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Lord Mahavira
“There are, brethren, certain recluses who thus preach and believe : whatever an individual experiences, whether it be happy or painful, or neutral feeling, all has been caused by previous actions. And thus from the cancelling of old actions by tapas, and by abstaining from doing new actions, there is no influx into future life; by this non-influx Karma is destroyed, and so all pain will become worn away. This brethren what the Nirgranthas (Jains) say... Is it true, I asked them, that you believe and declare this ?... They replied... Our leader Nataputta (Mahâvîra), is all wise out of the depth of his (perfect) knowledge he tells us : 'Ye have done evil in the past this ye do wear away by this hard course of action. And the discipline that here and now, by thought, word and deed, is wrought, is a minus quantity of bad Karma in future life... thu all Karma will eventually be worn away and all pain. To this we assent.'-Majjhima, II 214ff.
On another occasion Gautama Buddha introduced Tirthankara Jnatraputra Mahâvîra as "the head of an order, of a following, the teacher of a school of thought, well known and of repute, as a sophist, revered by the people, a man of experience, who has long been a recluse, old and well stricken in years."?
The Buddhist records corroborate the claim of the Jainas that their Master was “allknowing and allseeing and endowed with unlimited knowledge and vision." No doubt, Mahâvîra figures as supremely gifted Ksatriya Teacher and Leader of Thought who was acknowledged as a great guardian, a great guide and a great preacher. He wash the last Tirthankara, around whom many hundreds and thousands of votaries assembled to honour and worship him.8 -
Thus, as pointed out rightly by Dr. H. Zimmer, Mahâvîra "in contrast to the Buddha is never described as having first become a disciple of teachers whose doctrines failed to satisfy him. Mahâvîra remained faithful to the tradition in to which he had been born and which he embraced fully when he became a Jain monk. By attaining to the highest goal envisioned in this tradition-a very rare achievernent-he did not refute, but only gained new fame for the ancient way."'' The Enlightenment of Buddha
On the contrary, Gautama Buddha found an intellectual
