Doctrines of Jainism

Author(s): Vallabhsuri Smarak Nidhi
Publisher: Vallabhsuri Smarak Nidhi Godiji Jain Derasar Mumbai

Page 35

The Doctrines of the Jainas
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world of life is represented by the six classes of living things and beings. The earth-lives, water-lives and plants are immovable beings while the movable beings are the fire-lives, wind-lives and those with an organic body. Through the gradation of living beings and things one can trace the evolution of senses, the lowest form of beings being provided with only one sense, namely the sense of touch.1
In Buddhism jiva and ajiva convey the same meaning as in Jainism. In the Mahalisutta of the Dighanikaya (I. p. 159.tam jivam tam sariram udahu annam jivam annam sariram), Buddha raises the question whether jiva and sarira are the same, but he does not answer the question. He simply leads the discourse upto saintship along with the series of mental states set out in the Samannaphalasutta of the Digha, I. Jivitindriya mentioned in the Pali Vinaga, III, 73; Samyutta, V. 204; Milinda, 56, is the faculty of life. Jiva in the sense of living being or soul occurs in the Milindapanha.?
Jiva (soul), ajiva (the inanimate things), the binding of the soul by karma, merit (punya, demerit), (papa), that which causes the soul to be affected by sins (asrava), the prevention of sins by watchfulness (samvara), annihilation of karma (karmaksaya) and final deliverance (moksa) are the nine truths. The nine main terms of Jainism which became widely known as early as the time of the Buddha include nirjara and mokkha.
Purananam kammanam tapasa vyantibhava, navanam kammanam akarana ayatim anavassavo, ayatin anavassava
1. Cf. Majjhima I, 157; Anguttara II, 41 . 2. Trenckner Ed. p.31.
For Priva