________________
The Doctrines of the Jainas
9
ence of karma and knows nothing of the truth. The soul whirling round and round in the cycle of rebirth, loses some of its crudeness and attains to the state which enables it to distinguish between what is false and what is true. A soul remains in an uncertain condition, one moment knowing the truth and the next doubting it. A man has either through the influence of his past good deeds or by the teachings of his preceptor obtained true faith. He then realises the great importance of conduct and can take the twelve vows. The Jainas believe that, as soon as the man reaches the state of an ayogikevaligunasthanaka, all his karma is purged away and he proceeds at once to moksa (salvation) as a siddha or the perfected one.
The Jaina Sutrakrtanga (1.6.27; 1.10.17) speaks of various types of kriyavada then current in India. Buddhism was promulgated as a form of kriyavada or karmavada. According to Mahavira, kriyavada of Jainism is sharply distinguished from akriyavada (doctrine of non-action), ajnanavada (scepticism) and vinayavada (formalism) precisely as in the words of the Buddha. The kriyavada of Buddhism is distinguished from Sathayadrsti involving various types of akriya, vicikitsa (scepticism) and silavrataparamarsa (Pali Silabbataparamasa, formalism).1 To arrive at a correct understanding of the doctrinal significance of kriyavada of Jainism, it is necessary not only to know how it has been distinguished from akriyavada, ajnanavada and vinayavada but also from other types of kriyavada. The Sutrakrtanga mentions some types of akriyavada:
1.
Suttanipata, V. 231 Khuddakapatha, p. 5.
(Silabbatam
va
pi yad atthi kinci);
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
