由美國華嚴蓮社｢華嚴教育基金｣ (Huayen Education Fund)贊助，聖荷西州立大學（SJSU）於2025年10月22日舉辦了一場題為「佛教重生：安貝德卡爾博士與新乘佛教的創立」(Buddhism Reborn: Dr. Ambedkar and the Making of Navayana Buddhism)講座。本場講座是該系列活動的最後一場，主持人是人文藝術學院. 人文學系. 美國研究 Dr. Funie Hsu 教授，主講人為哈佛神學院博士後 Dr. Santosh Raut，評論人是以研究「社會參與佛教」(socially engaged Buddhism) 而聞名的前哈佛大學教授 Dr. Christopher Queen。他們二位共同探討安貝德卡如何在現代印度重新詮釋佛教，並致力於使其成為倡導平等、理性與道德實踐的社會宗教。
Funie 教授開場時特別感謝聖荷西州立大學（SJSU）各部門與各界贊助者的支持，並介紹 Dr. Santosh Raut是來自印度馬哈拉施特拉邦的佛教學者與傳教師，同時也是現代安貝德卡運動的重要推動者。他的演講題為《佛教重生：安貝德卡博士與新乘佛教的形成》，重點講述安貝德卡如何將佛教從古代哲理轉化為現代社會革命的思想。
Raut 將安貝德卡的宗教旅程分為三個階段。第一階段是1935年的耶奧拉會議（Yeola Conference）。他在會上宣告：「我生為印度教徒，但我不會死為印度教徒（I was born a Hindu, but I will not die a Hindu）。」這句話象徵他徹底與種姓宗教決裂。第二階段是長達二十年的探索期，他在此期間兼顧政治、教育與社會運動，同時研究世界宗教，尋找一種 既理性又能維護人類尊嚴的信仰。第三階段是1956年10月於那格浦爾舉行的皈依儀式， 他與約五十萬追隨者一起皈依佛教。七週後，他辭世，留下遺著《佛陀與他的法》（The Buddha and His Dhamma），成為新乘佛教（Navayana）的核心經典。
與會者專注聆聽 Dr.-Santosh-Raut 發表演說
Raut 強調，安貝德卡的皈依不是個人信仰的選擇，而是一種集體解放的策略。他希望透過佛教，讓被壓迫者擺脫「種姓身份」，獲得平等人格。安貝德卡主張道德重於儀式，實踐勝於信仰。他將「皈依佛」重新定義為「追隨佛陀的腳步（following in the Buddha’s footsteps ）」。在翻譯佛教誓願時，他把「我歸依佛」（saranam gacchāmi）改譯為馬拉地語的「我追隨」（anusarto），意在讓人們主動行持而非被動依附。這種語言上的細微變化，體現出他對自覺與行動的重視。
Raut 指出，新乘佛教（Navayana）並非新的宗教體系，也並無改變佛教核心義理，而是對佛陀原始精神的現代重構，使其更符合現代民主社會的需要。它拒絕宿命論與迷信，強調宗教應符合科學精神，並維護「自由、平等、博愛、公正與尊嚴」。安貝德卡曾說：「佛陀的宗教就是道德（The religion of the Buddha is morality）。」在他提出的「二十二 誓願」中，每條戒律都包含積極的倫理意義——例如「不殺生」不僅是禁止行為，更是要以慈心愛護一切眾生。
Raut 進一步解釋，安貝德卡並非否定「四聖諦」，而是拒絕把「苦」（dukkha）視為命定的存在。他認為「苦」源於社會結構與無明，而非個人命運。安貝德卡寫道：「我的法承認苦的存在，但同時也強調解除痛苦的道路（My Dhamma recognizes suffering, but forget not that it also lays equal stress on the removal of suffering）。」因此，佛法在他看來是一種希望與變革的哲學，而非消極的忍受。
他還強調了「僧伽」（Sangha）在新乘佛教（Navayana）中的地位。安貝德卡認為僧團應是民主社會的縮影，出家人與在家人地位平等。佛教修行的目標不是培養脫離世俗的「完人」，而是造就服務社會的「朋友、導師與引導者」。他主張，佛陀時代的僧團會議體現了「協商式民主」的精神。他曾說：「民主不僅是一種政府形式，更是一種共同生活的方式（Democracy is not merely a form of government; it is primarily a mode of associated living）。」
Queen 將安貝德卡與聖雄甘地（Mahatma Gandhi）進行比較。甘地主張以慈悲對待「哈里真」（Harijan，「神之子」），但依然保留種姓結構；而安貝德卡則要求徹底廢除此「等級不平等的制度（a system of graded inequality）」。Queen還指出，安貝德卡早在皈依前，就已將佛教象徵融入國家體系。例如印度國旗中央的「阿育王法輪」（Ashoka Wheel）象徵著「法」（Dharma）與正義，這一設計正出自安貝德卡的主張。
兩位學者在結語中指出，安貝德卡的新乘佛教（Navayana）將佛教從個人修行提升為社會運動。它不僅關注個體無明，更致力於改變制度性的不公。對安貝德卡而言，「精神解放」與「社會平等」 密不可分。他曾說：「你們也許認為佛陀的道路漫長，但我毫不懷疑——佛陀的道路是最穩妥的道路（You may say that Buddha’s way is a long way… but I have no doubt that Buddha’s way is the surest way）。」時至今日，這句話仍提醒人們：教育、慈悲與理性才是社會變革最可靠的力量。
華嚴蓮社天嚴法師、與談人Dr. Queen、主持人 Dr. Hsu 等多位教授，及與會居士合影留念
2025 SJSU Lecture Event Report Press Release
Sponsored by the Huayan Education Fund of the Avatamsaka Buddhist Lotus Society, San Jose State University (SJSU) held a talk on Oct. 22,2025 called “ Buddhism Reborn: Dr. Ambedkar and Making of ã Budhism”. The final event of the lecture series on Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar and Navayana Buddhism brought together scholars and students to reflect on one of India’s most transformative modern thinkers. The discussion, hosted by Professor Funie Hsu of American Studies, featured Dr. Santosh Raut of Harvard Divinity School and Dr. Christopher Queen, a former Harvard professor known for his research on socially engaged Buddhism. Together, they explored how Ambedkar reinterpreted Buddhism—calling his vision Navayana, or “the New Vehicle”—to create a religion of equality, ethics, and social reform.
Dr. Hsu opened by thanking the departments and donors who made the series possible and introduced the two speakers. Dr. Raut, a Buddhist scholar and Dharma teacher from Maharashtra, is both an academic and an activist in the modern Ambedkarite movement. He has worked with Buddhist communities across Asia and currently serves as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard. His talk, titled “Buddhism Reborn: Dr. Ambedkar and the Making of Navayana Buddhism,” focused on how Ambedkar transformed Buddhism from ancient philosophy into a modern social revolution.
Dr. Raut began by dedicating his talk to those still fighting for the liberation of the Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya—the sacred place of the Buddha’s enlightenment that remains under non-Buddhist management. This dedication, he said, reflected the ongoing struggle of Buddhists in India for recognition and justice. He then provided historical background: Buddhism, once India’s dominant spiritual tradition, disappeared from the subcontinent around the thirteenth century. It survived across Asia but remained marginalized in its homeland until the late nineteenth century, when reformers began rediscovering its heritage. Yet, Raut explained, these early revival efforts were largely intellectual. It was Dr. Ambedkar, India’s most educated Dalit leader and the chief architect of the nation’s Constitution, who turned Buddhism into a living force for equality.
Raut outlined three key stages of Ambedkar’s spiritual and political evolution. The first came in 1935 at the Yeola Conference, where Ambedkar declared, “I was born a Hindu, but I will not die a Hindu.” This marked his break with the caste-based religious order. The second phase stretched across two decades of study and public service. While leading campaigns for education, labor rights, and legal reform, Ambedkar researched world religions to find one grounded in rationality and social ethics. The third stage culminated in October 1956, when he and roughly half a million followers converted to Buddhism at Nagpur. Seven weeks later, he passed away—leaving behind The Buddha and His Dhamma, a reinterpretation of Buddhist scripture that became the sacred text of the new movement.
According to Raut, Ambedkar’s decision was not a private act of faith but a collective
strategy for liberation. He sought a religion that could replace caste-based identity with universal human dignity. Ambedkar’s Buddhism emphasized morality over ritual and practice over belief. He redefined “taking refuge in the Buddha” as “following in the Buddha’s footsteps.” The change of phrasing mattered: to follow meant to act, not to surrender. In his translation of Buddhist vows, Ambedkar turned saranam gacchāmi (“I go for refuge”) into the Marathi anusarto (“I follow”). This shift encouraged responsibility and participation rather than dependence on divine authority.
Raut argued that Ambedkar’s Navayana—literally “new vehicle”—did not alter the Buddha’s core truths but reframed them for a modern, democratic society. It rejected fatalism and superstition and insisted that religion must conform to science and uphold liberty, equality, fraternity, justice, and dignity. Ambedkar declared that “the religion of the Buddha is morality,” and that true piety meant ethical conduct, compassion, and social service. In his famous 22 vows, he transformed negative prohibitions into positive virtues—for instance, not killing became actively practicing loving-kindness toward all beings.
Raut also addressed Ambedkar’s reinterpretation of the Four Noble Truths. Critics once claimed he rejected them, but Raut clarified that Ambedkar only rejected the pessimistic view of dukkha (suffering) as inevitable. He wanted his followers to see suffering as a social condition that could be changed, not a destiny to be endured. Ambedkar wrote, “My Dhamma recognizes suffering, but forget not that it also lays equal stress on the removal of suffering.” In this sense, Buddhism became a philosophy of hope and transformation, not resignation.
Another crucial part of Navayana was Ambedkar’s vision of the Sangha—the Buddhist community—as a democratic model for society. He believed monks and laypeople should share equal status and that the goal of spiritual life was not to create “perfect men” withdrawn from the world but to produce social servants—guides, friends, and moral teachers. For Ambedkar, the ancient Buddhist assemblies, where decisions were made collectively, foreshadowed modern parliamentary democracy. His statement—“Democracy is not merely a form of government; it is primarily a mode of associated living”—echoed this conviction.
Dr. Queen’s response placed Ambedkar in a global context. He recalled first learning about the Dalit Buddhist movement in the 1980s and being surprised that so few Western scholars had studied it. In India, Ambedkar is revered as a national hero, yet outside the country his name is often unknown. Queen explained that Ambedkar’s thought was shaped by his studies under American philosopher John Dewey at Columbia University. Dewey’s idea of “pragmatism”—that knowledge must serve human progress—inspired Ambedkar’s emphasis on education and reform. This influence is visible in Ambedkar’s slogan: “Educate, Agitate, Organize.” Like Dewey, he believed social improvement came through learning, cooperation, and moral reasoning.
Queen contrasted Ambedkar’s call to abolish caste with Mahatma Gandhi’s more conservative approach. Gandhi urged upper-caste Hindus to be kind to the “Harijans” (children of God) but accepted the caste system as a spiritual structure. Ambedkar rejected it entirely, calling it “a system of graded inequality.” Queen also noted how Ambedkar introduced Buddhist symbols into the Indian nation itself. The Ashoka Wheel, now at the center of India’s flag, represents the Dharma, or moral law. Ambedkar’s foresight allowed Buddhist values to become part of India’s secular identity even before his own conversion.
In the Q&A, an audience member asked whether Ambedkar waited to convert until 1956 to coincide with the grand celebration of Buddha Jayanti—the 2,500th anniversary of the Buddha’s enlightenment. Raut replied that Ambedkar wanted not only to celebrate Buddhism but to re-establish it as a living tradition. He may also have delayed for strategic reasons: by keeping his beliefs private while drafting the Constitution, he ensured that Buddhist ethics could influence India’s national ideals without sectarian conflict. Dr. Queen added that after the failure of the Hindu Code Bill, which would have expanded women’s rights, Ambedkar turned to Buddhism as the only moral path left.
Both scholars concluded that Ambedkar’s Navayana transformed Buddhism from a private quest into a public movement. It addressed not only individual ignorance but also institutional injustice. For Ambedkar, spiritual liberation and social equality were inseparable. His words—“You may say that Buddha’s way is a long way… but I have no doubt that Buddha’s way is the surest way”—remain a reminder that lasting change comes through education, compassion, and reason. The movement he began continues to inspire millions in India and beyond, proving that the Buddha’s ancient message still speaks to the modern struggle for human dignity.
