z:\ ambedkar\vol 011\vol11 07.indd MK SJ+YS 5 10 2013/YS 18 11 2013 512
512 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
- It is rather surprising that a reference to Dukkha should give cause to such an accusation.
VI
Karl Marx also said that there is exploitation in the world and the rich are being made richer and the poor are being made poorer.
And yet nobody has said that Karl Marx’s doctrine is pessimism.
Why then should a different attitude be shown to the Buddha’s doctrine?
It may be because the Buddha is reported to have said in his first sermon, Birth is sorrowful, old age is sorrowful, death is sorrowful, that a deeper pessimistic colouring has been given to his Dhamma.
But those who know rhetoric know that this is an artifice of exaggeration and that it is practised by skilled literary hands to produce effect.
That birth is sorrowful is an exaggeration by the Buddha can be proved by reference to a sermon of his in which he has preached that birth as a human being is a very precious thing.
Again, if the Buddha had merely referred to Dukkha such an accusation could be sustainable.
But the Buddha’s second Aryan Truth emphasizes that this Dukkha must be removed. In order to emphasize the duty of removal of Dukkha he spoke of the existence of Dukkha.
To the removal of Dukkha the Buddha attached great importance. It is because he found that Kapila merely stated that there was Dukkha and said nothing more about it that he felt dissatisfied and left the Ashram of Muni Alara Kalam.
How can this Dhamma be called pessimistic?
Surely a teacher who is anxious to remove Dukkha cannot be charged with pessimism.
§ 5. Critics of the Theory of Soul and Rebirth
- The Blessed Lord preached that there was no Soul. The Blessed Lord also affirmed that there was rebirth.