Studies in Buddhist and Jaina Monachism

Author(s): Nand Kishor Prasad
Publisher: Research Institute of Prakrit Jainology & Ahimsa Mujjaffarpur

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nology and it is for scholars to judge how far I have succeeded in this maiden attempt.
I should now give an abstract summary of the contents of the book stating the internal links between the topics selected for discussion.
In the first section of the first chapter, the Jaina concept of an ideal monk and rules and regulations pertaining to various aspects of monastic life, in one word, the salient features of Jaina Ācāra have been described. The essence of Jaina Ācāra is constituted by the trio of inoffensiveness, self-restraint and penance. Here we have discussed the qualifications for admission to the order, the causes of renunciation, the status of the newly initiated monk, the outfit of a Taina monk and his daily duties. The requisites of a Jaina monk which correspond to the four nissayas of the Buddhist order have been discussed in detail. The wandering life of a Jaina monk and the principle of ahiṁsā as its guiding maxim have also been dealt with. A Jaina monk's life and a suitable residence during the rainy season have received our attention in the same section. The church units and the hierarchy of officers have been described from the original sources and a special note on the Jaina order of nuns and its relation to the monks have been attached. A Jaina monk's attitude towards heretics and towards his own laity has been explained. A special sub-section on the principle of ahimsă (non-injury) has been incorporated, followed by elaborate sub-sections on samyama (self-restraint) and tapa (penance).
The second section of the first chapter deals with the salient features of Buddhist Vinaya' followed by a separate sub-section on the background of the Buddhist Vinaya'. The salient features have been discussed under the captions 'the formation of the order', 'the requisites', ‘monastic observances' and 'monastic administration'. Here we have briefly stated the process of and bars to admission, relation between a teacher and disciple, monks' relation with nuns and haretics, etc. The requirements of the Buddhist monks technically known as nissaya were four, viz., food, dress, abode and medicaments. The Buddhist monastic observances comprise of uposatha, vassāvāsa and pavārană. The Buddhist order was governed on democratic lines. It also appointed suitable officers for maintaing law and order in the church.
In the background of the Buddhist Vinaya' light has been thrown on the religious beliefs and practices that were in vogue at the advent of the Buddha. We have restricted ourselves only to those beliefs which had bearing on the monastic rules and regulations. At the time there were two broad camps in vogue, namely, Akriyavadins and Kriyavadins. The Buddha invented the middle path which sponsored a balanced life rejecting materialism on the one hand and dry formal asceticism on the other. In this