Buddhism's Forgotten History:

Video digest of “Liberty & the Lotus” Issue #3: “Slave Masters and Buddhist Sutras”

How did Buddhist monasteries justify owning slaves while teaching compassion and enlightenment? This video explores the fascinating contradiction at the heart of Buddhist institutional history. Drawing from ancient manuscripts and legal documents, we reveal how monasteries used creative legal frameworks to maintain unfree labor while technically adhering to religious doctrine.

From India to China to Tibet, Buddhist institutions developed sophisticated systems for managing enslaved labor. The economic incentives were clear, but the societal costs were staggering. This forgotten history challenges modern assumptions about religious institutions and offers crucial insights into how power structures—religious or secular—respond to economic pressures.

Featuring original analysis of historical documents, archaeological evidence, and economic research on slavery's hidden costs to society. Essential viewing for anyone interested in:

• Buddhist history

• Religious institutions

• Economic history

• Human rights

• Institutional ethics

#Buddhism #History #Slavery #ReligiousStudies #Economics #HumanRights

Notes:

Here is a list of technical terms that appear in canonical Buddhist literature, particularly regarding slavery and servitude:

1. Aramika/ārāmika (Sanskrit/Pali) - monastery attendant or servant

• Also rendered as jingren (Chinese)

• zhabs 'bring ba (Tibetan)

2. Dāsa/dāsī (Sanskrit/Pali) - male slave/female slave

• Rendered as nu (Chinese)

• bran (Tibetan)

3. Categories of dāsa according to canonical sources:

• antojāta/antojātako - one born in the house/born of a slave mother

• dhanakkita/dhanakkito - purchased slave

• karamarānita - taken by force/brought from another kingdom

• sāmam dāsavyam upagata - one who voluntarily became a slave

4. Additional technical terms:

• kappiya-karaka/kalpikāra - "one who makes things allowable"

• kapyāri - another term for monastery slave

• pres̩ya - servant/menial

• parivāra - retinue/dependents

• kammakara - laborer

5. Legal/Social status terms:

• bhujissa - technically "dependent" but came to mean "free" in some contexts

• svātantra - independent/free

• asvatantra - dependent/unfree

• dasatva - state of being a slave

• dasabya/dasavya/dasana/dasattha - slavery/servitude

The sources indicate these terms had specific technical meanings in Buddhist canon law (vinaya) and were carefully defined in commentarial literature, though their exact definitions and relationships sometimes varied across different Buddhist traditions and time periods.