order.
on a buddhist retreat in scotland four years ago i found bhante's book on dr. ambedkar, and felt very inspired both by babasaheb's personal history, and by his vision for newly-independent india. i was aware that i was reading about one of the most important historical figures of the 20th century, and was amazed that i had never heard of him before. i have since realized that very few people in the u.s. have heard about dr. ambedkar, and some of the work that i am doing now with my organization, jai bhim international, is to educate americans about dr. ambedkar, particularly teachers, so that they might teach about him in their classes.
as i read bhante's book i came to learn about how motivated dr. ambedkar was to learn, to educate himself, and to educate his people. indeed, he saw education as a very high value. as an elementary school student, because of his so-called "untouchable" caste background he was forced to sit in a corner by himself, away from the other children, and ot sit on a towel so that his direct contact with the ground would not "pollute" the janitor who cleaned the classroom. he was not allowed to drink from the same water tap as the other children. he was humiliated and disrespected in many other ways as well, and yet he continued to study, and continued to learn. he was such a brilliant student that he got sponsored through high school, and went on to study in the united states at the very prestigious columbia university, in england at the london school of economics, and then for a period at bonn, in germany.
i read that ambedkar returned to india with this advanced education, and at his first office job his co-workers refused to touch any piece of paper on which he had written, because they were afraid of becoming "polluted" by his "untouchability". and when his landlord learned of his "untouchable" caste status he was evicted from his lodging, fired from his job, violently attacked, and forced to flee town.
i read that even after facing much humiliation, discouragement, disgrace, he was not defeated, and went on to hold a number of jobs in a variety of fields, including important posts in the new indian government, as the country declared independence from england, forming its own democracy. his vision of democratic india is very interesting to me, since my country also had its own revolution, forming a democracy that is still evolving.
in his career dr. amedkar wrote the indian constitution, and is responsible for the buddhist symbols of the lion and dhammachakra being on the indian currency and the indian flag. ambedkar's vision for india was of a true democracy, based on the ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity, and within such a democracy there is no place for caste distinction, for caste prejudice, for caste discrimination. ambedkar worked within the structure of the legal and governmental systems to create justice for all indians, and he faced much opposition. one of his chief opponents was gandhi, who saw the caste system as "the backbone of indian culture", and who opposed ambedkar's efforts to abolish casteism.
ambedkar committed years of his life to creating societal change, and in the end realized that true change occurs within the mind. he was a very spiritual man and sought a religion that that would be compatible with his ideals for modern society. because of the brutality of the caste system he denounced hinduism, an act for which he was violently criticized. he famously said, "i was born a hindu, but will not die a hindu", and he studied all the religions of the world, to find a religion to which he could convert. after careful consideration he chose buddhism, because he found buddhism to be the religion most compatible with science, with reason, with modern, democratic life. buddhism also values liberty, equality, and fraternity.
what is fascinating to me about dr. ambedkar is that he worked not only to improve himself, but to improve life for his community. i was invited to india for the first time last year, by my friend dhammachari kumarjeev, who had been to visit our center in san francisco. on that fist trip i taught english on a youth retreat, with the nnby, and was very struck by how alive dr. ambedakr's energy is in the youth that i met. and i was struck by how committed these students were, not only to their own self-improvement, but to the improvement of their communities as well. i felt very motivated by that, and took that inspiration back with me to the united states when i returned.
i came back to india last may for my second visit, and practiced again with my friends dh. kumarjeev, dh. kamalshree, and dh, maitriveer nagarjuna, as well as many of the youth i had met on my first visit. this summer i decided to create a non-profit organization in the united states, as a way of connecting our communities and of spreading dr. ambedkar's message, which is relevant to buddhists all over the world. in fact, his message is relevant to all people all over the world, which is why we named the organization "jai bhim international".
our organization, jai bhim international, is working in the united states to teach people, particularly teachers, about dr. amedakr and his vision for a democratic india. i have made presentations at universities, buddhist centers and churches about dr. ambedkar. i mentioned that my family is catholic, and their church is very interested in social justice issues. they are very motivated by dr. ambedkar's legacy, and are very intereted in supporting youth projects in the dalit buddhist community. this means a lot to me, since this church was my first sangha.
on this trip to india jai bhim international has sponsored 20 students from the areas of kerala, tamil nadu and bodh gaya with scholarships to attend this year's nnby conference in bor dharan, maharastra. at this retreat, youth from all over india gather to build their leadership skills and create friendships, and then return to their communities to expand this youth network and to serve their communities.
jai bhim international also held a day-long teacher training workshop for indian english teachers in nagpur, maharastra. in the future, we hope to expand this teacher training, to create a strong core group of indian english teachers who can work, effectively and with confidence, teaching english in their own communities, with american teachers in san francisco as long-distance mentors. we have ideas for many other projects as well.
in closing, i would like to tell you how inspired i am being here with you, and how practicing with you here deepens my own buddhist practice. i am very grateful. i encourage you to continue what you are building here, and to support and encourage one another. i am particularly inspired by the presence of my buddhist sisters. it is difficult for us to find time for practice. it is difficult for the men too, but i am especially senstive to the women, and how many responsibilities we have. but this movement needs your creativity, your intelligence, your vision. it is incomplete without you. the buddha's sangha included both men and women, and in the buddha's time, advanced women practicioners were even teachers of men. and for dr. ambedkar the equality of women was a very high priority. so it is wonderful that you are here today at this gathering, and i hope you will continue to participate and lead in this movement, the movement of liberty, equality and fraternity, for a truly democratic , peaceful, and enlightened india.
thank you for having me here. namo buddho. jai bhim."