Thu Oct 12, 2023

"Exploring the Philosophical Paths of Buddhism and Jainism: An In-Depth Comparison"

Buddhism

INTRODUCTION
Buddhism was founded by Gautama Buddha who had been given the name of
Siddhartha by his parents.
His father was Suddhodana, the chief of the Sakya clan and mother was Maya, princess of the Koliya clan.
He was born in the Lumbini (modern Rummindei) in the Nepal Tarai region.
At the age of 80 (486 B.C.), he died at Kusinagara (Kasia in Deoria district in Uttar Pradesh), the capital of the Mallas and the event is known as Mahaparinirvana.
PLACES BUDDHA VISITED
Vaishali: Sankhya darshan
Rajgriha: Yoga
Uruvela: attained enlightenment (Sambodhi)
Sarnath: First sermon (Dharmachakrapravartana)
Maximum sermons: Shravasti
Ashta-mahasthana
RELIGIOUS TEACHINGS
Buddhism is based upon triratnas i.e. Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha.
The Buddha laid the foundations of the Buddhist Sangha.
Asvajit, Upali, Mogallana, Sari-putra and Ananda were the first five disciples of
the Buddha.
Anathapindika, the rich merchant of Shravasti became his follower and made
liberal donations to the Buddhist order.
He gave women permission to be admitted in sangha.
RELIGIOUS TEACHINGS
The basic teachings of the Buddha are contained in:
The Four Noble Truths, and The Eight-Fold Path
The following are the Four Noble Truths:
Dukkha: The world is full of suffering.
Samudaya: All sufferings have a cause; desire, ignorance and attachment are the causes of sufferings.
Nirodha: The suffering could be removed by destroying its cause.
Magga: In order to end suffering one must know the right
path. This path is the Eight-Fold Path (Ashtangika Marga).
According to the Buddha, this consists of Right View, Right Resolve, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration. The first seven are taught to be pillars that support Right Concentration.
KARMA, NIRVANA AND GOD IN BUDDHISM
Buddhism laid great emphasis on the law of ‘karma’ which says present is determined by past actions. The condition of man in this life and the next depends upon his own actions.
The Buddha preached ‘nirvana’, the ultimate goal in the life
of a man.
He laid emphasis on the moral life of an individual.
The Buddha neither accepted nor rejected the existence of God. He was more concerned about the individual and his actions.
Buddhism also did not believe in the existence of soul.
1ST BUDDHIST COUNCIL, 483 BC
Place: Sattapani cave, Rajgriha, Bihar
Ruler: Ajatshatru (Magadha Ruler, Haryanka dynasty), presided by Mahakasyapa
Accomplishment: Buddha’s teachings were compiled into Sutta Pitaka and Vinaya Pitaka by Ananda and Upali respectively.
2ND BUDDHIST COUNCIL, 387 BC
Place: Vaishali
Ruler: Kalashoka (Shishunaga dynasty), presided by Sabakami
Accomplishment: Buddhist sangha was divided into schools i.e. Theravadi or Sthavira and Mahasanghik. The former upheld the orthodox Vinaya Pitaka while the latter favored the new rules and their further relaxation
3RD BUDDHIST COUNCIL, 251 BC
Place: Pataliputra
Ruler: Ashoka, presided by Moggaliputta Tissa
Accomplishment: Compilation of the third pitaka i.e. Abhidhamma
Pitaka which explains the tenets of Dhamma.
4TH BUDDHIST COUNCIL, 72 AD
Place: Kashmir
Ruler: Kanishka, presided by Vasumitra
Accomplishment: Compilation of Vibhashashastra by Vasumitra, a commentary in Sanskrit on the difficult aspects of Buddhist texts.
HINAYANA SCHOOL
They saw Buddha as a great soul but not God.
They were orthodox in nature.
They did not believe in Bhakti and idol worship.
It was later divided into 2 sects i.e. Vaibhashika and Sautrantika.
Hinayana sect can be found in Sri Lanka, Burma and Java.
The goal of the Hinayana was to become an Arhat.
MAHAYANA SCHOOL
Mahayana school is considered closest to the Mahasanghik school.
They see Buddha as incarnation of God and started his idol
worship.
Mahayana attaches importance to the role of Bodhisattvas who
delay their own salvation in order to help others to its path.
They believed in the concept of transmigration of soul and rebirth.
It was later divided into 2 sects i.e. Shunyavaad and Vigyanvaad.
In early medieval period a new form of Mahayana called Mantrayana came up in which Bodhisattva Avalokiteshwar began to be worshipped.
VAJRAYANA SCHOOL
Vajrayana means “The Vehicle of the Thunderbolt”, also
known as tantric Buddhism.
This Buddhist school developed in India around 7th century.
Vajrayana Buddhist tradition is an esoteric sect that is
predominant in Tibet and Nepal.
Vajrayana was last of the three ancient forms to develop, and provides a quicker path to Enlightenment than the other two.
JAINSIM


Jainism believes in the existence of total 24 tirthankaras.
According to the Jaina tradition the twenty-third Tirthankara, Parsvanatha
was the son of King Asvasena of Varanasi and his Queen Vama.
He abandoned the throne at the age of thirty and became an ascetic.
He received Enlightenment after 84 days.
He died at the age of 100 years, nearly 250 years before Mahavira.
He left behind him a good number of followers. The followers of Parsvanatha wore a white garment.
Thus, it is clear that even before Mahavira some kind of Jaina faith existed.
Mahavir Swami is considered to be the 24th and last tirthankara and the founder of Jainism.
He was born in Kundagrama, Vaishali and passed away in in Pavapuri (near Rajagriha) in Patna district at the age of 72 (468 BCE).
His father, Siddhartha was the head of Jnatrikas, a kshatriya clan. His mother was Trishala, a Lichchavi princess.
Vardhamana was married to Yashoda.
At the age of thirty, Vardhamana left his home and became an ascetic.
For twelve years he lived the life of an ascetic following severe austerities.
In the 13th year of his asceticism, at the age of 42, he attained the ‘Supreme Knowledge’.
He was later known as ‘Mahavira’ (the
supreme hero), or ‘Jina’ (the conqueror).
He gave his first sermon from Vipulachal hill
near Rajgriha.
He often visited the courts of Bimbisara and Ajatasatru.
RELIGIOUS PHILOSOPHY
Mahavira accepted most of the religious doctrines laid down by Parsvanatha. However, he made some alterations and additions to them.
Parsvanath advocated the following four principles: 1) Truth 2) Non-violence 3)
Non-possession 4) Not to receive anything that was not voluntarily given.
To this Mahavira added the fifth principle of celibacy (brahmacarya).
According to him, the soul is in a state of bondage created by desire accumulated through previous births.
Moksa (nirvana) can be attained by observing the following three principles
(ratnatraya):
Right belief, Right knowledge, Right action
Mahavir advocated a life of severe asceticism for the attainment of ‘nirvana’.
He believed that the world was not created by any supreme creator. The world functions according to an eternal law of decay and development.
He rejected the authority of the Vedas and objected to Vedic rituals and the
supremacy of the brahmanas.
However, he was silent on the caste system.
Jaina philosophy shares many ideals with the Sankhya philosophy of
Hinduism.
SECTS
Shvetambars are associated with the region of Magadha who rose under the
guidance of Sthalabahu.
The sub-sects under Svetambaras include Sthanakavasi and Murtipujaka.
The Terapanthi sub-sect is derived from the Sthanakvasi section.
The Digambars are associated with Shravanbelagola (Karnataka) who rose under
the guidance of Bhadrabahu. Digambars do not wear clothes.
Digambar tradition is divided into two main orders Mula Sangh and the Kashtha
Sangh.
PATRONS
Chandragupta Maurya was a follower of Jainism and he migrated with Bhadrabahu to the south and spread Jainism.
During the early centuries of the Christian Era, Mathura and Ujjain
became great centres of Jainism.
The Chalukyan rulers of Gujarat gave shelter to Jainism in the early medieval period which led to its reach in Gujarat and Rajasthan.
Dilwara Temple in Mt. Abu is famous for temples of Adinath, Neminatha
and other tirthankaras.
In south India, the Ganga, Kadambas, Rashtrakutas and Chalukyan
dynasty patronized Jainism.
1ST JAINA COUNCIL (300 BC)
Place: Pataliputra Ruler: Chandragupta Maurya
Accomplishment:
Twelve Angas were compiled by Sthoolbhadra and these were accepted by the Svetambaras.
Digambaras refused to accept this claiming that all the old scriptures were lost.
Division of Jains into Shvetambar and Digambaras.
2ND JAINA COUNCIL (512-513 C.E)
Place: Valabhi, Gujarat
Accomplishment
Compilation of main Jaina teachings into Agamas.
Agamas were compiled in Aradhmagadhi.
12 Upangas were added.


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