Negative Campaigning

Polemics against Brahmins in a Buddhist Sutta

Authors

  • Oliver Freiberger University of Texas at Austin Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/rosa.v3i1.61

Keywords:

Brahmanism, Buddhism, dogs, humour, Pāli canon, polemics, religious market, rhetoric

Abstract

This paper takes a close look at the ways Brahmins are portrayed in one sutta of the Pali canon that explains the ‘five ancient principles of Brahmins that today are seen in dogs, but not in Brahmins’. The paper analyses the method of comparing Brahmins with dogs and discusses the rhetorical purpose of this comparison by juxtaposing the respective statements with data from Brahmanical law texts. In the course of this analysis three rhetorical techniques are identified (reductionism, exaggeration, and generalization), which Buddhists employed in their polemics against Brahmins.

Author Biography

  • Oliver Freiberger, University of Texas at Austin

    OLIVER FREIBERGER is Assistant Professor of Asian Studies and Religious Studies at The University of Texas at Austin. He has authored two books and numerous articles on Indian Buddhism, asceticism, and theoretical issues in Religious Studies and (co-)edited various volumes on topics in the history of Asian religions. The University of Texas Austin, Department of Asian Studies 1 University Station G9300 Austin TX 78712 USA

References

Primary Sources

AN = Anguttara Nikaya. Richard Morris and E. Hardy (eds.). 5 vols. London: Pali Text Society, 1885–1900.

ApDhS = Apastamba Dharmasutra; see Olivelle 2000.

BAU = Brhadaranyaka Upanisad; see Olivelle 1998.

BauDhS = Baudhayana Dharmasutra; see Olivelle 2000.

ChU = Chandogya Upanisad; see Olivelle 1998.

DN = Dighanikaya. Thomas William Rhys Davids and J. Estlin Carpenter (eds.). 3 vols. London: Pali Text Society, 1890–1911.

GauDhS = Gautama Dharmasutra; see Olivelle 2000.

MDhS = Manava Dharmasastra; see Olivelle 2005.

Sn = Sutta Nipata. 1990 [1913]. Dines Andersen and Helmer Smith (eds.). Oxford: Pali Text Society.

VaDhS = Vasistha Dharmasutra; see Olivelle 2000.

Secondary Sources

Black, Brian. 2007. The Character of the Self in Ancient India: Priest, Kings, and Women in the Early Upanisads. Albany: State University of New York Press.

Bollée, Willem. 2006. Gone to the Dogs in Ancient India. Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Philosophisch-historische Klasse. Sitzungsberichte, Jahrgang 2006, Heft 2. München: Beck.

Clarke, Shayne. 2009. ‘Locating Humour in Indian Buddhist Monastic Law Codes: A Comparative Approach.’ Journal of Indian Philosophy 37: 311–30. doi:10.1007/s10781-008-9052-x

Davis, Michael L., and Ferrantino, Michael. 1996. ‘Towards a Positive Theory of Political Rhetoric: Why Do Politicians Lie?’ Public Choice 88: 1–13. doi:10.1007/BF00130405

Debroy, Bibek. 2008. Sarama and her Children: The Dog in Indian Myth. New Delhi: Penguin.

Freiberger, Oliver. forthcoming. ‘How the Buddha Dealt with Non-Buddhists.’ In Steven Lindquist (ed.), Essays in Honor of Patrick Olivelle. Firenze: Società Editrice Fiorentina.

Gombrich, Richard. 2006. How Buddhism Began: The Conditioned Genesis of the Early Teachings. 2nd edn. London: Routledge.

Jamison, Stephanie W. 1996. Sacrificed Wife/Sacrificer’s Wife: Women, Ritual, and Hospitality in Ancient India. New York: Oxford University Press.

Lau, Richard R., and Pomper, Gerald M. 2004. Negative Campaigning: An Analysis of U.S. Elections. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.

Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary. 2009. [WWW] ‘Polemic.’ http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/polemics (accessed 22/08/09).

Norman, K. R. 1996 [1984]. The Rhinoceros Horn and Other Early Buddhist Poems: The Group of Discourses (Sutta-Nipata), Vol. 1. Oxford: Pali Text Society.

Olivelle, Patrick. 1998. The Early Upanisads: Annotated Text and Translation. New York: Oxford University Press.

— 2000. Dharmasutras: The Law Codes of Apastamba, Gautama, Baudhayana, and Vasistha, Annotated Text and Translation. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.

— 2005. Manu’s Code of Law: A Critical Edition and Translation of the Manava-Dharmasastra. New York: Oxford University Press.

— 2006. ‘The Ascetic and the Domestic in Brahmanical Religiosity.’ In Oliver Freiberger (ed.). Asceticism and its Critics: Historical Accounts and Comparative Perspectives: 25–42. New York: Oxford University Press.

Oxford English Dictionary online. 2009. [WWW] ‘Rhetoric.’ http://oed.com/ (30-09-09).

PED (The Pali Text Society’s Pali–English Dictionary). Thomas William Rhys Davids and William Stede (eds.). London: Pali Text Society, 1921–1925, reprint 1986.

Schopen, Gregory. 2007. ‘The Learned Monk as a Comic Figure: On Reading a Buddhist Vinaya as Indian Literature.’ Journal of Indian Philosophy 35: 201–26. doi:10.1007/s10781-007-9019-3

Tsuchida, Ryutaro. 1991. ‘Two Categories of Brahmins in the Early Buddhist Period.’ Memoirs of the Research Department of the Toyo Bunko 49: 51–95.

Published

2010-05-22

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Freiberger, O. (2010). Negative Campaigning: Polemics against Brahmins in a Buddhist Sutta. Religions of South Asia, 3(1), 61-76. https://doi.org/10.1558/rosa.v3i1.61