Jain Journal 2004 01

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

Page 41

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JAIN JOURNAL VOL-XXXVIII, NO. 3 JAN. 2004
Buddha and Mahāvīra met each other many times. They held lots of discussions on soul, life after death, existence of Hell and Heaven and so on. In the Payasi-sutta of the Dighanikāya No. 23, the existence of a soul substance is denied by Pāyāsi as it was done by Buddha himself. In the Majjhima-nikāya in the Upäli-sutta (No. 56) there is a dialogue between Buddha and Mahāvīra with regard to the practice of asceticism. In this way, we can see lots of references to the views of Mahāvīra in the Buddhist literature. I have a feeling from the pages of history that perhaps Buddha could not stand the arguments of Mahāvīra, as Buddha's arguments were all refuted, while Mahāvīra's arguments were very poignant and logical. As a result, Buddhism could not stay in India for a long time. And in the 3rd century B.C., at the time of Asoka (273236 B.C.), though he was a Buddhist, he sent his missionaries to other parts of India, even to Śrī Lanka. Once Buddhism went out of India, and started spreading outside, it never came back. There are, of course, some followers even today in Magadha, Nalanda and in Chattagong, apart from China, Tibet, South-East Asiatic countries outside India. Another encounter which Mahāvīra had to face was with the Ajivika sampradaya which was very famous at that time. Gosāla Mankhaliputra had an encounter with Mahāvīra, which is described in the 7th chapter of the Upāsakadasă-sūtra of the Svetāmbara canonical literature. Like the Ajivikas, there was another group in the south called 'Yapaniya' which was also very famous. Amulya Chandra Sen in his book-Schools and Sects in Jaina Literature (Viśva-Bhāratī, Santiniketan, 1931) describes the Jain sects in the canonical literature. This book is not available now, but may be traced in some library.
During the time of Lord Mahāvīra, some of his ardent disciples, later on came to be known as Gaṇadharas (gana means 'a group of people' and dhara means' one who holds it together) were perplexed with some of the thoughts and ideas of Mahāvīra which were antagonistic to the then existing Vedic ideas of India. In order to dispel their notions about certain existing ideas, these disciples asked Mahāvīra certain straightforward things which were the burning questions of the day. At the time of Mahāvīra, these ardent disciples, eleven in number, were at a loss to know the real nature of Soul, Karma, Jiva, basic five elements (pañca mahābhūtas), birth in the same form in the next birth, Bondage and Deliverance, Existence of