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A comparative study of Jainism and Buddhism (1932) -Karl Ludvig Reichelt, 1932 - Complete Book

English

—to gne pain to body, fall of misuses, seri’ed by non-leamed and nuser- able monks, leaving these two extremes Tathagata has searched after the middle path, which gives right Mew and produces Knowledge. It is for peace, discnmi- nation, full knowledge and Ninana That middle path IS the eight-fold path of liberation, right view etc This was the first sermon of the Buddha It shows that nakedness and all other sufferings along with it were either considered b% him to he difficult or unneces* sarj' and therefore He proclaimed a path which wa.*! neither difficult nor easj* He, who is not a follower of the Nirgrantha, may say that Goutama Buddha, thinking the conduct of nakedness to be difficult and unnecessai}*, ordered bis monks to put on necessarj' dothes; wrhile a follower of the Nirgrantha cult, who has belief that the natural condition oi the bod) necessary for a saint for the success of Self concen- tration It is w’h) Lord hlahaMra and His predeces- sors followed it. It IS a help m austerities No Why jAtNisM AKD Buddhism are the same? 283 difficult} \\j11 be felt by one who has practised it. Natural bliss can be enjoyed onlj bj deep self-absorp* tion. Goutama found it difficult for him and he thought it better to adopt the middle path of Sravakas or tajmen. The rules of conduct which are applicable to the firahmachan sra\’akas were followed him and preached to others. According to the Digambar Jam scriptures, a Brahmachan Sravaka of the 7 th stage can have two or three or necessarj* clothes, can dine where he is invited, can sleep on simple cots etc This sort of conduct was adopted and preached by Goutam Buddha I saw this sort of practical conduct among the Buddhist monks of Ceylon. According to Digambar Jam scriptures the middle path has eleven stages One who is on the last stage has a loin cloth onlj on the body A layman m llth stage while keeping one short cloth and one loin cloth IS called a Ksullaha and one who has only one loin cloth 15 called an atlaka, Thej do not accept invi* tations, but go out for alms like the saints. Leaving this controversial point whether Goutama found Ae conduct of nakedness unnecessary' or difficult, it is proved from the Pah books that He preached to monks to have necessary clothings and this conduct very aptly agrees with that of the Swetambar Jam Saints of India, who also maintam that there is no necessity for putting aside all the clothes for a monk in his efforts for ntmtna. Perhaps this might have been the idea of Goutam also 286 Jainism and Buddhism m adopting the easy mode. Buddhist monks take food once a day, before twelve noon, do not eat at night nor at improper time, nor break bows of trees and stay at one place in rainy season All these rules of conduct are the same as those of a Jam Saint. The internal philosophy of self is the same in Jainism and Buddhism as has been described in the previous chapters, only the external conduct of the Buddhists does not agree with that of the Digambar Jain Saints while it agrees mostly with that of Svetambar Jain saints. As the Svetambar saints keep pots to collect alms, SO the Buddhist monks do Th^ eat by alms as well as by invitations, while the Svetambar saints do not accept invitations Their accepting invitations agrees with that of the Digambar Jam Brahmachari sravaks of 7th degree. While Buddhist monks use vehicles and trains for journey like the Digambar Jam Brahmacharis, the Svetambar Jam monks do not use any vehicle, but walk on foot. As regards the mode of concentration, there does not seem to be any difference between the Jam and Buddhist saints Idol Worship Among the Jains and THE Buddhists. The idols of Buddha resemble the Jam images as rerards the contemplative mode While Digambaxa Jam images are quite naked in standing Kdyotsarga or sittmg Padmdsam or half padmasana and the Sve- Why Jainism and Buddhism are the same ’> 287 tambar ones are in the same position, but ^Mth the sign of a loin doth, the Buddha images have generally two dothes one under the waist and another upon the shoulders. The position is the same standing or sitting , some images have their hands like the Jain ones, some have one hand on the lap and one on the breast, or one or both the hands on legs, or in standing posture one hand lying down and one hand raised as if m preaching. Buddha images are constructed m lying posture also in the condition of Goutama Buddha in his last moments just before attaining nirv&na, which is a special feature with them I had occasion to see Buddha images and temples at Ellora, Ajanta, Sanchi, Benares, Nasik, Bomba), Taxila etc., in India and in some places in Ceylon In India I found almost all the Buddhl5^ images made of stone, while those found in Ceylon are made of stone and also of a particular kind of nicecla). Clav images are constructed very nicely and with different colours of the bodily limbs. Such beauti- ful images are not seen in India. Here their images made of stone are generally of one colour like those of Jam images. The Buddhist images seen by me at Kandy, Anura* dhapura, Dambal, Kelani)a and Colombo at Ceylon are ver}’ meditative and attractive. They are placed on high plat-forms in the same way as in Jain temples I saw in Ce)lon the Buddhists worshipping their images just like the Jams worship their images The) make 288 jMNiSM AND Buddhism obeisance, bow and pray like the Jains and nse generally flow'ers for worship and bum incense and light candles. Everything is put in front of the unages nothing is put over them. Among some Digambar Jams and mostly among the Svetambar Jams, the mode of worship has considerably changed They put flower etc., o\erthe images and some cover them with flowers altogether. The Svetambar Jams even decorate their images with ornaments etc. There is no such decoration for the Buddhist images They keep them very clean. Among the Digambar Jains of Northern India called the Tera Panihts — ^the images are kept more clean ; thej do not put flowers etc., over them. The expression of unattach- ment IS thereby properly kept. 1 attended in Ceylon two great Buddhist fairs, one on the birth-day of Buddha or Vataakha stidi 14, and the other on Jelha Sudt 14, commemorating the day of the landing in Cej'lon of Asoka’s son Mibinda I saw thousands of men and women bare-footed paying hearty homage to their images hke the Jams There w'as simpliaty in thft wromen, who w'ere seen gomg on pilgrimage with pure flowers etc. If any one asked them where they were going, they would answ'er that they were going for Vand^tw or paying homa^. As it is customary for the Jams to bath their images daily, this custom was not found prevalent among the Buddhists In many places, they put glasses before the images, to prevent dust. I did not see undeanhness, or wetness m their shnnes Why Jainism and Buddhism are the same ’ 289 Each Soul is Responsible for its Advancement The Jains and the Buddhists both believe that no God can give us pleasure or pain, or get os liberation One can be liberated by one’s oun efforts. “ The Doctnae of the Buddha" by Gnmm Page 29 “ Liberation from suffering cannot be realized through any kind of grace especially not by the help of some personal God, but exclusively by our own strength and by personal action ” Just as the Jams worship the images of the wor* shipful Arhats and the perfect Siddhas or their medita* tive images for the sake of pundcation of their thoughts, so the Buddhists have the similar practice of the worship of Buddhas and their images. The Jama Scnptur^ Say — 7. 'Samddht Sataka. Nayatydtmdnamdtmiva Jantna nirvdna meva vd Oururt^m^manastasmdnndnyoai paramdrthatah 7S ** The self can lead itself to the wandering or to the Nirvdna, therefore the self is the teacher of the self, there is no other from the real point of view." 2. Purua&rtha Stddhtupaya. ^ I 87 290 Jainism and Buddhism Sana wvartotHrnam yadd sa chatfanya machala mdpnoU Bhavati tadd kritakntyah samyak purasdrtha wtWfti mdpannah “ When he, after crossing over all the impure con- ditions, attains the steadfast self-reali/ation , then he becomes content after having succeeded in the light efforts for mnana ’’ 3. Svayambhu Statra — ?rirPt ^ S*ng ^rtr ii ^vs ii Na pujdyarthastvayi vttarage m ntndayd noth vtodni baire, Tathdpt te ptinya gum smnttnah pimttu cktttam dun- tanja nebhyah 57 “ 0 non-attached Lord, you have no regard for your lYorship,, O Lord devoid of enmit)*, neither you have any concern with j'our censure ; still when we remember your pure qualities, our minds become free from the dirt of sms All the compounds, molecules and created things are destructible — The Jains and the Buddhists both believe that the compound or created -things or worldly conditions art destructible and fleeting. “ The Doctrine of the Buddha " by Grimm Page 59 — ^Impermanent are all the compound of existence. Painful are all the compound of existence Why Jainism and Buddhism are the same ? 2^1 (Theravad Gatha) 277-278 Budda Charya Page 541 Maha pari*nibban-sutta S. N. 2 3 (16). The last words of Goutam Buddha were : — “ Well I monks, I speak to you, all the created things have the qature of decay; perform (life-object) carefully. These are the last words of the Thathflgata.” Buddha Chatya P. 518 Chanda Sutta (S.N 45-2>3). On hearing of the d^th of Sanputra, Goutam Buddha says : — “ Anand < That which is created is all to be destroyed It is impossible to check its destruction. Thiefote, 0 Anand, make itself an island, make itself a refuge, walk, having no other shelter.