COMPARISON AND CONTRAST BETWEEN jAINISM AND BUDDHISM

COMPARISON AND CONTRAST BETWEEN jAINISM AND BUDDHISM

There is much that is common betWeen Jainism and Bud­dhism. Not only were there marked similarities. in the careers of the founders of these two schools of philosophy, but both of them were contemporary and originated in Magadha; Both possess a common background of' Arya cuIture, ' Certain' common points in their philosophic conte!: are also striking. Both of them reject the authority of tl1 Vedas and the Vedic. priest; both repudiate the efficacy' ( ceremonies and rituals; both bitterly condemn animal sa! rifices; and both ignore God. Jainism even emphaticall denies any supreme deity or creator,' as man is Jus OVtl architect. To both distinctions based on 'birth ,have n meaning; both subscribe to ahimsa ,(non-violence), bot believe in transmigration and both hold that karma exerl a definite impact on the future. Both str.ess ,.on serviq Strangely enough, despite their strong regional orientatio~ both have acconunodated many popular beliefs and supel stitions.

NotWithstanding these close affinities, Jainism and Buddhism differ, at times widely, on certain basic issu~ Jainism glorifies self-mortification whereas Buddhism q sists upon the pursuit of the Middle Path and the avoidan~ of extremes. If Buddhism maintains "that everything lack an ego", "Jainism exhorts that "every object or particle i this world is tenanted by a soul". The concept of deliveranG and nirvana in the two sects are also not identical. The~ are~lso significant differences regarding the importancl role and structure of their respective church organisatioru THE AjIVlKAS