But he is a human being just like us. It is a crime to demean him and insult him.

A story sent by the Sangha in Jemez Springs --

One day the Buddha went on his alms rounds with his Bhikkhu Sangha in Rajgir, the capital of Magadha. There he met with a group composed from the many different castes and kingdoms across India. Among them were kings, Brahmins, warriors, and traders. There were also members of the lower castes: the impoverished and “untouchables.”

One such member of the untouchable caste, Suneet, the city sweeper, was there cleaning the roads with his broom. Suneet stood in front of the gathered crowd and bowed before the Buddha, an act which outraged the Brahmins. Seeing this destitute man before him, the Buddha in return, touched his head. Suneet said, “Please do not touch me, even my shadow will befoul you.” To which the Buddha replied, “You are a human being just like us, how can a fellow human being’s touch befoul another human being?”

“Greed, hatred, ignorance, gluttony, and lust can befoul a person.”

The Brahmins demanded, “What kind of a sage are you? You cannot become a sage just by wearing that saffron robes. You are a fraud.” And the Buddha responded, “When you deprive someone of their right to live, you are nothing but a fraud. If you feel better after calling me a fraud, I don’t mind. But he is a human being just like us. It is a crime to demean him and insult him.”

The Buddha continued:

“Nature has created the entire humankind, nature has created him too. By discriminating among people you are showing disrespect to our creator. If we throw mud in the sky, it won’t reach the sky and it will come back to hit us. The sky does not discriminate amongst us, it covers all of us. We till the land to yield; the land does not discriminate among us. The breeze touches us all in the same way. Water quenches the thirst of everyone. If nature does not discriminate why do humans discriminate amongst themselves?”

The Brahmins then asked, “In that case why not let him join you as a monk in your order?”

“This is an excellent suggestion,” said the Buddha, “Suneet, would you like to become a monk?”

“Yes,” replied Suneet.

The Buddha then welcomed him into the Sangha.

Then the Buddha said:

“Our tears are salty and the color of our blood is red. Human beings have created distinctions to hurt each other. Today I refute such distinctions. It will be a revolutionary step to impart knowledge to Suneet. We will have to face a lot of problems due to this and we will be humiliated further. But, truth shall remain steadfast even amid violent storms.”