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by Jayaram V
Mahavira was probably a senior contemporary of Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism.
The Buddhist texts mention Mahavira as an enlightened being. However some
scholars believe that probably they belonged to different periods and
had no contact with each other. According
to one version, Mahavira spent some time in the company of Gosala,
the founder of Ajivika sect and the Buddha, the founder of Buddhism,
before they parted ways on account of serious differences over
doctrinal issues. The period during which both Buddhism and Jainism
rose to prominence was a period of great intellectual and religious
churning in the Indian subcontinent. Many theistic and atheistic
traditions competed with one another for popularity and acceptance.
Buddhism and Jainism had an added advantage in the form of Mahavira
and the Buddha. Both were charismatic leaders with an ability to
communicate convincingly with influential members of society and also
organize their respective communities around the ideals and the
doctrine they preached.
Followers of both religions often engaged in heated discussion over
finer aspects of their beliefs and ridiculed each other. However both
groups had their own respective differences with the vedic religion
and the ideals it represented. Of the two, Buddhism was more pronounced
in its criticism towards their common adversary. The very fact that the Buddha denounced extreme asceticism
and ritualism as the means to salvation indicate that he probably viewed
Jainism as an orthodox tradition not much different from the vedic
religion. Both Buddhism and Jainism sought to attract the urban people
for conversion. The Buddha and Mahavira frequently visited Benaras,
Pataliputra and
other popular cities to organize congregations and conversions, which
must have led to some competition between the two communities for patronage,
popularity and membership. Following are some of the differences and
similarities between Buddhism and Jainism.
The Founders
Jainism was founded and propagated by a lineage of several
thirthankaras who hailed mostly from the royal families. Some of the
thirthankaras were historical personalities.1 Mahavira was the last and
perhaps the most popular of the
thirthankaras. The thirthankaras are worshipped in temples and
religious places not as gods but as enlightened beings who manifest
upon earth as a part of human destiny. Buddhism was founded by Siddhartha Gautama who became the Buddha after
he received enlightenment. Like Mahavira, he also hailed from a royal family.
In Buddhism there is no tradition of thirthankaras or a lineage of
preachers or prophets. It has only one prophet in the form of the
Buddha himself and even his teachings need not have to be accepted by
the Buddhist blindly because that was what the Buddha himself
recommended before his parinirvana. He wanted his followers to be
lamps unto themselves, an idea that was echoed several centuries later
by J.Krishnamurthy of the Theosophical Society when he declared that
religion was a pathless land in which each had to find his or her own
path.2 However Buddhists believe in the various incarnations and
appearances of the Buddha and the existence of several Bodhisattvas or
pure beings of compassion whom they worship for blessings and help.
Some Buddhists believe that the Buddha will reincarnate again some
time in the future to revive the teachings of the Buddha.
The Existence of God and Soul
Both Buddhism and Jainism are atheistic religions. They deny the existence of God or the First Cause
of creation. Buddhism may be considered more as an
agnostic religion rather than atheistic. The Buddha's stand on God was
rather ambiguous. He maintained silence on the issue of the existence of
God and refused to be drawn into any conversation or discussion on the
subject, declaring it to be a distraction with no apparent benefit in
the liberation of man.
Jainism acknowledges the presence of soul in every animate and inanimate object, including the elements of the universe, such as the earth,
water, wind, fire and air. In addition to these Jainism believes in
the tattvas or principles of natures such as buddhi, the sense organs
etc. The Buddhists also believe in the tattvas of Prakriti but do not believe in the existence of
eternal and indestructible souls. They also do not believe that
inanimate objects have life or individuality. Buddhism is
distinguished for its concept of non-soul or anatma. They declare that
a being is an aggregate of elements and parts which come into
existence on account of karma and continues its journey onwards
through becoming and changing because of desires till it achieves
nirvana or a state of non-becoming by right conduct and right living. The concept of a world filled with innumerable individual souls or clusters of souls, or souls lying hidden in
rocks and mountains, rivers and lakes, or stars and planets is
untenable in Buddhism.
The Existence of Divinities
Both religions acknowledge the presence of gods as higher beings
who, like us, are also subject to change and evolution according to their karma. Most of the gods bear the same names as in Hinduism. But
these counterparts are not the omnipotent and omniscient type. They are just
beings of another plane or world, higher than ours, but with limited
potency and knowledge. Jainism believes in the existence of
enlightened pure beings, called Jinas or Kevalins who manifest upon
earth from time to time to preach the doctrine. Buddhism also has its
own group of enlightened beings known as Bodhisattvas, who are
qualified for nirvana but prefer to postpone it to help the mankind in
liberation. The Bodhisattvas take interest in the welfare of the world and work for its
liberation. The Kevalins are worshipped in temples and homes. But not all Buddhists worship the
Buddha or the Bodhisattvas ritually except by some who belongs to sects such as
Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism.
The Concept of Karma
Both Buddhism and Jainism believe in the concept of karma as a binding force responsible for the suffering of beings upon earth. They
acknowledge the universality of karma and its inescapable effect on the individual
beings who are subject to the cycle of births and rebirths. But they
differ in respect of the nature of karma and how it impacts various
beings. According to Jainism karma is not a mere effect or result of a
being's actions, but a real substance that becomes attached to each jiva,
like an impurity, while it performs many actions in the course of its existence upon earth. This karmic substance which is a kind of
subtle matter or energy field, remains attached to the being until it
is fully cleansed through the observation of vows, pure conduct and
severe austerities. In Buddhism, as in Hinduism, karma is a process, a
consequence of one's desire ridden actions that cling to the
personality of a being as an impression of its past and determines its
future. Good actions lead to good karma and bad actions to bad karma.
One can address the problem of karma by following the teachings of the
Buddha, the truths enshrined in the Dhamma and the code of conduct
prescribed for the Sangha. The eightfold Path and the Four Noble
Truths are the best means to minimize the negative effects of karma
and work for salvation.
The Concept of Nirvana
Both religions believe in the concept of nirvana or liberation of
bound beings. However there is a difference between them in respect of
who achieves nirvana. According to Jainism souls are eternal entities
which get entangled in the causative phenomena and become subject to
the law of karma. In their liberated state the souls are conscious,
eternal, pure and divine. But in their bound state they become subject
to the cycle of births and death. Death is a mere separation of the
soul from the body and birth is its entry into a new physical body as
determined by its previous actions. A soul can free itself from the
suffering and limitations of physical life by leading a pure and
austere life according to the percepts taught by the thirthankaras. In
some extreme cases it can also be achieved by destroying the body itself through
austerities and self-mortification. After liberation, the Jiva or soul continues to remain as an individual soul, but in the highest state of purity and
enlightenment. As far as the soul is concerned, the Jain concept of
Nirvana has some similarities with both the Samkhya and Vaisheshika
schools as well as some dualistic schools of Hinduism.
Buddhism does
not believe in the existence of eternal souls. So it approaches the
subject of liberation purely from a physical and mental perspective.
What becomes liberated during nirvana is the individual personality
that comes into existence on account of the aggregations of elements
and consciousness. This individual personality is neither eternal nor
divine. It is is an impermanent and unstable entity, which is subject to karma and
the cycle of births and deaths. Nirvana
is an indescribable state in which the individual personality becomes
free once and for all from the process of becoming and changing and
achieves some kind of stillness that is difficult to explain.
Methods of Propagation
The development of Buddhism and Jainism in ancient India coincided
with the
emergence of urban centers where strict implementation of the
social order and the caste structure of the vedic religion was rather
difficult if not impractical. Mahavira and the Buddha took advantage
of the new mindset created by the challenges of urban life with regard
to such common problems as congestion, death, disease and aging. They
were both charismatic leaders and great organizers, with profound
insight into human behavior and existential issues. They used self
example, personal contact, debates and discussions as the effective
means to bring people to their fold. Because of their own descent from
princely families, they were able to maintain cordial relationship
with the influential members of society, especially the kings and
affluent merchants who could provide them with the necessary logistic
support to continue their propagation. After receiving
enlightenment, they spent most part of their lives traveling from
place to place and preaching their respective doctrines. They rested
during the monsoons and used the time effectively to train the monks
and prepare them for liberation.
While vedic people believed that spiritualism was an entirely
personal issue or the privilege of a few chosen ones based on birth,
the Buddha and Mahavira made it their responsibility to take religion
to the people, independent of their social, political or economic
background and made every possible effort to make sure that people
listened to them and understood them. The Buddha focused his attention
on the lower strata of society, who were shunned by the Vedic elite on
account of their caste or social background. Both of them maintained a clear distinction between the lay followers and
the more
serious, establishing distinct rules and percepts for each of the
categories according to
their needs and aspirations. They used Prakrit, the language of the common people, rather than
Sanskrit, for the propagation of their respective doctrines. In the
ancient world if vedic religion was enmeshed in the caste based
limitations of its own creation, Buddhism and Jainism broke through
all barriers and reached out to a cross section of society to teach
them the secrets of salvation that were hitherto kept hidden from
them. They embraced the common people whom the elite believed unfit
for serious religious discipline.
Social Equality, Morality and Gender Differences
Buddhism opposed the four fold social order of Vedic society which
divided people into four castes namely Brahmins, warriors, merchants
and workers. The Buddha admitted people from all wakes of life into
Buddhism, although we are told that at times the higher castes
received preferential treatment from him for their special value as
men of virtue, knowledge and
intellect. In initial stages the Buddha was opposed to the idea of
admitting women into monastic life. He thought that their admittance
would lead to the decline of virtue and moral standards in the
Buddhist Order.
However because of requests by his close followers and being
unconditional he reluctantly initiated women into the monasteries
formulating a policy of segregation with certain
restrictions and conditions on their conduct and practice.
The concept of dividing people into classes and castes was not alien to Jainism.
Rishabhanatha, the first thirthankara of Jainism is actually credited
with the forumulation of social divisions based on occupation and virtue,
which was subsequently morphed into a rigid caste system by the vedic
people. The thirthankaras however showed no preference for a
particular class. They admitted people from all sections of society
according to their virtue and readiness for the rigors of spiritual
life. At times they did secure help and support from influential
sections of society to propagate their message. The same was true
in case of Buddhism also.
Rituals and Morality
In the early days its popularity, Buddhism opposed the rites and rituals of vedic religion
and focused more on righteous conduct as the means to liberation.
Jainism had no such reservation. Brahmins were employed
in Jain temples as officiating
priests to conduct the worship of the thirthankaras. However rituals
play a minimal role in Jainism. Jainism is an austere religion, in
which the emphasis is more on individual actions, restraint and inner
purity for achieving liberation. Both religions deny the existence of
God and discount the possibility of divine intervention or fate in salvation.
What determines a being's destiny upon earth is its actions emanating
from the exercise of its free will. Each is held personally responsible and accountable for
its actions and has to work for its salvation individually through the
practice of virtue and uncompromising adherence to an established code
of conduct and religious percepts.
Transmigration
Jainism believes in the transmigration of souls. Buddhism does not
believe in the existence of souls. However it also believes in the
transmigration. What transmigrates from one life to another is not the
soul but the causative entity or the ego principle which is subject to the laws of
karma and bound to the cycle of births and deaths. This causative
entity is an aggregation of various physical and mental components
which together constitute the individual personality which is subject
to the experience of duality, pain and suffering. It continues to
exist and undergoes constant change till it crosses the bridge of
samsara and attains nirvana or a state of complete non-becoming.
The Nature of Existence and The Reality of Suffering
The Buddha preached that the human life was characterized by great misery
and suffering because of desires and attachment pervading the consciousness
of each jiva. For all intents
and purposes the Buddhist view of the world is not comforting enough,
if not negative, unless one has learned to deal with it suitably by
cultivating equanimity towards the pairs of opposites through right living and right
knowledge. For the beings caught in the
vicious cycle of samsara or the causative phenomena, the world is not
an ideal place to live. It is filled with the ubiquitous evil of
suffering and torment. It offers a constantly changing
and shifting reality in which beings become involved by their own
actions, dreams and desires. The Buddhist world view is not based on
some mystical or scriptural revelation. It is rooted in the mundane
experiences of ordinary human existence, in the awareness of the current and immediate
reality arising out of pure
observation, contemplation and detached submission to the flow of
events passing by. Man is bound to the cycle of births and deaths
and subject to the afflictions of life by his own actions and deluded
nature. He cannot find escape from them except through rigorous
self-effort and commitment to the eightfold path.
For the Jains karma is not a mere process but a harsh reality. It
is a
physical substance from which no one can really escape without paying
the price in the form of retribution, bondage and suffering. It
is a subtle fluid like impurity which becomes attached to us
according to our actions. The Jain
world view is based mostly on scriptural injunctions established by
the thirthankaras through their teachings. There is little scope for
flexibility, personal freedom and experimentation in their
implementation. The souls are real and eternal. In their pure state,
they are not subject
to the laws of bondage. For the souls the world
offers an alternate reality. It is a snare filled with the evils of
lust, greed, pride, anger and envy. The souls are pure consciousness.
They exist in both animate and inanimate objects and are subject to
the law of karma irrespective of their location. For Jains the
world is one vast sacred place, permeated with innumerable souls
caught in various stages of bondage and illusion. They are every where and in
everything like atoms in the air of water. It is a fragile world too,
which needs to be handled with utmost care and responsibility because
the actions and reactions of each soul would create ripple effects
upon other souls elsewhere. Even a mere act of drinking water or eating food calls for
great precision and utmost care so as not to cause suffering to the
souls present in the water, the food, the vessel, the air and the
space surround them. Jainism therefore suggests a life of non-injury
and prescribes a very rigorous, uncompromising and unforgiving code
of conduct for the liberation of individuals in contrast to the middle
path recommended by Buddhism.
Monastic Life
One of the common features of Buddhism and Jainism is the organization
of monastic orders or communities of monks. Renunciation and
asceticism are central to both religions as the principal means for
liberation. The monks live together in
groups and practice the percepts according to an established code of
conduct. They share the community work such as cooking and cleaning on
a rotation basis as a religious duty and opportunity to practice
virtue. Usually the elder monks take charge of the community affairs and
maintain order. They also share their knowledge and experience with
the younger monks and new initiates, training them well for more
advanced practices. The presence
of many people living together sharing common values and beliefs creates
strong vibrations, uplifting them all spiritually and help them in
their progress.
Conclusion
Both Buddhism and Jainism originated and developed as distinct religions in the same geographical area comprising the present day Bihar and adjoining
states, at a time when the vedic religion was yet to penetrate deep
into the Gangetic valley. Its self-proclaimed superiority of the
priestly classes and its unabashed attempts to exclude many from the
study of the scriptures or practice or religion provoked a strong
reaction among many intellectuals of the time especially from the ruling
classes to which both the Buddha and Mahavira belonged. It led to a
churning of religious ideas and the emergence of many rival traditions
that vied with each other for support and fellowship. Of the few
survived only Buddhism and Jainism were able to maintain their
distinction as separate religions while the rest were assimilated into
vedic religion with suitable modification.
There was a time when the two religions dominated the religious
scene of India, pushing their common rival to a distinct third. Under
the patronage of Asoka, Buddhism crossed the frontiers of Indian subcontinent and went to
Nepal, China, Tibet (which is now part of China), far eastern countries, central Asia, Sri Lanka and Japan, while Jainism remained mostly confined to the land of its origin. In
course of time, both
religions also suffered from schism resulting in sectarian movements.
For very long Buddhism kept its distinct stance against Hinduism, while Jainism
maintained a more cordial and tolerant attitude,
employing Brahmin priests in temple rituals and letting its beliefs
and practices integrate into the rival tradition such as the concept of ahimsa or non-injury, vegetarianism,
transmigration of souls, incarnation of pure beings, the concept of maya and karma
and so on. Comparatively, Jainism was less popular than Buddhism.
Its concept of karma made life a difficult ordeal for the weak, the
insincere and the worldly minded. Its emphasis on extreme asceticism
and inner purity discouraged many people from joining it.
Interestingly, in the end it was Buddhism which declined in India and
got overwhelmed by Hinduism, suffering in the process an identity
crisis. Jainism on the other hand lost most of its following to both
the rivals in the very early stages of religious development in India.
But it survived till the end as a separate religion a with a committed
following of its own.
Suggested Further Reading
Footnotes
1. This does not mean the other
thirthankaras did not exist. We simply do not have enough historical
evidence other than scriptural evidence about them.
2. Mr.Krishnamurthy was indeed
misunderstood for this declaration by his close associates who were
accustomed to the gyrations of an organized religion or cult and believed
that he betrayed the trust reposed in him by hsi mentors.
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