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A Comparative Study of Jainism and Buddhism - Brahmacharit Sital Prasadji, 1934 - Complete Book

English

We may describe these nine characteristics with some details, I. Living—The soul exists in any body 94 JAINISM AND BUDDHISM on account of material vitalities, Dravya Prana, and dies when they are destroyed. They are ten in number, five senses, of touch, taste, smell, sight and hearing ; three. powers of body, speech and mind; age and breathing. . They are found in different degrees in- the different kinds of mundane beings as below :— 4 (1) One-sensed, beings such as earth-bodied, water- bodied, fire-bodied, air-bodied, and vegetable-bodied. They have got only one sense namely that of touch and have in all four vitalities, touch, physical power, age and breathing. (2) Two-sensed beings such as insects of rice shell and conches etc. They have senses of touch and taste, and have six vitalities in all. Sense of taste and speech-power are added to the four of the one-sensed. (3) Three-sensed beings such as ants, bugs, lice, etc., have three senses of touch, taste and smell and have seven vitalities. Sense of smell is added to the six of the former class. © (4) Four-sensed beings such as flies, wasps, bees, moths etc., have four senses of touch, taste, smell, and sight and have eight vitalities. Sense of sight is added to the seven of the former class. (5) Five-sensed irrational beings such as some species of serpents which live in water; they have got all the five senses, and have nine vitalities, sense of hearing is added to the eight of the former class. EXISTENCE OF THE SOUL 95 (6) Five-sensed rational beings such as human beings, celestial beings, hellish beings ; four-legged animals like cows, buffaloes, deer, dogs, cats ; birds, such as pigeons, peacocks, crows, parrots, and fishes, croco- dile, tortoise, etc. They have got.mind also in addition and thus have all the ten vitalities. As the soul is really indestructible, injury to any of these vitalities is called Himsa. As a substance, matter is also indestructible, only dis-arrangement of material vitalities is the material injury. Passionate thought-activity is the internal cause of causing hurt to external vitalities. The number and value of vitalities injured, means lesser or greater sin. The least injury is caused in the destruction of one-sensed beings. From the practical point of view, the soul is living on account of these vitalities. Really consciousness is the vitality which never leaves the soul. Il. Conscious-attentiveness—It is of two kinds :-— Conation or perception and knowledge. | -* Conation is of four kinds :—(1) Conation through the eye, (2) Conation through any sense other than the eye or mind, (3) Clairvoyant conation, (4) Infinite conation. Knowledge is of eight kinds (1) Mati Jnana is knowledge derived through the senses and mind (2) Sruta Jnana is knowledge derived through objects known by sensitive knowledge or the knowledge of the books. 96 JAINISM AND BUDDHISM (3) Avadhi Jndéna is knowledge of the past and the future lives through the psychic power of the soul. (4) Manah-paryaya Jnana is the knowledge of the ideas and thoughts of others. (5) Kevala Jnaéna is omniscience or knowledge unlimited as to space, time or object. . The first three kinds of knowledge when associated with right belief, are called right knowledge and when associated with wrong belief, they are called wrong knowledge. Thus there are eight kinds of knowledge. The living beings have got life, they are not dead—such recognition is done through any of these twelve kinds of conscious attentiveness. These are from the practical point of view. Pure conation and pure knowledge are the two real characteristics of a soul from the real point of view. ; III. The soul is non-material from the real point of view, because it has not got colour, smell, taste and touch, the attributes of matter; but from the practical point of view, it appears as material in mundane life, because it is wholly obscured by the dirt of karmic matter. The worldly conditions and all impurities are due to the karmic effects. This impure condition is coming on from eternity, though new karmic matter is mixed and old one is shed off at every instant. IV. Doer:—From the practical stand- -point, it is said to be the doer of its impure thought-activities, delusion, love and hatred etc., which are really due to EXISTENCE OF THE SOUL Q7 the operation of the material karmas bound previously. It is also called the doer of karmic bondage which is really effected owing to soul vibrations and_ passions. It is also called the doer of houses, pots, cloths, etc., as they are caused through the activities of its body, mind and speech. From the real point of view, the soul is the doer of its own pure thought-activities. V. Enjoyer—From the practical point of view, it is the enjoyer of pleasure and pain caused by the effect of the past karmas. Really, it is the enjoyer of its own real bliss. VI. Has the size according to the body—From the real point of view, it has innumerable spacial units equal to this universe, /.e., it is as wide as the universe; but from the practical point of view, it contracts and expands according to the body it occupies owing to the effect of karmas; thus it has the size of the body it occupies. There are some special causes, when this mundane soul, while living in the body expands and goes to some distance like the electric current and then again contracts to the size of its original body. Its real size is not material, but it is a non-material cons- cious one. VII. Jt wanders in the world :—This soul owing to the effects of its meritorious and demeritorious karmas wanders in the world in the four conditions of life, celestial, hellish, sub-human and human. Beings from one-sensed to five-sensed animals are all sub-human. 13 98 JAINISM AND BUDDHISM The Jain Literature has divided the mundane souls into two kinds also. (1) Immobiles—all one-sensed beings such as earth,. water, fire, air. and vegetable—bodied. (2) Mobiles—All the others form. the two-sensed to the five-sensed beings.”’ : VITI:: It canbe isherated. When through self-con- centration, all the karmic matter is shed off and all the causes of inflow of new matter are. removed, then the soul becomes liberated and attains Nirvana. | IX. Ithas the-nature of going upward. From the real point of view, the nature of the soul -is to go upward, like the flame of fire: When it is freed from karmas, it goes upward to the top of the universe. But when it is in bondage ‘with the: karmas, it goes after death from one: intarnation to another instantly in straight directions, #.e., east, west, south, north, upwards and downwards but not’in cross linés: If the place: of re-birth is in a crooked place, the soul will take turnings through straight ‘ directions and reach. there. The readers will have some idea of the mundane ‘souls from the above description. | ? ei Panchéstikaya by Sri Kunda Kunda Acharya says the same :— eae Safe cate ar sasieriaatest we FAT | aren a eae 1S AA BEAGTA Ml VS Ml Jivétti havadi chédad upavoga visésidd pahu katta,- Bhétta ya déhamatt6 nahi mutté kammasanjutto 27. EXISTENCE OF THE SOUL 99 * The soul is (1) living (2) realizer (3) has conscious attentiveness (+) lord of its destiny, responsible for its good or bad conditions (5) doer (6) enjoyer (7) having size according to the body it occupies (8) non-material (9) and is associated with karmas.” If we compare the actions of the five Skandhas of the Buddhists with the mundane condition of the soul in karmic bondage, its sensual and impure knowledge, feeling of pleasure and pain etc., we will come to the conclusion that Jainism and Buddhism are the same in this respect. The pure soul of Jainism agrees with the Nirvana of the Buddhists. Although in the Buddhist literature, it is not clearly stated that any soul is coming on along with the five compound things, body, feeling, sensation, mentation, and (impure) consciousnéss, yet on deep consideration it will be noted that ‘the positive thing which remains .after the destruction of.the five. skandhas is Nirvana t.e., the pure soul. It means that what was hidden under the effects of the five skandhas has now appeared in its pure nature. The soul retains its pure nature of greatest peace and bliss for ever. If Nirvana is not annihilation, but a positive onus tion of existence, it must be taken to be nothing else but the pure soul as described in Jainism. CHAPTER III. THE PATH OF NIRVANA OR LIBERATION. From the last two chapters, it will be evident to the readers that the nature of Nirvéna—the soul as is known from the Buddhist scripture is the same as described in the Jain literature. Now it is to be seen whether the path of Nirvdna as given in the Buddhist literature agrees with that of Jain literature or not. The path of Nirvana in Buddhism. (1) Majjhim Nikaya Samme ditthi suttam (9). aaa arta aati aa area fatreamiata qua azaiad: araizte, ara, ara. SATA, ATA aTsital, ATA araai, ararara. STAT AMT. I. “ Ayameva ariyo atthangiko maggo dsava nirddhagaminit patipbada—, seyyathidam: samma ditthit, samma sumkappo, samma vdchd, samma kam- manto. samma ajtvo, samma vayamd, samma_ satt, samma samadh.” “ Aryas! it is the eight-fold path which causes pre- vention of the Asavas; it is this:—tight view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration.” ‘ THE PATH OF NIRVANA OR LIBERATION 101 Further this Sutta describes that in order to acquire right view, one should know the following things :— qt St saat anita araat agad wena THAT FA A IAA, FAS VA Tara, Fat As a Tara Rad wHPAS, (8) Tromferaret, (@) srfparara- (3) aarg fasorama.