Jainism in Buddhist Literature

Author(s): Bhagchandra Jain Bhaskar
Publisher: Alok Prakashan

Page 75

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There is another classification of the Buddhist scriptures into nine angas17 : (1) Sutta, (2) Geyya (mixed prose and verse) 73) Gathā ( verse ), (4) Udāna ( ecstatic utterences ), (5) Veyyākarana (explanation ) (6) Itivuttaka ( sayings beginning with the phrase "Thus-said-the-Buddha") (7) Jataka ( stories of former births of the Buddha ), (8) Abbhutadhamma (stories of wonders), and (9) Vedalla (questions and answers )18.
Besides the Canonical literature, there are some other works which were highly honoured and regarded as Extra-Canonica) books, such as the Nette pakarana, Pețakopadesa and the Milindapanha. The first two works are regarded as canonical in Burma. There are no references to Jainism in these two works. The third one the Milindapañha (P. 259), of course, referes to the Jain theory that water contains small insects and therefore should be used after getting it filtered and heated.
The Tnpitaka consists of speeches, conversations, songs, sayings, narratives and monastic rules and regulations. The most of the Canon is placed in the mouth of the Buddha himself. But it is difficult to pick out with a certainty the actual words oi the Buddha as there are in the Tripitaka contradictions, repetitions, interpolations which are characteristics of ancient religious works.
Rhys Davids19 has given a chronological table of Buddhist literature from the Buddha's time to the time of Asoka, which is as follows:
() The simple statements of Buddhist doctrine now found, in identical words, in paragraphs or verses recurring in all the books.
(ii) Episodes found, in identical words, in two or more of the existing books,
(iii) The Silas, the Pārāyana, the Octades, the Patimokkha.
(iv) The Digba, Majjhim, Anguttara, and Samyutta Nikayas.
(v) The Suttanipāta, the Thera and Theri Gathās, the Udānas, and the Khuddakapātha,