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Lord Buddha has himself described) it. Vide—Mayjhim Nikaya maha siha nada sutta twelfth-—In this stra Goutam Buddha in his old age describes the events of his life to his disciple Sariputra. The pali words GEC is ‘ aaa Sua... 2egaaar.... awed a Steea ea atadant arfzana: ata Hagar areata a Hayat, A TeRAAT A FSHaL a WaT- Hat, a fea YAATAAT A Wealaal, A WIAA. 4 gitdarrara, 4 aeHhag, 4 TI AT saigarenta, a 7a AFaH BS Asal, Aas a ATS a Gi a Aa a qarwawana, Bi THe arena, sare. ar mitt ata, gatas AAMT at ata Baraat Re 7 avert arena, gieaty are aren... qanenty sre srarh—a weg against uta ad aaargant agian faite. Hea veg Wuy JAINISM AND BUDDHISM ARE THE SAME ? 277 Haw aie Ra aw srarargart aqya......a1a szaraeeta fm zat waar ae...are qeR WT fans Gas AMT. © TAT. al tat St sat THAR | aat a at aat aaa Gaaragar gate | “ Achelko homi...hathdpalekhano...ndabhthatam nd uddisa katam nanimantanam sddiydmi; so nd kumbht mukha patiganhamt na Kalopimukha patiganham, na elakamantaram na dandamantaram na musala manta- ram, na dvinnam bhunjamininim na gabbhanuja na paya manaya na purusantaragatayda, na sankittisu, na yatha sa uptthito hoti, na yath makkhtka sanda sanda chirini na machchham na mansam na suram nd merayam na thusodakam piv imi, so ek.igdriko vahomt eka lopika Avagariko homi dvdlopika satta gartko v2 hom sattu lopiko,—eka ham pa daharam aharemt, dvihtkam pa Ghadram dhdaremi,—sattahikampi dharam dahdaremi—tti eyarupam addhamdsikam pt partyaya bhatta bhojananu- yogam anuyatto vthoramt,...Kessa massu lockako vt homi Kesa massu lochandnuyogam anu yutto...yova uda Vindumhi pi me dayda pachchapatthita hote—maham khuddake pane visama gate sanghatam apddessantt. Gatha So tatto so sino eko bhinsanake vane nuggo na cha aggim dstno esandpasuto muntitt. 278 JAINISM AND BUDDHISM ‘TI went without clothes...... I licked my food from my hands. I did not eat food brought in, nor that prepared on my account, nor I accepted invitations for it. I took no alms from pot or dish. I took no food within a threshold, or through window-bar or within the pounding place, nor from two people eating together—nor from a pregnant woman, nor from a woman suckling a child, nor from one in intercourse, nor from food collected here and there, nor food where a dog stood by, nor from place where flies were swarming, nor fish, nor flesh, nor drink fermented, nor drink distilled, nor yet sour gruel did I drink. I ate from just one house, and just one morsel from that, or else I ate from two houses only and just two morsels thence......or I ate from seven houses only and just one morsel from each house. I took food only once a day or once in two days—or once in seven days, even to intervals of half a month...... I plucked out hair and beard and kept thepractice up; even to a drop of water was charity established in me; thus :—‘‘ may I not be guilty of violence in harming tiny living beings (therein) scorched, frozen and alone in fearsome forest, dwelling naked, no fire to warm bent on the meditation is the sage.” Note. Whatever practical conduct of a sage is described above agrees with no other but the conduct of naked (Digambar) Jain Saints. Among the Digambar Jains there is an old Prakrit work on conduct of saints 7a Wuy JAINISM AND BUDDHISM ARE THE SAME? 279 called Mitlachdéra by Battakera ; it describes the similar practices. Even now-a-days also Digambara Jain Saints follow the same rules. Below I quote some verses in support of the above practices from this authoritative book. Miilachdra says :—” Gay Aesqate alae Al ca fanaa a Gages Vel Ses aaa SAT Il = ~ i fate 5 qaniag as fiz Arar difwsen: epee Vii Panchaya mahavvaya im samidi 0 pancha Jinavaruddt ttha, Pancha vindtya roho chhappiya-avdasayd locho a Achchelaka manhanam khidi sayana madanta ghasanam cheva Thidt bhoyaneya bhatiam milaguna at thavisadu 3 A saint should follow the following twenty eight root-duties— 5 Great Vows of non-injury, truth, not taking what is not given, chastity and nonspossession. 5 Careful dealing in walking, speaking, eating: handling things and excretions. 5 Control.of five senses. 6 Daily important duties of repentance, renunci- ation, equanimity, prayer, obedience and abandoning bodily attachment. 1 plucking hair by hands. 1 not having any clothes. 280 JAINISM AND BUDDHISM 1 not to bathe. 1 sleep on ground. 1 not to rub teeth. 1 to eat standing. 1 to eat only once a day. Locha—hastena mastaka kesa smasrinam apana- yanam, i.e., to pluck the hair of the head and beard by hands. This practice is specially observed by the Jain monks. It was followed by Goutam Buddha also. Buddha remained achelaka. Milachdara says about it :-— TAITATARTT ACA TMT AAITT | fragan frida vase ATI II 2 Il Vatthd Jina vakke naya ahava pattaina asamvaranam Nibbhasana niggantham achchelakkam J ogadt pajjam 36 “Not to cover the body with clothes, skin, bark o1 leaves etc., not to wear ornaments, not to have attach- ment is the duty of achelaka. It is worshipful in the world.”’ The same book also describes eating from one’s hands in et posture. Lo fret Hee AIST BAIT | qzeqe Atay sant fate Tse oT Il Be I Anjalt Pas. thichcha kudddai vivajjanena samapa yam Padi sudde bhimitiye asanam thidi bhojanam ndma_ 3: WuHuy JAINISM AND BUDDHISM ARE THE SAME? 28] * Leaving support of any wall etc., standing and keeping feet on parallel lines on pure ground to eat with hands is food in standing position.” A saint does not eat food specially prepared for saints as said in the same book— i SA ng RE en aaa Zeal Wass a za BATAT | 4 anna azar Mrararhazea AAAT Ile 2-5- all Javadiyam uddeso pa sandatti ya have samuddeso ; Samanottiya ddeso nigganthottiya have samddeso 11.7/6 ; ‘Whatever food is prepared for any saint, sramana = or nirgrantha is uddista. It should not be eaten by rE a Jain saint.” So it is said in the third verse of the 6th Chapter. Goutam Buddha also did not take such food when he was a naked saint. A Saint takes food from not more than seven houses as said therein :—’’ sfats AE ale a atte ae arms J atts | qual alateaa ateaates AITTATVT | Xo—% Il Ujju him tihim sattehim vd gharehim jadt dgadum du dchinnam Parado tatehin bhave tavvicaridam anichinnam — 20/6 “The food brought from three or seven homes in one line is eatable, but not brought from more homes.” 36 282 JAINISM AND BUDDHISM Goutama Buddha did not eat food from more than seven houses, when he was a naked saint. Goutam Buddha did not eat food served by a pregnant woman as enjoined in Miluchdrd. aaa staat sera Teach a safer | Sattar F Crean Sa ses ole | 40-% Ih Att bala ati budcha ghdasatti gabbhini su ya andhaliya Autarida va nisanné uchchattha ahava nichatthé 50/4 “(Saints do not take food from) a child-woman. very old woman, a woman when eating, a pregnant woman, a blind woman, woman sitting in back of a wall, sitting high, or sitting very low.” Note. Goutam Buddha did not take food given through window-bars. He did not accept dirty sour gruel or thusodha. which is prohibited in M&lachéra. fae age vantay aotzy qarzst arses | TUT TANAS AT aaa Lory Urey rosa | ee Tila tandula usanodaya—chanodaya tusodayam avid- dhattham Annam tahdéviham vd aparinadam neva ginhijjo 54 “ Washing water of Tilas, rice. grams and husks and hot water which is not altered in colour etc., should not be taken.” Goutama did not take food from a woman suckling a child, as is prohibited in Mélachadra :-— WHy JAINISM AND BUDDHISM ARE THE SAME? 283 wan ast are fear zara foreaniaa | aq feangar go ror ate fa saat tl =-4l Levana majjana Kammam piyamdnam ddrayamcha nikha viya Evam vtha diya puna ddnam jadi dinti d:iyagd dosé 52/6 “It is wrong on the part of a donor, if any woman serves food while smearing the ground, bathing, suckling a child and leaving it.” About taking food from the hands it is said in Miilachadra Anagara bhavana chapter, Aa A Al WT ast A Aas aT qa wT as asia aft wae i &s I Asanam jadt va panam khajjam bhojam challijja pejjam va Padi lehi una suddham bhunjantt pant pattesuh. 54 “The saints eat from the hollow of their hands the pure food eatable, drinkable, tastable, lickable etc., after properly seeing it.”’ Thus the Jain scriptures prove that the conduct followed by Goutama Buddha while he was a naked monk was nothing but the conduct of a naked Jain Saint. From the Pali scriptures of the Ist century A.D. at Ceylon it is evident that Goutama Buddha in his 35th year t.e., 6 years after he left his home preached his sermon on the middle path. 284 JAINISM AND-~ BUDDHISM Buddha Charya Page 23 (referring to Samyutta Nikaya 55.2.1 and Vinaya Mahavagga) says :— ‘“T heard thus” once the Exalted One was walking in the forest Risipattana of Benares. There he ad- dressed Pancha Virgiya monks thus:—‘‘O monks, the saints should not serve these two extremes :—First is this : to be addicted to sense-enjoyments, a path served by savages and fit for the low and vulgar village people and full of misuses; the second is. this :—to give pain to body, full of misuses, served by non-learned and miser- able monks, leaving these two extremes Tathagata has searched after the middle path, which gives right view and produces Knowledge. It is for peace, discrimi- nation, full knowledge and Nirvana. 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 by him to be difficult or unneces- sary and therefore He proclaimed a path which was neither difficult nor easy. He, who is not a follower of the Nirgrantha, may say that Goutama Buddha.