Book Title: Ethnicity and Religious Heritage
Author(s): T U Mehta
Publisher: T U Mehta

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Page 110
________________ Jainism and Buddhism BUDDHISM: Both Jainism and Buddhism belong to what is known as "Shramana" tradition which was already prevalent in India when Aryans migrated to India with their Vedic literature. "Shramans" are so called because of their strictly religioius discipline and rigorous austerities. Word "Shrma" means labour. When Shri Gautam Buddha Started his spiritual Journey, he also began by hard austerities and he also tried almost every path prevalent at that time in India, but he could not obtain solace. Ultimately he left the path of extreme and chalked out his own path known as "Middle Course." 105 His approach was absolutely straight and logical as he refused to indulge in metaphysical and mystical researches. In his view the whole debate about GOD, Heaven, Hell and about vicissitudes of the spiritual journey was useless because the only problem before the human race was how to face the reality of life. He said that this reality was that tehre was plenty of suffering in human life in every phase from the very birth to the death and if that is Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only www.jainelibrary.org

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