Idea of Ahimsa and Asceticism in Ancient Indian Tradition

Author(s): Bansidhar Bhatt
Publisher: B J Institute

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THE IDEA OF AHIMSA ....
truth to a lower and subordinate level with determined attempts for suppressing the canonical sources and historical facts in favour of their own interpretations.
During the third redaction of the Jaina canonical texts in Valabhi, round about one thousand years after the death of the Mahavira, all the earlier and the earliest satras have been collected and compiled together with even some of the later developed satras in the one text concerned. It is, therefore, essential, first to decide and distinguish with certainty the earlier and the later characters of any of the satras or passages before citing them in support of a statement.
(h) Magico-ritualistic taboo :
It is true, Jainism and Buddhism teach full animism in all spheres, earth, water, air,fire,plants and seeds, etc. But it is not new. Earlier, the vedic ritualists also believed the world full of animism. Therefore, it was a general practice not to hurt any of these elements which are supposed to have possessed soul as the other living beings (see below ch.6).
Particularly the Jaina monks and nuns do not drink the normally cold pr fresh water, since they believe that it contains innumerable fine or tiny souls (sacitta cf. Bruhn.p.38, lines 1826), but they drink only the boiled water, so that it is thereby rendered "soulless" and "unnormal", they call it: viyada-modified ! Such a practice is not found in Buddhism. The Buddhist monks or nuns drink fresh or cold water (cf. Schmithausen-1. p.72). But the act of boiling the water, - making it viyadadrinkable -, is not to be undertaken by any Jaina monks or nuns, since they would thereby commit an act of himsa - killing innumerable water-souls, and it is prohibitted for them. On the other hand, it is an activity, an imposed responsibility of only the lay-persons who have to boil the water and keep it ready for the monks and the nuns. The Jaina monks or nuns can accept it for their own purpose. Similarly, meat of an animal killed by any other persons or beasts (for its details, see Doctrine. S 154), . but not specially cooked or kept reserved for the monks and the nuns(uddesiya) can be accepted by them without any objection to it. That means, the water rendered viyada and kept reserved for the monks or nuns is through uddesiya - intentional but permitted. But if the food is uddesiya - intentioanally kept reserved for them, then it is not accepted. This involves no killing and no sin in eating meat or fish, because monks or nuns