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342: The whole wide world we traverse with our thought, And nothing find to me more dear than soul Since, aye, so dear the soul to others is, Let the soul-lover harm no other man. Note.—This passage also refers to the-soul. The Life of the Buddha by Edward J. Thomas (1927). P. 188. The ascetic Malimkaya Putta is said to have asked many questions, one of which was whether a Tathagata exists after death. Buddha refused to say whether he exists, whether he does not exist. The silence proves that what remains in Nirvana is only realizable, not describable. EXISTENCE OF THE SOUL 69 P. 189. Dialogue between the nun Khema (wife of Srenika) and King Pasenadi : She says, “Reverend one, the ocean is deep, immeasurable, unfathomable, even so, king, that body by which one might define Tathagata is relinquished, cut off at the root, unrooted like a palm tree, brought to nought, not to rise in future. Freed from designa- tion of body a Tathagata is deep, immeasurable, and unfathomable like ocean.” This passage also proves that the pure soul in Nirvana is out of mind and speech and _ is only realizable. Sacred Books of the East Vol. XLIX. Buddhist Mahayana Text. Prajna paramita. P. 148. ‘‘ When the envelopment of consciousness has been annihilated, then he becomes free from all fear, beyond the reach of change, enjoying final Nirvana. All the Buddhas of the past, present and future, after approaching Prajna Paramita, have awoke to the highest knowledge.”’ P. 149. ‘* O wisdom, gone, gone, gone, to the other shore, landed at the other shore.”’ This also shows that discrimination between soul and non-soul is prajna. This leads to purity of soul in Nirvana. It also proves the existence of the soul. Sacred Books of the Buddhists Vol. III by T. W. Rhys Davids L.L.D. Dialogue of the Buddha—Pali D. N. P. II. (1910). 70 JAINISM AND BUDDHISM P. 64. ‘Moreover, Anand, happy feeling is imper- manent, a product, the result of a cause or causes, liable to perish, to pass away, to, become extinct, to cease, so too is painful feeling, so too is neutral feeling. If when experiencing a happy feeling one thinks “ this is my soul”—when that same happy feeling ceases, one will also think :—my soul has departed, so too when the feeling is painful or neutral. Thus he who says: ‘my soul is feeling’”’ regards as his soul. some- thing, which in this present life is impermanent, is blended of happiness and pain, and is liable to begin and to end. Wherefore, Ananda, it follows that this aspect: “my soul is feeling” does not commend itself. Herein, again Anand, to him who affirms, nay, my soul is not feeling, my soul is not sentient, answer should thus be made:—my friend, where there is no feeling of anything, can you then say I am. You cannot, Lord. Wherefore, Ananda, it follows that this aspect :—nay, my soul is not feeling, my soul is not sentient, does not commend itself. My friend, when feeling of every sort or kind to cease absolutely, then there being, owing to the cessa- tion, thereof, no feeling whatever could one then say— I myself am? No lord, one could not. Wherefore, Ananda, it follows that this aspect :— nay, my soul is not feeling, nor it is not sentient; my soul has feeling, it has the property of sentience, does not commend itself. — EXISTENCE OF THE SOUL 7 1 P. 65. Now, when a brother, Ananda, does not regard soul under these aspects either as not feeling or having feeling, then he, thus refraining from such views, grasps at nothing whatever in this world, and not grasping he trembles not, and trembling not, he by himself attains to perfect peace. And he knows that birth is at an end, that the high life has been fulfilled, that what had to be done had been accomplished, and that after this present world, there is no beyond. The above dialogue, if deeply thought of, will show that, that which is free from all kinds of thoughts, is only realizable and is fully peaceful, is the pure soul itself. ) When all attachment to all the objects, thoughts, impure natures and all lust and hate etc. are given up, then there is nothing to relinquish and nothing to grasp —that is the condition of soul’s perfect equanimity or self-absorption. Really it is the way to Ntrvana and it is the Nirvana itself. The Jain Saint Amritachandra says in Samayasdra Kalasa : So da likaren apes Ge | Aaasaa Used AAAS Aa AATALIAT II Teas PATA AAA SAT TAT ATT: | ge aa qaraare afem frarzateast(e | SAR BAST ANIA TATA AT TT AAT | UAHA GEA Alaa: TT HITT ATA Il 79's JAINISM AND BUDDHISM Annyébhyo vyatiriktamatma ntyatam vibhrat pri-thak vastutd, Maddanojjhana sunya metadamalam judnam tatha vastht tam. Madhyddyanta wibhaga mukta sahaja_ sphara brabha bhdasurah Sudcdha jndna ghano yathdsya mahimd nittyo- dayastisthatt. Unmukta munmochaya masesatas tat tathdtta mddeya masesatas tat, Yadatmanad sanhrita sarva sakteh puruasya sandharana mdatmantha. ““When the knowledge of the soul, being freed from else-where, steadfast in the soul, having its sub- stance freed from others, above giving up or grasping anything, assumes its own nature, then its grandeur bursts forth without any distinction of beginning, end and middle and he remains eternal, full of the pure mass of knowledge. One who has kept one’s full power within oneself has given up all that was to be given up and has taken in all that was to be taken in.” The Jain Saint Pujyapada Swami says in Samddhi Sataka : BA AATWEMNAHIAATH ATA AAT | HATAATAT AAAS F fasta: il &2 I Svabuddhya ydvad grihni yat kaya vak chetasdm trayam, Sansarastavadetesam bhedabhydse tu nirvritih 62. EXISTENCE OF THE SOUL 73 “So long as the three (things) body, speech and mind, are taken to be the Self, there is wandering ; on acquiring discrimination from them, there is Nirvana.” When notions like “I am,” “I am not,” ‘* What is 1?,” disappear, then only there is true knowledge, grasp and realization of the soul. Hindi Buddha Charyaé by Saint Rahula. (1) Sela sutta Page, 165. Gotam is saying to Saila: “I have known what should have been known, I have meditated upon what should have been meditated upon, I have given up what should have been given up; therefore, O Brah- mana! Iam Buddha.” In such words does Gotam declare that he has known himself, which is realizable, and has given up all non-soul. (2) Mahali sutta P. 247. Gotam says :—‘* Mahal ! once I was roaming in Ghositérama of Kausambi. Then Mandissa_ Paribrajaka and Jaliya, disciples of Darupatrika came to me and stood aside after greeting me. They asked ‘Gotam, are the soul and the body the same? or are the soul and the body both different ?” Then I told them to hear patiently and said, “ That monk who is full of right conduct obtains the first concentration and he knows and perceives this. He has no necessity of saying, ‘Are the soul and the body the same or are they different?” In the same 10 74 JAINISM AND BUDDHISM way he who obtains the second, the third and the fourth- concentration and fixes his mind in perception and knowledge, has no necessity of saying “ The soul and the body are the same” or “ They are different.” I know this, even then I do not say “The soul and the body are the same” or “ they are different.” This statement proves that soul is different from ‘the body and can be realized. (3) Sandakasutta Page. 264. Gotama says “O Sandaka! just as a man whose hands and feet are cut off, knows that his hands and feet are’ cut off, even when walking, sitting, sleeping and awakening, so the monk who is Arhat and whose Asavds are destro- yed, always realizes that he is the destroyer of Asavas”’. This shows that there is a pure soul, freed from Asavas. (4) Mahasukuldai sutta P. 372. Gotama says “T have shown the path...Udai! just as some one may separate culm from the grass, then he knows that this is culm, this is grass; culm is separate and grass is separate....Just as a man may take away sword from a sheath, then he knows that this is sword, this is sheath, sword is separate, sheath is separate, although sword has come out of the sheath....Just as a man may bring out a serpent from a_basket-thus I have shown the way.” These passages show that the soul is distinct from the body. EXISTENCE OF THE SOUL 75 (5) Ratthapala sutta P. 354. The Monk Rastrapala controlled in self has ob- tained the best Brahmacharya in this very life after knowing and relizing himself. This also shows realization of the soul. (6): Page. 358. Ratthapath sutta (M. N. 2. 4.2). King! That Lord who is knower and perceiver, Arhat, and. well-learned: have preached 4 paths; know- ing them, I have been homeless. They are (1) this world is destructible (2) this world is unsafe (3) this world is not mine, I have to go leaving all, (4) this world is a slave to craving. Here also the soul is referred to. [ have thus shown such passages as prove the existence of the soul, selected by me from such Buddhistic literature as was available to me. SOUL IN JAIN LITERATURE. Now I shall give some passages about the exis- tence of pure soul from Jain literature. It should be remembered that the Jain literature describes soul from two stand-points, the real and the practical. The real stand-point speaks of the true and the real nature of the soul as it is free from all Karmic bondage or anything else. The practical point of view shows all the impure and incomplete conditions of the soul, which are caused on account of Karmic bondage, or contact with body and other 76 JAINISM AND BUDDHISM objects. First of all I shall quote those passages which describe the soul from the real stand-point, so that the nature of the pure soul may be known. The nature of the pure soul is the nature of Nirvana.