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1K views340 pagesPadmanabh S. Jaini - Jaina Path of Purification
Padmanabh S. Jaini - Jaina Path of Purification
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© © All Rights Reserved
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/ 340
Rs. 70
The religious tradition of the Jainas,
unique in many respects, presents a fasci-
nating array of doctrinal and social struc-
tures that stem from the = anti-vedic
movements of ancient times. Drawing
extensively on primary sources, Professor
Jaini provides a comprehensive introduc-
tion to the Jaina experience.
Beginning with the Life of Mahavira,
the author elucidates the essentials of
Jaina cosmology and philosophy as well
as of the «path of purification”? through
which the soul may escape from its Kar-
mic defilements and attain eternal
salva-
aion.
This path constitutes the integral
element within the broader frame work of
Jaina literature, lay ritual and the socio-
historical factors, which enabled Jainism
to survive and prosper to the present day.
In particular, the author has examined
the cardinal doctrine of aftin1sa (non-harm-
ing), both in its impact upon Jaina religi-
ous consciousness and as a standard
applying its sacred principles to the
conduct of cvyeryday life. Contains a
Bibliography, a glossary of Sanskrit and
Prakrit words and an Index.
in
Padmanabh S. Jaini
Buddhist Studies at
California at Berkeley.
is Professor of
the University of Padmanabh S. Jaini
The Jaina Path of
Purification
MOTILAL BANARSIDASS
Delhi :: Varanasi :: Patna to the Memory of My Parents Ss<«28 ep
Contents
List of Illustrations, viii
Preface, xi
Abbreviations, xv
. Mahavira and the Foundations of Jainism, 1
The First Disciples and the Jaina Scriptures, 42
. The Nature of Reality, 89
. The Mechanism of Bondage, 107
. Samyak-DarSana: The First Awakening, 134
. Vrata and Pratima: The Path of the Layman, 157
. Jaina Rituals and Ceremonies, 188
VI.
The Mendicant Path and the Attainment of the
Goal, 241
. Jaina Society through the Ages: Growth and
Survival, 274
Bibliography, 317
Texts and Translations, 317
Modern Works, 323
Glossary of Sanskrit and Prakrit Words, 335
General Index, 359 Illustrations
The colossal image of Bahubali, Shravanabelgola, 10th century.
oarwnen
7.
8,
9.
10.
We
12.
13.
14,
18,
16.
VW,
18.
19,
20,
21,
Frontispiece
. Rgabha and Mahavira, first and Jast Tirthankaras of our age. 68
. Paréva, seated beneath the raised hood of a cobra. 69
. §vetambara image of Rsabha, the first Tirthankara. 69
. The fourteen drearhs of Tiigali, mother of Mahavira. 69° -!
. Relief fragment-depicting Mahavira's change of embryo. 70
Mahavira being led in procession 1o the site of his renunciation.
we
Mahavira preaching. 71
Santinatha, the sixteenth Tirthankara, attended by yakgas. 71
Stone image of a female ascetic, probably depicting the Svetambara
Tirthahkara Malli. 72
Pictorial representation of the samavasarana as envisioned by
Digambaras. 72
The Ganadharavalaya-yantra, a diagrammatic representation of
the Parvas and Angas. 72
Page from an illustrated manuscript of the Kalpa-sittra. 73
Candraprabha, the eighth Tirthankara, 73
Loka-akaéa, the Jaina universe: a diagrammatic representation, 128
The twenty-four symbols associated, respectively, with each of
the twenty-four Tirthankaras. 210
Ayaga-pata with fish-tailed svastika motif, Mathura, 214
Use of the svastika diagram in paja. 211
Inner shrine of the Liina-vasahi temple, Abu (13th century). 212
The Tribhuvana-tilaka-ciidamani temple, Mudbidre (18th century)
43,
Mastakabhiseka (head-anointing ceremony) of Bahubali. 213.
Digambara ceremony of setting up a new image of the Jina. 214
viii Preface
The great French scholar Louis Renou, in his 1953 lectures
on the religions of India, observed that “the Jaina move-
ment presents evidence that is of great interest, both for
the historical and comparative study of religion in ancient
India and for the history of religion in general. Based on
profoundly Indian elements, it is at the same time a highly
original creation, containing very ancient material, more
ancient than that of Buddhism, and yet highly refined and
elaborated.”! These remarks are certainly well-founded;
the Jaina tradition is not only very old, but continues to
manifest a great number of those religious and philosoph-
ical elements which had already made it unique some 2,500
years ago. For various reasons, however, Western scholar-
ship dealing with this tradition has never attained to a
degree of development commensurate with the importance
of its subject in the sphere of Indological studies.2
Among those works which have appeared on Jainism,
the best-known are now unfortunately out of date. Jacobi’s
pioneering translations, for example, were first published
in his two-volume Jaina Stitras (1884 and 1895); these have
recently been reprinted without any revision (1968). An-
other widely read book, Stevenson's Heart of Jainism,
made its initial appearance in 1915; in spite of the clearly
biased conclusions arrived at by its Christian missionary
author, the work has been reprinted unchanged (1970).
1, Renou 1953: 133.
2, See my article "The Jainas and the Western Scholar” (1976a). xii/ Preface
Two excellent German studies—Glasenapp’s Der Jainismus
(1925) and Schubring’s Die Lehre der Jainas (1934, now
available in a 1962 English translation entitled The Doc-
trine of the Jainas)—provide much useful information on
various aspects of the Jaina religion; but these too have
been largely superseded by recent research,
Only a few important studies focusing on Jaina materials
have been published in the postwar era. Most notable
among these are Tatia’s Studies,in Jaina Philosophy (1951)
and Williams’ Jaina Yoga (1963), both of which make orig-
inal contributions to the knowledge of Jainism but deal
with topics mainly suited to the advanced student. There
remains, in other words, a definite need for a work that
can introduce Jainism, not only as a religious tradition, but
as a literary and sociohistorical one as well, to those with
only a general knowledge of India and its major faiths.
The present work is an attempt to fill this need. .
Although doctrinal explanations have been kept as sim-
ple as possible, it has nevertheless been necessary to intro-
duce a number of Sanskrit and Prakrit technical terms.
Each of these is italicized and defined at the point of its
initial appearance in the text; thereafter, the reader is re-
ferred to the Glossary of Sanskrit and Prakrit Words,
wherein short definitions and page references for such
terms are to be found. 1 have included a large amount of
canonical and commentarial material, in the original lan-
guages, among the footnotes. This has been done to par-
tially overcome the difficulty of finding such material in
libraries outside of India. It is hoped that the passages thus
made available will be of benefit to those specialists who
wish to consult them.
It would perhaps have been impossible to write a book
such as this without having had recourseto the great num-
ber of works on Jainism in Indian languages. In addition to
such works, I have depended heavily upon information
supplied by a number of esteemed Indian friends, most of
whom are both scholars and followers of Jainism. Thanks Preface / xiii
are especially due to Brahmac@ri Shri Manikchandra Cha-
ware of the Mahavira Jaina Gurikula, Karanja, who was
most gracious in helping me obtain large numbers of Jaina
books and in providing learned elucidations of several ob-
scure points of Jaina doctrine. 1 am also very grateful to
Messrs. Kantilal D. Kora. Valchand D. Shak, Manikchan-
dra J. Bhisikar, Prem Jain. Shashidhar M. Karnad, Thomas
Peele, and Dr. Saryu Doshi for their assistance in obtain-
ing suitable illustrations.
lish to thank several of my colleagues, at Berkeley and
elsewhere, for their encouragement and helpful criticism
during the early stages of this work: notably, Professors
Frederick Streng. Lewis Lancaster, and Stephen Beyer. I
have also received valuable assistance from Mr. Joseph.
Clack, a graduate student in the Buddhist Studies program,
both in organizing the material and in preparing the text.
Wrhout his enthusiastic cooperation the book would not
have reached its present state.
Finally, 1 would like to thank Shashi, Aravind and Asha
Jaini for their unflagging patience and support throughout
the long period which was devoted to completion of this
work,
P.S.J.
University of California, Berkeley
1°77 2/The Jaina Path of Purification
of a Jina."* The Jinas are “spiritual victors,” human teach-
ers said to have attained kevalajfiana (infinite knowledge)
and to have preached the doctrine of moksa (salvation),
Such figures are also called Tivtharikaras (Builders of the
ford [which leads across the ocean of suffering]).* It is
believed that twenty-four of them appear in each half of 3
time cycle? have done so from beginningless time, at\
will continue to do so forever.
Hence a Jina or Tirtharikara is not the founder of a re-
ligion; he is rather the propagator of a truth and a path
which have been taught in the same manner by all teachers
of his everpresent, imperishable tradition. Each Jina reani-
mates this tradition for the benefit of succeeding genera-
fests mainly upon an appeal to legendary materials; those few sources which «
lend themselves to historical verification might allow us to push the date of
Tainism to the ninth century 8.c., but certainly no further. (For a more detaile
wesion of the evidence available here, see an, 16-19.) In any case, a ts
point the fundamental attitudes characterizing any group ta which the rubric
“non-Vedic" has been applied should be clarified. They are three in number:
election of the scriptural authority of the Vedas, Brahmanas, Upanigads,
Mahabharata, Ramayaya, and Dharmasatras; denial of the efficacy oF £2¢-
‘tice; and refusal to accord any “divine” status to Brahma, Vignu, Siva, or the
Breat avatars depicted in the eighteen traditional Puranas, While ancient india
abounded with various heterodox mendicant sects, only those which displayed
this sort of pronounced antagonism towards brahmanical tradition received the
appellation érarana, For a discussion of the conflict between the sramanas and
brahmanical society, see P.S. Jaini 1970, .
3. In ancient times the epithet Jina was applied by various groups of Sra-
manas to their respective teachers. Mendicant followers of what eventually
became known as the Jaina tradition were originally known az Nigantha (San-
skeit Nirgrantha), meaning “the unattached ones” It was only after other
Sramana sects using the term Jina (e.g., the Ajivikas) either died out or simply
abandoned this term in favor of another (as in the case of the Buddhists) that
the derived form Jaina (Jina-disciple) came to reler exclusively to the Niganthas.
el ¥ around the ninth century, from which time
ions have been found containing the word “vardhatam Jainagasanam
‘hing prosper). See Upadbye 1939, For Buddhist references
to Niganthas, see Malalasekera 1938: Il, 61-65; C.J, Shah 1932: $-7; P.S. Jaini
1976b; and n. 17 below,
4. Early Buddhist texts employ this term (titthiya in Pali} as the general (and
derogatory) label for teachers of non-Buddhist schoole: Jaina hve heweetves
sed it exclusively for the teacher-propagators af theit won fauh. flere the
traditional Jaina definition i
on to fulfill the vole of exalted *
5. Fora description of the: Mahavira and the Foundations of Jainism/3
tions. The teachings are neither received through divine
revelation nor manifested through some inherent magical
power (as, for instance, the Vedas are alleged to be). It is
the individual human soul itself which, aided by the earlier
teachings, comes to know the truth. Strictly speaking,
then, worshipping or following the teachings of a particu-
lar Jina has no special significance; nothing new is taught,
and the path remains always the same. Even so, it is natural
that those teachers who most immediately precede the
present age would be remembered more readily. Thus we
find that the last few Jinas—Nemi, Paréva, and especially
Mahavira, final teacher of the current time cycle—are
often regarded as the teachers and taken as the objects of
a certain veneration. Recent activities in the Jaina com-
munity celebrating the 2,500th anniversary of Mahavira’s
nirvana (Final death) attest to this phenomenon,
Although the scriptures assert time and again that the
Jina is a human being, born of human parents in the usual
way, the Jaina laity is usually raised to regard him more
as a superhuman personage. Certain fantastic attributes
are popularly held to characterize the Jina-to-be. He is
born with a special body, its frame having an adamantine
(vajra) quality; such a body is considered necessary if he
is to withstand the terrible rigors of meditation intense
enough to bring salvation in the present life. As a psychic
corollary to this physical aspect, he possesses supermun-
dane cognition—avadhijfiana—by means of which he may
Perceive objects and events at enormous distances. Simi-
larly, a fixed and rather stylized set of supernatural occur-
rences is said to mark his career. Although he has practiced
the virtues requisite to Jinahood during several previous
lives, he is not spontaneously aware of his impending
attainment in the present one. Hence the gods, appearing
miraculously at the appropriate moment, urge him to
awaken to his real vocation and thus to renounce the
household life. And whereas ordinary men require a guru
for initiation into the spiritual life of a mendicant (muni),
the Jina-to-be needs no teacher or preceptor. He renounces 4/The Jaina Path of Purification
the world on his own, becoming the first monk of a new
order. Upon attainment of Jinahood, he enters the state of
kevalajfiana, from which there can be no falling away. At
this point all normal bodily activities—eating, sleeping,
talking, and so on—come to an end; the Jina sits, abso-
lutely unmoving, in his omniscient state. And yet, as he
sits there, a miraculous sound (divyadhvani) will be heard
emanating from his body. Several ganadharas (supporters
of the order) will then appear. Each will possess the ability
to interpret the divyadhvani and thus to convey the Jina’s
teachings to others, answering accurately all questions per-
taining to his path and doctrine. Finally, at the end of his
life, the Jina sheds his mortal body and ascends to his
permanent resting place at the very apex of the universe.
This, then, is the Jina ordinarily envisioned by the Jaina
layperson, But in the sacred literature of the tradition we
find a picture that conforms much more closely to the
usual image of a saintly human teacher. With reference
to the career of Mahavira, for example, there are numerous
details of his daily life prior to the enlightenment: his fam-
ily, his personality, the travails of the quest. Rainy seasons
spent in different cities, encounters with heretical contem-
poraries, and various discourses to disciples, all following
his attainment of omniscience, are likewise described. On
the basis of such descriptions it is possible to construct a
brief biography of Mahavira, most recent of the historical
Jinas and of greatest importance to the shape of the present
order. This account of the Jaina religion most appropriate-
ly begins with the great saint's life; for in considering what
may at first glance seem the bare facts of an individual
existence, the reader will discover ties with the prehistoric
past, a fantastically complex cosmological system, and the
seeds of controversies that have split the Jaina community
for 2,000 years.
The Digambara and Svetambara Schism
In recounting the story of Mahavira we are actually dealing
with two stories, or rather with divergent narratives each Aescrive a single se
ing versions reflect the positions
