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Mahavira in Buddhistic Literature
Buddhistic literature called Pitakas frequently mentions Lord Mahavira and his doctrines These works invariably cast an unseemly light on him It reveals the communal mentality and the standards of the courtesy of those days One may ignore these unpleasant aspects However, Buddhistic Pitakas retain certain previous bio-data of Lord Mahavira which none need ignore They shed some new light on Lord Mahavira's conduct and principles Lord Mahavira preferred knowledge to faith i
Niggantha Natputta (Mahavira) was at Machchhikasand, then, alongwith a large group of his followers
The householder Chitta heard of his arrival there Chitta called on him with certain other aspirants He greeted the Lord and sat aside
To thus humbly seated Chitta, Nigantha Natputta addressed himself
'Householder! Do you believe that shramana Gautam experiences the unruffled meditation par excellence? Does he free himself totally of all thoughts ?'
'Sire! I am not inclined to take for granted by dint of faith that the Lord experiences such samadhi (meditation par excellence)
Nigantha (Mahavira) addressed himself to the assembly and said, 'You see how innocent and plain-spoken house
