ISJS Jainism Study Notes E5 Vol 04

Author(s): International School for Jain Studies
Publisher: International School for Jain Studies

Page 531

7.0.c
SAMA A SUTTA Dr. D.N. Bhargava
1.0 Introduction
Religion is a transcendental spiritual experience which is permanent, trans-subjective, blissful, intuitive, supersensuous, infinite, incommunicable and ineffable. It is the non-conceptual state of existence wherein all differentiations disappear. The Jaina view of religion lays stress on realizing the transcendental nature of self, which the individual feels as his own.
VERSAC
It should be borne in mind that the present book, Sama asutta is the central book of Jainism. It is a compendium of Jaina teachings. It presents gamas in a nut-shell. It is as sacred as the gamas themselves. It comprises the essence of Mah v ra's philosophical thinking. Just as the Gt, the Bible, the Dhammapada, the Koran and the like represents the teachings of K a, Christ, Buddha and Mohammad respectively, similarly the Sama asutta stands for Jainism. It consists of 756 Pr k ta verses divided into 44 chapters dealing with various aspects of Jainism. It is called Sama asutta because it contains suttas, delineated by the great rama a Mah vra along with other rama as following the tradition of Mah vra.
Sama a sutta is a unified text of the Jainas in which the essence of Jainism is given in the original words of Lord Mah vira and in ancient Jaina c ryas belonging to both the major sects - the Digambaras and the vet mbaras.
It was at the initiative of c rya Vinoba Bhave, a direct disciple of Mahatma Gandhi, that the c ryas belonging to all the four sub sects of Jainism that sat together to make a collection of the G th s from different scriptures of their sects so as to present a volume which will represent the essence of Jainism in the most authentic way and at the same time shall be acceptable to all the sects of the Jainas. It beautifully summarizes the teachings and philosophy of the Jainas in a lucid fashion.
Below we shall quote a few statements from this Text to give an idea of the approach of the Jaina thinkers to life. As these sentences are faithful translations of the original, they may appear to the archaic at places, but this is their beauty that they take you back to the ethos of the original Jaina world. We are giving only a few representative sentences with the advice that the students should read the whole Text for themselves because the Text is quite handy and yet pregnant with great meaning. Let us have a taste of the original to some extant.
2.0 Suttas from the text
Obeisance to all saintly persons of the world.
He, who takes recourse to reality as it is, has right vision.
Momentary are the pleasures of senses resulting in prolonged suffering. They obstruct liberation and are mines of all trouble.
One knows the pains of birth, old age and death and yet does not leave the sensuous pleasures. Oh! How strongly tied is the knot of conceit?
Attached to wealth and women, negligent in physical and vocal activities, accumulates dirt form both sides as an earth-worm accumulates mud from both the mouths.
Neither the friends, nor sons, nor relatives share ones misery. He has to suffer all alone. The action invariably follows the agent.
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The agent is free while action, but helpless, while enjoying the fruits of his actions. Just one is free while climbing a tree but helpless while falling from it.
Who else is with a wrong vision other than one who does not act according to what he preaches?
STUDY NOTES version 4.0