________________
Degrees of Reality in Jainism, Buddhism and Vedanta
209
rding to him,materiai and non-material objects of the world have their own independent existence. World is not dismissed as unreal entity. Six substances are regarded as perman'nt entities. Mabāsānists believe that there is no difference between phenomenal and noumenal, 116 the universe viewed as a whole is the Absolute, viewed as a process it is the pheno. menol world. 111 According to Sankara the world is not real ultimately, (but real for all practical purposes), it has no independent existence of its own. For realized soul the world does not exist. Sankara is an advocate of non-dualism. For him self is non-dual and ultimately there is no difference between Jiva and Brahman.
It is important to note that some scholars have pointed out that Sankara has copied the conception of Vyavahārika and paramarthika orders of reality from Buddhism. Some others think that Sankara took suggestion from the earlier-Jain thinkers, especially from Kundak unda. But our observation clearly proves that, this conception of transcendental and empirical, lower and higher, is common to Upanişadic thought, Jainism, Buddhism and Advaita Vedānta. At the present state of our knowledge, instead of saying that Sankara has copied it either from Buddhism or Jainism, it would be more appropriate to say that this idea is common to Vedāntic and non-Vedāntic schools of thougbt.
ABBREVIATIONS (Used in the Notes
Bph. Up. = Bphadāraṇyaka Upanisat Chā. Up. = Chandogya Upadişat Is, Up. - Išāvāsyopanişat Kath. Up- Kathopanişat MK. - Madhyamikakārikā M. S. A - Mahāyānasūtrālankāra S. B. - Sānkarabhāsya (Brahmasūtra). S.S. - Samayasāra Tait. Up.- Taittiriya Upanişat T. M. S, - Trimsikā
FOOT-NOTES
1.
Socrates's the World and form, Plato's the sense and the idea, Aristotle's the matter and the Mover, the modes and substance
Sambodhi XI-27
Jain Education International
For Personal & Private Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
