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Old September 13, 2003, 01:15 AM
Ankesh Kothari
 
Posts: n/a
Default Re: Religion Is Fine... In Moderation

> For those who lived in the birthplace of
> Buddhism - India - it would have been very
> appealing.

> Nothing in their life - due to the class
> system in that country - and no hope for
> anything better. A retched life ofpoverty.

Actually Buddhism spread because KING Ashoka converted and became a Buddhist. And then he sent his children and his ministers to far away places - as far away as Japan and Africa to teach about Buddhism.

Buddhism is deeper than class system.

And actually Indians were the richest during that period. India was called the golden bird. Everyone from Alexander to the British were attracted to India due to its wealth.

It had classes and it had poor people - but during those days - people were comparitively happy and richer than they are now.

And even the founder of Buddhism - Gautam Buddha was the son of a king.

People didnt convert to Buddhism to get rid of the caste system. Atleast not till the 1930s. When Dr. Ambedkar - the person who wrote the Indian constitution - told all the dalit poor people to convert to Buddhism from Hinduism - so that they could be free of the class system.

But before 1930s - people converted to Buddhism to get rid of their wants - not to get rid of their poverty. It was completely opposite.