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BUDDHISM DISAPPEARED FROM INDIA DUE TO WAVERING ATTITUDE OF THE LAITY
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, in his letter to D. Wali Sinha, General Secretary. Maha Bodhi Society, Calcutta, on 16th February
1955 expressed his opinion about Dhamma Diksha.
Following is the letter.—Editors.
“I have been of the opinion that the conversion of the laity is not conversion at all. It is only a nominal thing. The so-called Buddhist laity besides worshipping the Buddha also continued to worship other Gods and Goddesses which were set up by the Brahmins to destroy Buddhism. Buddhism disappeared from India largely of this wavering attitude of the laity. If hereafter Buddhism is to be firmly established in India the laity must exclusively be tied up to it. This did not happen in the past because in Buddhism there was a ceremoney for initiation into the Sangh but there was no such ceremony for initiation into the Dhamma, In Christianity there are two ceremonies. (1) Baptism which is initiation into the Christian religion, (2) Ordination of the priest. In this respect the new movement for the propagation of Buddhism in India must copy Christianity. To remove this dangerous evil in Buddhism I have prepared formula which I call Dhamma Diksha. Every one who wishes to be converted to Buddhism shall have to undergo through ceremony. Otherwise he will not be regarded as a Buddhist.” [1]
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1 : Khairmode, Vol. 12 First Edition—July 1992, Pp. 24-25.