Jainism Some Essays

Author(s): A S Gopani
Publisher: Prakrit Bharti Academy

Page 78

Jainsm and Buddhism
custom and convention as echoed in यद्यपि शुद्ध लोकविरुद्ध नाचरणीयं नादरणीयं (one should never practise, what is not according to the people's custom, howsoever it may be unobjectionable). Not only this, but he ruled out any need for a change in the custom. Thus, he gave no quarter to nakedness, bathlessness, and uncleanliness which were disapproved by the people. Mahavira directly linked the abandonment of body with desirelessness and therefore he accepted as natural corollaries, nakedness, bathlessness and uncleanliness which the people did not welcome at all. It is here where both Mahavira and Buddha differed. The former believed that the intense mortifi cation of the body was a necessary adjunct to the internal weeding out of passions, desires etc. from the mind while the latter preferred golden mean in the matter of external discipline, though he believed completely in the quelling down of the internal passions. Thus, Buddhism, on one hand, discarded the Carvaka system which favoured extreme sensualism and on the other did not approve last-degree physical mortification also. This made it necessary for it to adopt a middle way. A little thought on the results which occurred in both the Sanghas, namely, the Jaina and the Bauddha, will make it obvious that a special effort was made by the Jainas to preserve the external structure of physical conduct in the Jaina Sangha, while in the Bauddha Sangh laxity of discipline and looseness of conduct became the predominent features in the name of or under the pertext of Middle Way (Madhyama Marga). It happened like that as the middle way between the two extremes runs a long course holding out sufficient scope for the flexible behaviour to develop. On one hand, Buddha and his followers did not see any thing but physical mortification figuring predominantly in the whole code of external behaviour. The Bauddhas started accusing the Jainas that they gave more importance to the physical sin than to the mental and that they are engaged in the annihilation of Karmas through physical suffering only The Jainas on their part led a counter-attack accusing the Bauddhas as comfort-loving. It must be admitted that both are partially true.
[ 71
Relationship between conduct and propaganda.
When we undertake to consider about the part played, by the rigidity or flexibility of conduct, in a propaganda of a particular religion we will have to come to a conclusion that the Middle Way as formulated by Buddha contributed not a little to popularising his religion. It is a fact that Buddhism has become universal but if we pause and consider the extent to which the Buddhism and other things allied to it have become popular we will find that its popularity has been achieved at the cost of Buddhism and other matters related to it. We will be surprised to find that it is not genuine Buddhism but pseudo-Buddhism that has become popular. It is on account