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Buddha and Mahavira
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Sangha and remodelling it earned him Sangha became known after his name.
Tirthankarahood and henceforth
Mahāvira did not make any one bis guru though he uuderlined the element of faith much more than anything else. He blazed his own trail putting faith in things when he found it necessary being convinced of what was said and done by his predecessors, He, thus, worked out his own salvation getting rid of attachment and aversion. But this is not the case with Buddha. He no doubt welcomed faith, first and made some one his guru. But being wedded with Reason from the cradle, he changed his
hers one by one with the ultimate result that he himself became his own guru and guide. It is his own submission that the path he has found is new and extraordinary, but at the same time he has been cautious enough to warn his followers against accepting on mere faith what he said, preached and taught and has advised them not to give any quarter to those things which did not pass the test of their own Reason. Though the matter is like this, all the subsequent Ācāryas have decidedly affirmed, seeing that Buddhism has now taken deep roots, that all the previous Buddhas including the present Buddha who is twentyfifth have said so and nothing else.
The subsequent religious histories of both Jainism and Buddhism have been markedly influenced by both the personalities, Mahāvīra and Buddha in whom the element of Faith and the element of Reason was preponderating respectively. Jainism which took things on Faith did not start new schools of thought while Buddhism which was Rationalist founded many new schools of thought and during every period, threw challenges to the contemporary philosophical and metaphy which were in vogue in Bbārata. This phenomenon gave it a scope to instil new vigour and vitality in them. Contrary to this, the followers of Jainism absorbed into their own system new and homogenous thoughts of the other schools and systems, clinging fast to their own.
One more peculiarity of nature and temperament divided them both. It was this. Bhagavān Mabavira showed a stiff attitude in framing and also observing rules and regulations, that is to say, he had the heart of a father while Buddha had the heart of a mother inasmuch as he showed a mild attitude so far as the formulations and practices were concerned. This was why we find that Buddha, during his own life-time, made more exceptions than rules. Mahāvira, on the contrary, put more accent on the rules themselves and resorted to exceptions as few as possible and when it was absolutely necessary. These exceptions also were hard and fast compared with the rules made by Buddha.
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