Dissent and Deviance in Buddhist Monastics: Non-Conformity in the Age of the Buddha
Keywords:
Dissent, non-conformity, Chabbaggiyā, Devadatta, Ghoṣitārāma VihāraAbstract
Religious dissent and non-conformity are well embedded in the broader canvas of Indic religions. In a larger perspective, religious dissent was against certain established practices and beliefs of the religion. Deviances in religious practices broke the established procedures to benefit the self and others. Both had an emphatic impact in the social and spiritual domain as an influence and phenomenon. Buddhism has also faced dissent, deviance, and non-conformity since its origin. The incidents of Chabbaggiyā Bhikkhus, the Kosāmbī dispute, and the episode of Devadatta are some of the significant events that gave the nascent religion a shock but also the strength to plug the loopholes for the future. The majority of these deviances in the period of the Buddha were related to social and material milieus and resolved by the Saṅgha either accommodating the views of the doers or introducing prohibitionary rules by considering them as rule breakers. The non-conformity raised by Devadatta was termed as his ambition, and his demands are related to the functional aspects of the Saṅgha. However, the Buddha did not endorse his view; instead, he made it optional. The Buddha as a paramount authority was able to see dissents or deviance in a holistic perspective. The paper will examine the nature, procedure, and ramifications of dissents and deviances in the age of the Buddha.
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