Jainism in Buddhist Literature

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

Page 78

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of the impressions recorded by them do not coincide witbthe actual conditions as known to us from more authentic sources.
For instance, in the commentaries on 24 Dighanikaya and Majjhimanikaya,25 Buddhaghosa in the course of explaining the reference to the death of Nagantha Nātaputta states that Nigantha Nātaputta enjoined upon his followers in his last hours to accept the Buddha's teachings as he had realised the folly and futility of his doctrines. Further Buddhaghosa misunderstood the principle of Syadrada and complained that Nigantha Nātaputta taught his followers in two contradictory ways: to one he was supposed to have said that his doctrine was nihilism ( uccedavada ) and to the other that it was eternalism (sassalavada ). As a result, Buddhaghosa says, they quarrelled violently among themselves, and the order of Nigantha Nataputta was divided into two. This reference certainly indicates the timr around the fifth century when religious disputations were creating mutual inisunderstanding and certain dogmas were being explained according to their own whims and fancies mi order to influence the masses. Such instances are also found in Jaina literature.
Sanskirt Buddhist literature :
While Pāli had been the language of Theravada Buddhists only Sanskrit bad been a medium which was utilized by both the Hinayāna and the Mahāyāna Buddhists The Vaibhaşıka and the Sautrāntika schools belong to the H nayāna Buddists and the Madhyamika or Sanyodda and the Yogăcăra or Viñanavada schools are of Mahāyāna Buddhists The vast literature of these schools is available in different languages. We find there some valuable references to Jain philosophy in the works of Nāgā. rjuna, Aryadeva, Dharmakirti, Vasubandhu, Arcata, Säntaraksita, Prajñākaragupta, Jetāri etc. who refuted the Syadvada and other Jaina concepts which are dealt with in the present thesis in respective chapters. A large amount of work on Buddhist philosophy is lost and existed only in Tibetan or Chinese translation which could not be used here.