UNIT 3 JAINISM AND BUDHISM

UNIT III (8 MARKS) JAINISM AND BUDHISM
CAUSES AND ORIGIN. DOCTRINE OF JAINISM. DOCTRINE OF BUDDHISM.
CAUSES OF THE SPREAD AND DECLINE OF BUDDHISM.

CAUSES AND ORIGIN:
The Varna divided the society seems to have generated tensions. The supremacy of the Brahmanas created unrest. They had lost old ideals and were no longer leading pure & holy lives. The Kshatriyas who acted as rulers, however reacted strongly against the ritualistic domination of the Brahmanas, and seem to have led a kind of protest movement against the importance attached to birth in the Varna system. The  Kshatriyas reaction against the domination of    priestly class called Brahmanas who claimed various privileges was one of the causes of the origin of new religions. Vardhamana Mahavira, who founded Jainism  & Gautama Buddha who founded Buddhism belonged to the Kshatriya clan & both disputed the authority of the Brahmanas.
The  Vedic Philosophy had lost its original purity & was reduced to a bundle of cumbersome rituals. The rites & ceremonies were painfully elaborate & awfully expensive. The common man developed a great dislike and Buddhism preferred simple , puritan, ascetic living. All the religious treatises were written in Sanskrit which was the language of the elite and not masses. Mahavira & Buddha, on the contrary, explained to the people in simple intelligible spoken Pali or Prakrit, the language of the common man at that time.
DOCTRINE OF JAINISM:
Jainism taught five doctrines:
1. Do not commit violence 2. Do not speak a lie . 3. Do not steal.
4. Do not acquire property. & 5. Observe continence (Brahmacharya)                                                      
 It is said that only the fifth doctrine was added by Mahavira the other four being taken over by him from previous teachers. Although Parshva, the predecessor of Mahavira , had asked his followers to cover the upper & lower portions of the body, Mahavira asked them to discard  clothes completely. This implies that Mahavira asked his followers to lead a more austere life. On account of this in later times Jainism was divided into two sects : Svetambaras or those who put on white dress, and Digambaras or those who keep themselves naked.
Reality according to Jainism is uncreated, eternal and is characterized by Jiva (souls) and ajiva (non-souls) . Jainas do not , therefore believe in the existence of a creator. Instead they believe in the existence of perfected souls. Jainism recognized the existence of the gods but placed them lower than the Jina. It did not condemn the Varna system, as Buddhism did. According to Mahavira , a person is born in high or lower varna in consequence of the sins or  virtues acquired by him in the previous birth. Jainism mainly aims at the attainment of freedom from wordly bonds. Full knowledge , action and liberation are considered to be the three gems or ratnas of Jainism. Jainism attached the utmost importance  to ahimsa or non-injury to living beings.
 DOCTRINE OF BUDDHISM:
The Buddha proved to be a practical reformer who took note of the realities of the  day. He did not involve himself in fruitless controversies regarding the soul  (atman) and the brahma which raged stronhgly during his time. He addressed himself too the wordy problems. He said that the world is fullof sorrows, and people suffer on account of desirs. If desires are conquered , nirwana will be attained , that is man will be free from the cycle of birth & death. Buddha taught his followers the four noble truths.

The Four Noble Truths
At the core of the Buddha’s enlightenment was the realization of the Four Noble Truths: (1) (Dukkha) Life is suffering. It is a statement that, in its very nature, human existence is essentially painful from the moment of birth to the moment of death. Even death brings no relief, for the Buddha accepted the Hindu idea of life as cyclical, with death leading to further rebirth. (2) (Trishna) All suffering is caused by desire. (3) Suffering can be ended by overcoming ignorance and attachment. (4) The path to the suppression of suffering is the Noble Eightfold Path, which consists of right views, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right-mindedness, and right contemplation. These eight are usually divided into three categories that form the cornerstone of Buddhist faith: morality, wisdom, and samadhi, or concentration.
According to Buddha, every effect is caused & every cause has an effect. The Buddha discovered the twelve-linked chain of causation (patichchha-samuppada) which is ignorance (Avidya), impressions of past actions (samaskaras), Consciousness (vijnana), Psychophysical organism (namrapa), Sense Organs with objects (sparsa), Sensations (vedana), Thirst for sense-enjoyments (trsna), Clinging to the enjoyments(upadana), Will to born (bhava), Birth or Rebirth (jatli) & old age &death (jara-marana).  
 CAUSES OF THE SPREAD OF BUDDHISM:
         Since early Buddhism was not enmeshed in the clap-trap of philosophical discussion, it appealed to the common people. It particularly won the support of the lower orders as it attacked the Varna system.
         In comparison with Brahmanism, Buddhism was liberal & democratic.
         Buddhism attracted the people especially the people of Magadha because they were looked down upon by the orthodox Brahmanas.
         The personality of the Buddha and the method adopted by him to preach his religion helped the spread of Buddhism.
         Royal patronage under Ashoka, Kanishka & Harsha also helped for the spread of Buddhism.
          The use of Pali, the language of common people also contributed to the spread of Buddhism.
         The Buddhist Sangha was also responsible for the spread of Buddhism.
 
CAUSES OF THE  DECLINE OF BUDDHISM.


         One important cause of the decline of the Buddhism was the decline of the Buddhist Sangha.    
      With the passage of time, the sangha became the hot bed of intrigues & corruption. Internal
            dissensions proved to be the ruin of Buddhism.
          Idol worship and receiving offerings & huge donations led to deterioration in moral  
       standards of the Bhikshus.
         The revival of Brahmanical Hinduism was also responsible for the decline of Buddhism.
         Attack by the Hunas in the 5th & 6th centuries A.D. & Turkish invasions in the 12th century A.D. declined Buddhism.
Thus many causes were responsible for the gradual decline & fall of Buddhism in the land of her birth although it continued to flourish in countries beyond India for centuries. Even today, it has a large number of followers all over the world.