$JES 202 Jain Story Book Level 2 Book

SR No.: 000121
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: JAINA Education Committee
Publisher: JAINA Education Committee
Publication Year: 2005
Total Pages: 160
Language: English
Classification: Book_English, Jaina_Education, 0_Jaina_education, & JAINA Books
File Size: 22 MB

Page 50

PART II GANADHARS AND ÄCHÄRYAS
At the end of the monsoon all the monks returned and described their experience. The first three monks described their success and they were congratulated. But when Sthulibhadra reported the success of his test, the Ächärya actually rose from his seat in all praise and hailed Sthulibhadra for performing a formidable task. The other monks became jealous. Why was Sthulibhadra's feat so much more impressive than theirs? After all, they had endured physical hardships while he had spent the monsoon in comfort and security. The Ächärya explained that it was an impossible feat for anyone else. The first monk then boasted that he could easily accomplish the same task the following monsoon. The Ächärya tried to dissuade him from his intent, knowing that it was beyond his capability. The monk, wanting to prove his spiritual strength to the Ächärya, persisted and was reluctantly given permission for the next monsoon season.
The next monsoon, the monk went to Kosha's place. The immodest pictures in the gallery were enough to excite him. When he saw the glamorous Koshä, his remaining resistance melted away and he begged for her love. After seeing the pious life of Sthulibhadra, Koshä had learned the value of an ascetic life. In order to teach the monk a
lesson, she agreed to love him only if he gave her a diamondstudded garment from Nepal, a town 250 miles north of Pätliputra. The monk was so infatuated that he left immediately for Nepal, forgetting that monks were not supposed to travel during the monsoon. With considerable difficulty, he procured the garment and returned to Pätliputra, confident of receiving Koshä's love. Koshä accepted the beautiful garment, wiped her feet on it and threw it away in the trash. The monk was stunned. He asked, "Are you crazy, Koshä? Why are you throwing away the precious gift that I have brought you with so much difficulty?" Koshä replied, "Why are you throwing away the precious life of monkhood that you have acquired with so much effort?" The humbled monk realized his foolishness and returned to his Ächärya to report his miserable failure. From that day onwards, there was immense respect for Sthulibhadra throughout the community.
The monk was unable to stay detached seeing Koshä's beauty and forgot his vows in the hope of receiving Koshä's love
Sthulibhadra played a major role in later years preserving the oldest Jain scriptures, known as the twelve Anga Ägams and the fourteen purvas. Jain history indicates that Ächärya Bhadrabähu, the successor of Ächärya Sambhutivijay as the head of the religious order, was the last monk to have complete knowledge of all the Jain scriptures. Both Ächärya Sambhutivijay and Ächärya Bhadrabähu had been the disciples of Ächärya Yashobhadra.
In those days, the Jain scriptures were memorized and passed down orally from guru to disciple. They were not documented in any form. Under the leadership of Ächärya Bhadrabähu, Sthulibhadra thoroughly studied eleven of the twelve Anga Ägams. However, an extended famine prevented Sthulibhadra from studying the twelfth Anga Ägam, known as Drashtiväd, which contained the 14 purvas. During the famine, Ächärya Bhadrabähu-swämi migrated south with 12, 000 disciples. Ächärya Sthulibhadra succeeded him as the leader of the monks who stayed behind in Pätliputra. The hardships of the famine made it difficult for the monks to observe their code of conduct properly. In addition, many of the monks' memories failed them and many parts of the Anga Ägams were forgotten. The famine lasted for twelve years. After the famine, Sthulibhadra decided to recompile the Jain scriptures. A convention was held in Pätliputra under the leadership of Ächärya Sthulibhadra. Eleven of the twelve Anga Ägams were orally recompiled at the convention, but none of the monks at the convention could remember the twelfth Anga Ägam and its 14 purvas. Only Ächärya Bhadrabähu swämi had this knowledge; he had left southern India and was now in the mountains of Nepal to practice a special penance and meditation. The Jain sangh therefore requested Sthulibhadra and some other learned monks to go to Ächärya Bhadrabähu-swämi and learn the twelfth Ägam.
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JAIN STORY BOOK