Image via the BBC.
So says Madeleine Bunting in a very cool piece for The Guardian, which offers a sneak peek at the Nobel Peace laureate’s speeches (which be broadcast by the BBC…but in the wee hours stateside).
Today’s quote is from B.R. Ambedkar (1891-1956), the Indian politician, activist, and jurist who (among other things) served as Chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Indian Constitution. His conversion to Buddhism was especially significant in that it inspired a revival of the religion in its homeland as well as the conversions of countless Indian untouchables to Buddhism. This is it — cribbed from the “Quote of the Week” at our dear buddy Maia Duerr’s beautiful blog The Jizo Chronicles:
Positively, my social philosophy may be said to be enshrined in three words: liberty, equality and fraternity. Let no one however say that I have borrowed my philosophy from the French Revolution. I have not. My philosophy has its roots in religion and not in political science. I have derived them from the teachings of my master, the Buddha.
"The former Khmer Rouge leaders on trial: clockwise from top left, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Khieu Samphan and Ieng Thirith." Images via Agence France-Presse/Getty Images.
The New York Times and the Agence France-Presse (in the video below, which shows a healthy representation by the Cambodian sangha among the witnesses in the courtroom) have the story.
Photo by Slamet Riyadi for the Associated Press.
Today’s quote comes from Siddhartha Gautama (circa fifth and/or sixth century B.C.E.) — the historical Buddha and de facto progenitor of the Buddhist religions. This is it:
…Monks, your duty is the contemplation, ‘This is stress… This is the origination of stress… This is the cessation of stress.’ Your duty is the contemplation, ‘This is the path of practice leading to the cessation of stress.’
