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Log inBlast from the Past 8: Charvaka discusses the meaning of 'sangha' with Rashmun
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Blast from the Past 8: Charvaka discusses the meaning of 'sangha' with Rashmun
by Guest Tue Aug 02, 2011 5:24 am
carvaka posted Re:Budha on Universal Flux on 2 yrs ago
I am not sure what sangha in the Artha Shastra means.
This was 300 years after Buddha gave that word a lot of prominence in
his new religion. By that time, sangha might conceivably have meant a
Buddhist community. Buddhists, with their denial of the authority of
accepted wisdom (the Vedas) were probably seen as heretics, so it won't
be surprising if Chanakya was talking about how to deal with those
heretics.
Rashmun posted Re:Budha on Universal Flux on 2 yrs ago
my current understanding is that the word 'Sangha'
predates the Budha, that it stood for tribal collectives predating the
Budha and also existing at the time of the Budha, and that the Budha
consciously modelled the Budhist Sanghas (monastaries) on the tribal
collectives about which which he had first hand information and in which
democratic ideals were prevalent. (And so, for instance, a sudra who
joined a Budhist sangha would be treated as an equal once a member of
the Sangha.)
At any rate, it does seem odd if we imagine that the Budhist monastaries
(full of monks) would be able to resist direct assault by a powerful
king like Ajatashatrua or that the Budhist monastries offered stiff
resistance to Alexander's invasion. (Sanghas, we are informed by
different sources, offered the strongest resistance to Alexander's
army.) Kautilya treats the Sanghas as a political entity throughout his
book. He says that the people living in a particular Sangha should be
defeated through treachery (i.e. using spies, etc.) and then
subsequently after defeating them one should break them up into small
groups and deposit them at distant lands separated from each other so
that they are unable to get together and regroup.
http://forums.sulekha.com/forums/philosophy/budha-on-universal-flux-128368.htm#128368
I am not sure what sangha in the Artha Shastra means.
This was 300 years after Buddha gave that word a lot of prominence in
his new religion. By that time, sangha might conceivably have meant a
Buddhist community. Buddhists, with their denial of the authority of
accepted wisdom (the Vedas) were probably seen as heretics, so it won't
be surprising if Chanakya was talking about how to deal with those
heretics.
Rashmun posted Re:Budha on Universal Flux on 2 yrs ago
my current understanding is that the word 'Sangha'
predates the Budha, that it stood for tribal collectives predating the
Budha and also existing at the time of the Budha, and that the Budha
consciously modelled the Budhist Sanghas (monastaries) on the tribal
collectives about which which he had first hand information and in which
democratic ideals were prevalent. (And so, for instance, a sudra who
joined a Budhist sangha would be treated as an equal once a member of
the Sangha.)
At any rate, it does seem odd if we imagine that the Budhist monastaries
(full of monks) would be able to resist direct assault by a powerful
king like Ajatashatrua or that the Budhist monastries offered stiff
resistance to Alexander's invasion. (Sanghas, we are informed by
different sources, offered the strongest resistance to Alexander's
army.) Kautilya treats the Sanghas as a political entity throughout his
book. He says that the people living in a particular Sangha should be
defeated through treachery (i.e. using spies, etc.) and then
subsequently after defeating them one should break them up into small
groups and deposit them at distant lands separated from each other so
that they are unable to get together and regroup.
http://forums.sulekha.com/forums/philosophy/budha-on-universal-flux-128368.htm#128368
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» Blast from the Past Part 3: Charvaka agrees yet again with Rashmun
» Blast from the Past Part 2: Charvaka approves of the Rashmun Method
» Blast from the Past 6: Charvaka thanks Rashmun for giving an Indian philosophy reference
» Blast from the Past 7: Charvaka congratulates Rashmun for posting a 'great post'
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