Gautuma vs. Buhda

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A Debate between Confucius and Siddhartha Gautama

Today we are going to be discussing Confucius’ and Siddhartha Gautama’s stance on four different topics based on each of their own individual beliefs and morals. We will then attempt to highlight the areas of agreement and disagreement between the two regarding that specific topic.

The first topic we will be discussing is the caste system found within Hindu culture. The Hindu caste system is made up by the Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas and the Shudras. The Brahmins are the highest class and made up of priests, philosophers and holy people dedicated to the study of sacred books. Next, the Kshatriyas, who engage in military and governmental activities, they represent the upper middle class. Next are the Vaisyas who are the tradesmen, merchants, farmers and industrialists. At the bottom are the Shudras, they carry out menial jobs within society and their essential purpose is to serve the other three castes.

With its institutionalized caste system, Hinduism advocates a strong inequality among people. This caste system is unique to this religion and nothing similar to it can be found in the other major religions of the world. It is conceivable that the caste system originated in ancient India essentially to bring certain order to the society and to allocate different duties to the people. With time, this social order could have become ingrained in the Hindu society and eventually became a source of considerable sorrow to the people in the lower castes.

Moderator: Mr. Gautama, as a Hindu prince living in northern India, please discuss your view regarding the caste system within Hindu society.

Gautama: I absolutely condemn the Hindu caste system. The Hindu caste system which defines an individual’s position in society solely by their birth, should not determine caste. Rather, a person’s position in society should be...