A meeting in South India (Bylakuppe) with a group of Buddhists, followers of the low-caste politician Ambedkar led to a closer investigation of the often found idea that the Buddha opposed the caste system. In this contribution we focus on the tension between the generally held ideas if it comes to the Buddha’s attitude of the caste system (rejection) and everyday practice of a modern group of followers. For this, apart from the exposure in Bylakuppe several episodes from the Pali canon were investigated. It was the unexpected course and the end of the meeting in Byalakuppe that brought the researcher to this reflection, surprised as he was by the course of events. This lead to a renewed reading of several of the ancient sources that are usually brought forward if it comes to the Buddha and caste distinctions. In his own words, a case of ‘creative contingency’ ensuing in a reflection that things were yet more complicated than they seemed to be at first sight. Methodologically speaking one could say this is a field observation that led to a further reflection and a closer investigation of ancient textual sources.

低种姓政治家安贝德卡（Ambedkar）的追随者在印度南部（贝拉库普（Bylakuppe））与一群佛教徒会面，导致人们对人们经常发现的佛陀反对种姓制度的想法进行了深入研究。在这一贡献中，我们关注的是佛陀对种姓制度的态度（拒绝）与现代追随者的日常实践之间普遍存在的观念之间的张力。为此，除了在比拉库普（Bylakuppe）发生的暴风雨之外，还对巴利教规中的几集进行了调查。正是意外的过程以及在Byalakuppe的会议的结束使研究人员产生了这种反思，他对事件过程感到惊讶。这导致人们重新阅读了一些关于佛陀和种姓差异的古代文献。用他自己的话说 随之而来的“创造性偶然性”案例反映出事情比看起来乍一看还复杂。从方法上讲，可以说这是一次实地观察，导致对古代文字资料的进一步反思和更深入的研究。