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The Concept of Vibhajjavada and
Its Impact on Philosophical and Religious Tolerance in
Buddhism and Jainism
Sagarmal Jain
Buddhism and Jainism both belong to the same Sramanic tradition of Indian Culture. Gautama, the Buddha and Vardhamāna, the Mahāvira were contemporaries. The philosophical awakening was the main feature of their age. The various religio-philosophical problems and questions were put before the religious leaders and thinkers, and they were expected to answer these questions and to solve the philosophical problems. The various answers were given to the same problem by different thinkers, and due to this difference of opinions on the philosophical problems the various philosophical schools emerged in that age. According to the Pali Tripitaka there were sixty two schools or sixty two different views held by different teachers on the nature of man and world, and according to Prakrit Āgamas there were three hundred and sixty schools. Each one of them was claiming that his view was the only right view (samyak-drsti) and others' views were false-views (mithyā-drsți). But according to Buddha and Mahavira all of them have one sided picture of the reality or the phenomena, which is a complicated one. Both of them found that these various philosophical and religious schools and sects were conflicting with each other without understanding the problem itself and cling to onesidedness. This onesidedness, is due to the absence of analytic approach towards the problems and improper method of answering the questions. If philosophical questions are answered categorically or absolutely they present
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