Studies in Buddhist and Jaina Monachism

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

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described in detail. The nature of begging-bowl and the rules for its acquisition and preservation have next been discussed. The purpose of taking food, the quantity of food, the time for eating, the begging-round and similar matters have also been discussed. The second nissaya is pamsukülacivara, that is, cloth procured from dust-heaps. In this connection we have referred to the nudity of Jaina monks. Material and colour of robes, preparation of robes, number and size of robes to be used have also been dealt with. Next we come to the third nissaya, namely, rukkhamulasenṛsana. Shelter is an essential requisite of life and even a monk could not ignore it. Elaborate rules were framed for the acquisition of shelter and articles of furniture. The Jainas reduced the need to its minimum. There was, of course, a movement within the Buddhist church headed by Devadatta to discard shelter, which was however unsuccessful. With the passage of time various types of abodes were accepted which in the centuries that followed became big centres of learning and meditation. The Jaina monks did not follow suit. But in later times sccts of Jaina yatis emerged, which were used to live in fixed abodes and gathered huge libraries of literature, known as Bhandaras in the history of the Jaina church. Next we come to the fourth nissaya called pūtimuttabhesajja, i C., medicaments made of stinking-urine. Permission was also granted to use ghee, butter, oil, honey, etc. as medicine in both the churches. A list of important diseases and their cure has been added. With the enlargement of the order rules regarding ownership, succession, distribution and exchange of the requisites were framed, which have received elaborate treatment at the close of the section.
In the first section of the third chapter the uposatha ceremony has been described with a comparative reference to the Brahmaņical upavasatha and the Jaina posaha or pausadha. The second section of the chapter deals with vassāvāsa. The universality of the custom of the vassāvāsa among the Indian mendicant orders and the causes leading to the institution of the custom in the Buddhist church have been stated. Period of retreat and their duration with a special reference to the Jaina custom have been clearly recorded. The preliminaries of vassāvāsa in both the churches and its indispensability with a list of the places where the Buddha and Mahāvīra are said to have spent their successive rainy seasons after the First Sermon in the case of the Buddha and right from the date of renunciation in case of the Mahavira have been appended. Special occasion for the interruption of the vassavasa and conditions for permanent transfer of places and places fit for observing the vassa in both the churches have also been given. The functions of the order during the