Outlines of Jainism

Author(s): S Gopalan
Publisher: Wiley Eastern Private Limited New Delhi

Page 20

IS JAINISM AN OFFSHOOT OF BUDDHISM ?
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adherents to carefully avoid injuring eggs, living beings, seeds, sprouts, etc.
“He shall be indifferent towards all creatures, whether they do him an injury or a kindness.":24 Acceptance of this spirit of non-attachment in the Jaina tradition is evident from the description of Mahāvīra : “More than four months many sorts of living beings gathered on his body, crawled about it and caused pain."25
“He shall carry a cloth for straining water for the sake of purification."26
Before concluding we may refer to an instance of a scholar revising his opinion about Jainism after a deeper study. Washburn Hopkins who was extremely critical about Jainism initially wrote that of all the great religious sects of India that of Nātaputta is the least interesting, and has the least excuse to exist, for its chief points are that one should deny god, worship man and nourish vermin. He later regretted his improper understanding of Jainism. In a letter to Sri Vijaya Suri he wrote: “I found at once that the practical religion of the Jainas was one worthy of all commendation, and I have since regretted that I stigmatized the Jaina religion as insisting on denying God, worshipping man and nourishing vermin as its chief tenets without giving regard to the wonderful effect this religion has on the character and morality of the people. But as is often the case, a close acquaintance with a religion brings out its good side and creates a much more favourable impression of it as a whole than can be obtained by an objective literary acquaintance."27
It can therefore be maintained that an objective consideration of the history of Jainism lends no countenance to the view that Jainism branched off from Buddhism and launched on an independent career. We have endeavoured to show that even in the absence of historically unchallenged evidences to the antiquity of Jainism, — putting it back to the time of origin of mankind --, the earlier origin of Jainism has to be conceded and that it was not a mere branch of Buddhism.
24 Gautama : III. 24 25 Ācārānga, I. 8.1.2 26 Baudhāyana : II, 6, 11, 14 27 Cited by C. J. Shah, op. cit., Intr., pp. xix-XX