Book Title: Harmless Soul
Author(s): W J Johnson, Dayanand Bhargav
Publisher: Motilal Banarasidas

View full book text
Previous | Next

Page 37
________________ 23 Early Jainism 1.5 The householder in the earliest texts i) The status of the householder Although the doctrine of karma, with the doctrine of rebirth and liberation (mokşa) as its corollary, is the most prominent feature of the earliest Jaina texts, it is not developed systematically and there is no discussion at all of its precise mechanism.53 Moreover, the earliest detectable stream of doctrine holds an uncompromisingly negative view of the householder because he is a householder. The prospect of a better rebirth in heaven or on earth, as a result of good activity which attracts good karma, is hardly admitted, and the four possible births (gatis) seem to have only a theoretical significance at this stage.54 As Dixit puts it, all action leads inevitably to a 'more or less inauspicious' rebirth, and is ipso facto bad.55 This contrasts with the position found in later doctrinal layers where the pious householder and the good monk who is not yet good enough to attain mokşa are promised auspicious rebirths. 56 Given that the ultimate soteriological goal of Jainism is total liberation from samsāra, the idea that any rebirth is relatively undesirable remains a constant component of doctrine. However, what is largely absent from the earliest texts is the idea that there is any gradation or progression through a series of births to ultimate liberation. Instead, what is emphasised is the critical nature of the present birth and, necessarily (since these texts are addressed to ascetics), those kinds of ascetic restraint which will ensure that there is no further rebirth. Thus Āyāramga Sutta 1.6.2, for instance, apparently considers that there are only two possibilities after death: 1) birth among hellish beings 53 See Dixit 1978, p. 9. 54 References to the gatis in the very earliest parts of the canon are few and far between and cannot be dated with any certainty. See, for example, Sūy. 1.2.3.13, 2.2.60ff. and Utt. 5.19ff. 55 Dixit 1978, p. 9. 56 See ibid. Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only www.jainelibrary.org

Loading...

Page Navigation
1 ... 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372