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SHRAMAN MAHAVIR
holder Chitta is To suppress all thought is no easier than to cage air in the net'
'Sire! Which of the two is preferable--knowledge or faith?'
'Householder! Knowledge is greater than faith Whenever I wish to, I first meditate and then proceed to a new place My next choice is meditation Still next is meditation and again meditation, before I move ahead'
'Sire! I also feel accordingly Shall I then resort to devote to a Brahmin or shramana to realize the thoughtless meditation and elimination of ideas?'
On this query of Chitta, Nigantha Natputta addressed himself to the assembly thus 'See for yourself what a fool and knave this Chitta is!'
"But you were appreciating Chitta's innocence and truthfulness only a moment ago, sire! Now you call him a fool and a knave If your initial observation is correct then the later one is a falsehood and vice versa!
Lord Mahavira was fully alive to the contemporary problems also He prescribed mendicancy for the monks The idea of saints being a burden to the householders was unpalatable to him
Buddhist monks would take meals on being invited Hence during the periods of famine they would pose a problem to the householders of the area Asibandhakputra, a follower of Lord Mahavira, had hinted at such a situation
Once Lord Buddha wandered through Kaushal and reached Nalanda, accompanied by a large group of monks There he camped at Prawarık mango-grove
Nalanda was famine-stricken People were famished and reduced to skeletons Corpses of starved human beings revealed white bones
The village-chief Asibandhakputra, a follower of Nagputra, visited him and sat aside after greeting him
Nagputra told him, 'Village chief ! you go to monk Gautam and hold disputations with him It will enhance your reputation'
