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THE WAY OF LIFE Question: Why is it that the followers of the other Dharmas do not study either the Jain Dharma or the Bauddha Dharma ?
Answer: That is so because the Vedantic scholars believe that Jains and Bauddhas are atheists. They have their own definitions of Astiks believers and Nastiks non-believers. According to them, those who believe in the Vedas are believers; and those who do not, are non-believers. They keep away from reading the granthas of such atheists. They fear that they too may become atheists! They have that fear. Such a fear does not exist in the philosophers of the Jain tradition. Those who are intelligent; who have studied logic; and who can determine on the plane of logicality, whether a theory is true or untrue are permitted to study all Dharmas. If your intellectual vision has developed, you study any Dharma; no adverse effect will fall upon you. You may study them fearlessly. SIDDHARSHI WAS ATTRACTED TOWARDS THE BAUDDHA DHARMA
Siddharshi studied the Jain philosophy; and then he studied the Vedic philosophy and Buddhistic philosophy. The Buddhistic philosophy fascinated his incisive intellect. He went to a Bauddha acharya and was studying Buddhistic philosophy with his aid. The Bauddha acharya also was deeply impressed by Siddarshi's capacity for farsightedness. He felt very happy thinking that Siddharshi would become a Buddhist. The Bauddha acharya thought, "Siddharshi is being suddenly influenced by the doctrines of Buddhism; and has begun to praise Buddhism". One day, he sat lovingly near Siddharshi and said to him, "Siddharshi, you like Buddhism; do you not ?" Siddarshi said, "Yes, The doctrines of Buddhism appeal to me greatly. I find them very convincing". The acharya said, "If so, you become a Buddhist. The society of Buddhists welcomes you heartily. You will become a great Buddhistic acharya. You will be able to preach to the world, the path of Nirvana; as expounded by the Buddha."
Siddharshi was fascinated by the affectionate words of the Bauddha acharya. He thought, “I find that Buddhism is more
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