Introducing Jainism

Author(s): Satyaranjan Banerjee
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication

Page 65

INTRODUCING JAINISM
Apart from this incident as narrated in the Acārāngasūtra, there are other stories also, where Mahavira's arguments were challenged by his rival groups, such as, the Ajivikas, Gosāla Mankhaliputra and so on, but Mahavira endured and encountered all his rival groups maintaining the sense of tolerance. Tolerance was his only weapon to defeat his enemies. We are familiar with the life stories of Mahavira, where at every step he used to show his tolerance and calmness towards his playmates.
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The basic ideas of tolerance as can be gleaned from the Agama texts are the following:
i) Pañcamahāvrata
ii) Trigupti
iii) Pañcasamiti
i) Tolerance through Pañcamahāvrata
The Pañcamahāvratas are the greatest vows in Jainism. These five vows are (a) ahimsa (non-violence), (b) satya (truth), (c) acaurya (non-stealing), (d) brahmacarya (celibacy) and (e) aparigraha (non-possession of things). By ahimsā Mahavira means total abstention from killing. Ahimsa is the way by which a person can restrain himself from doing any harm to anybody by means of body, mind and word or speech. The path of non-violence will give people the habit of tolerance. So by ahimsa, people can be tolerant. The second vow is the 'truth'. Mahāvīra says that under any circumstances people should not tell a lie. By not telling lies people will inculcate the habit of speaking the truth and truth only, and thereby they will follow a sense of tolerance towards all living beings. The third point is acaurya (non. stealing). By no means, people should steal anything from anybody. Stealing is a bad habit for humanity at large, and from stealing there arise lots of inhuman activities, which are detrimental to the society, and intolerance will prevail thereupon. But by practising non-stealing, a sort of tolerance will prevail upon the society, and so non-stealing is recommended by Mahavira as one of the elements of tolerance. The quality of brahmacarya as a part of tolerance is always celebrated by all religions saints, and tolerance will be one of the greatest qualities of celibacy. The fifth one