Early Jainism

SR No.: 001520
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: K K Dixit
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad
Publication Year: 1978
Total Pages: 120
Language: English
Classification: Book_English, Agam, Canon, & Philosophy
File Size: 7 MB

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Early Jainism
when it was deemed part-heretical. These historical considerations apart, Rşibbāșita throws ample light on the cardinal thesis of all Indian asceticism. thesis which alone must have been emphasize i originally and winich only gradually came to be accompanied by the sectarian teachings of this or that ascetic school. In view of all this the material contained here deserves a close analysis.
Before the contents of Rsibhäşita are analyzed in details certain preliminary remarks are in place. The whole lot of teachings presented here is addressed to a world-renouncing monk. This is obviously the case with the passages (e. g. in Sections 12, 25, 41) where a monk is asked to pro. cure his alms in a proper fashion but it is no less the case with the rest. Of course, the teachings which are of a general nature can well be given an elucidation that specially suits the life-circumstances of a householder but the point is that such circumstances had not been kept in mind when the passages collected here were originally composed. Among these teachings of a general nature a specially important place is occupied by those devoted to the karma-doctrine-not only because in the subsequent period the intricacies of this doctrine were zealously sought to be imparted to the pious householders but also because of the intrinsic high significance acquired by this doctrine within the body of the Indian religious thought in general and the Jaina religious thought in particular. In our text five sections- 2. 8, 9, 15 and 30 -are centrally occupied with the karma-doctrine but only two of them-viz. 9 and 15--are detailed in a fair measure. In all these sections the point is emphasized that one involves oneself in the cycle of transmigration as a result of the acts performed by oneself and that one gets rid of this involvement as a result of reíraining from acts. As is particularly evident from Section 15 the point makes prefect sense only when 'act' means evil act but it is also often (e. g. in Section 9 and most clearly in Section 30) conceded that good acts lead to a good future fate. Another noteworthy point is that here conspicuous use of the Jajaa technical terminology is made just twice in one section. Thus in Section 9, verse 5 enumerates the five causes of karmic bondage-viz. mithyātva, anivítti, pramada. kaşāya and yoga, while verse 12 avers that the fruition of a karma can be variously mitigated except in the case of one called nikacita. For that matter. in connection with the other teachings as well the Jaina technical terms are conspicuously used anly once-i.e, in section 31 where loka is said to consist of jīva and pudgala and the latter two described in various ways: in a stray fashion such terms are used even elsewhere (e.g, in the very first section an evil act is said to be of three types performed in three manners 'trividhan trividhena,' a typical Jaina way of putting things). This much said the following table of contents should be rather selfobvious :