Buddhadāsa P. Kirthisinghe
The basic principle of a democratic form of government is the freedom and dignity of the individual with
equality before the law. No man can be called free unless he is able to pursue his calling unhampered by
barriers of caste, class, or special privilege. In a deeper sense no man is truly free until he can without fear
or pressure from authoritarian coercion, unfold his innate potentialities and perfect himself by shaping
his own Kamma or destiny. It was the Buddha who for the first time taught and realised these values
through his Dhamma. It has led to a flowering of a civilization that, to this day, stands as a marvel in the
history of mankind.
Three centuries later it led, for the first time in the annals of mankind, to establish hospitals for both
men and animals and organise universal education which culminated in establishing international centres
of learning, known today as universities. With the spread of Buddhism in greater Asia from the 3rd
century B.C. it stimulated the formation of new civilizations depending on the national genius of the
inhabitants in each State. These civilizations produced a fascinating array of art and dance forms,
literature, and social and economic institution based on the Dhamma.
Democratic Values
The recognised prerequisites of democratic cultures are:
• A productive economy to raise man above the level of poverty and misery.
• A progressive society with security and opportunity for all.
• A literate society with universal education.
• Personal liberty and self-reliance.
• A system of ethics based on moral law.
• Deep-rooted respect for the system of values and institutions that helped each culture to
evolve into great civilizations.
These values were respected in the ancient Buddhist civilization of Asia, particularly in the Asokan
period from the 3rd Century B.C., the golden period of Indian history. These conditions exist today in
highly industrialised Japan where there is a predominantly Buddhist civilization, and in the newly
emerged Buddhist States of Asia. These technically backward nations are rebuilding their economies to
raise the standard of living of their people. Among these, Ceylon has an almost fully literate society with
free education from kindergarten up to university.
Buddhism has given each man or woman sturdy independence, rather than dependence on the mercy
of a Creator God to better themselves. The Buddha taught man the gospel of self-help in his efforts to lead
a noble life. To achieve the highest conditions of mind and heart, the Buddha said man must work out his
own way. He asserted that man’s own deeds would make him noble and advised him to guard against
deeds that would make him low.
Further, the Buddha stated that all beings, including man, are suffering, and through his Noble Eightfold
Path he gave an efficacious prescription how to make an end of that suffering. Since that Path is a
road of gradual progress it is intelligible and practicable by all, even on the lowest rungs of human
development. None is excluded from reaching final deliverance if only he takes resolutely one step after
the other on that road. Thus we see that the Buddha conceded equality to all human beings—a cardinal
principle in a democratic society.
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Thus, the Buddha founded the clarion-call of human liberty. He said. “Take ye refuge unto yourself; be
ye your own salvation. With earnestness and high resolve work out your own salvation.”
The Buddha pointed out the absolute folly of artificial distinctions between man and man. At the time
of the Buddha there was a rigid caste system in India. It determined and fixed man’s place in the social
order by the mere fact that one’s father was of such and such a descent and had such and such an
occupation. The low castes were denied an education and were placed low on the social ladder, and this
with such a rigidity that a low caste man could hardly break out of his situation. The Buddha revolted
against this injustice and asserted the equality of all men as far as their basic rights are concerned.
The Buddha unhesitatingly admitted to his Order of Monks also people of the so-called low castes—
barbers, butchers, sweepers, and the untouchable-along with the members of the noble and priestly
castes. He made absolutely no distinctions between them in the ranks of the monks. All received equal
homage, reverence and respect. Some members of the nobility were upset by these actions of the Buddha
and one of them dared challenge the Buddha to define a nobleman. It was then that he declared:
“No man is noble by birth,
No man is ignoble by birth.
Man is noble by his own deeds,
Man is ignoble by his own deeds”
Commenting on the Buddha’s discourse, the Sigālovāda sutta,1 which is based on social ethics, the worldfamous
British scholar, Professor Rhys Davids, chairman of the Department of Comparative Religion,
Manchester University, England, says: “Happy would have been the village or the clan on the banks of
the Ganges, when the people were full of kindly spirit of fellow feelings, the noble spirit of justice, which
breathes through these naive and simple sayings.” He adds: “Not less happy would be the village on the
banks of the Thames, today, of which this could be said.”
He continues: “The Buddha’s doctrine of love and good will between man and man is here let forth in
domestic and social ethics with more comprehensive details than elsewhere … And truly we may say
even now of this Vinaya or code of discipline, so fundamental are the human interests involved, so sane
and wide is the wisdom that envisages them that the utterances are as fresh and practically as binding
today as they were then, at Rajagaha (India).”
The Buddha strongly condemned all sacrifices performed in the name of religion, particularly those
involving animal sacrifices. It was believed at that time, that sacrifices atoned for sin and protected
against evil spirits. The Buddha said that these sacrifices were cruel and useless, as it is only through a
noble life that man can elevate himself and be secure against evil.
The Buddha’s compassion extended also to those who were ailing. Once he said to his disciples:
“Whoever, monks, nurses the sick, will nurse me.” And in that spirit hospitals for both animals and men
were later established during the reign of Asoka in 3rd century B.C.
The Buddha condemned slavery in any shape and form. He laid down golden rules for the right
manner of earning one’s living in a way not harmful to others, and this included also that any trafficking
in human beings was out of bounds for a Buddhist.
The temperance movement owes its beginnings to the Buddha who asked his followers to abstain from
using or selling liquor and other intoxicants.
Gospel of Tolerance
The Buddha also preached the gospel of tolerance, of compassion, loving kindness and non-violence.
He taught men not to despise other religions and not to belittle them. He further declared that one should
not even accept his own teachings unless one found them to be in accord with one’s personal reasoning,
according to the Kalama Sutta.2
1 Translated in The Wheel No. 14, Everyman's Ethics.
2 Translated in The Wheel No. 8.
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During the Buddha’s time there were a number of great kingdoms in India such as Magadha and
Kosala, and some of them were established on the democratic form of government. The Buddha favoured
the democrat form over the oligarchical form of government as it was the best form of government which
is conducive to the stability of society.
The Buddha showed great admiration of the Vajjis or Licchavis. In the Mahāparinibbāna Sutta he likened
the Licchavis to the Thirty-three Gods (Tāvatiṃsa-deva). He also warned Vassakāra, minister of the
parricide king Ajātasattu that the Vajjis would remain invincible as long as they adhered to the seven
rules of a nation’s welfare (aparihāniya dhamma), namely:
• Frequent meetings for consultation.
• Concord in action.
• Adherence to injunctions and traditions.
• Respecting elders.
• Respecting women, who shall never be molested.
• Reverence to places of worship within and outside the territory.
• Protection of worthy saints in the territory.
The Buddha continued: “So long as the Vajjis meet frequently in council, assemble and disperse in
harmony (and observe the other rules of welfare), their prosperity is to be expected, not their decline.”
Asoka’s reign
The Emperor Asoka worked with ceaseless energy for the propagation of Buddhism and transformed it
into a world religion. The Asokan period from 325 to 288 B.C. is of special significance to mankind, as it is
one of the most illustrious liberal democratic periods in history.
In his time Asoka established public gardens, medical herbs were cultivated, trees were planted along
roads, hospitals were established for both men and animals. He sank wells for public use, and educational
and religious institutions grew up all over the country.
The late H. G. Wells writes in his Outline of World History: “Amidst the tens of thousands of names of
monarchs that crowd the columns of history, their majesties and graciousnesses, and sovereignties and
royal highnesses and the like, the name of Asoka shines and shines almost alone a star. From the Volga to
Japan his name is still honoured. China, Tibet and even India, though it has left his doctrine, preserves the
traditions of his greatness. More living men cherish his memory today than ever heard the names of
Constantino and Charlemagne.
It is claimed that Asoka was one of the first to grant gender equality by sending his own son and
daughter to Ceylon for missionary work. In this vast empire, Asoka treated all his subjects with equal
justice and admitted no privileges of caste or class.
Formation of democratic thought originated in ancient India by the spread of Buddhism from the 3rd
century B.C. In an introduction to the book Legacy of India, Lord Zetland, former Viceroy of India, states:
“And it may come as a surprise to many to learn that in assemblies of Buddhists in India, two thousand or
more years ago, are to be found rudiments of our own parliamentary system as practised today.”
Professor G. P. Malalasekera says: “The spread of Buddhism from country to country in greater Asia
was without bloodshed and it is by itself a great democratic process never witnessed by any other world
religion.”
From World Buddhism, Vesak Annual 1963.
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