Literature

Literature The Buddhist sacred texts written in Pal collectively known as the Tripitaka (Three Baskets). A ~ gathering of monks met at Rajagriha soon after the Budd death. At this council, Upali, one of the chief discil recited the first part, the Vinaya Patrika, or rules of the OJ as he recalled having heard the Buddha give them. Ano d~sciple, Anan:la, recited the Sutta Patrika, the great cO! tion 'of -ii\e Buddha's sermons on matters of doctrine ethics.

A second general council is said to have been 1 at Vaisali, 100 years after the Buddha's death. Here sch raised its head, ostensibly over small points of mona discipline, and the order broke into two sections, orthodox Sthaviravadins (Theravadi) or "Believers in leaching of the Elders", and the Mahasanghikas or "Meml of. the Great Community". Numerous such differell appeared at the third council, held at Pataliputra under patronage of Asoka, which resulted in the expulsion many heretics and the establishment of the Sthavirav school as orthodox. At this council, it is said that the tl1 and last section was added to the Pali scriptures, Kathavatthu of the Abhidhamma Patrika, dealing with phi sophical principles, psychology and metaphysics. Talking literature, one should not fail to mention the Jataka tales relating to different births of the Buddha.

Teachings : The Buddha

Teachings

The Buddha was a practical reformer. His primary aim was to secure deliverance from the grim reality of sorrow and suffering. So he enunciated the 'Four Noble Truths' (Arya Satya): (i) there is suffering; (ii) this suffering
must have a cause which is desire; (ill) suffering must be . got rid of; (iv) in order to get rid of suffering one must know the right way.

Suffering is caused by desire; therefore, the extinction of desire would lead to the cessation of suffering. Desire could be extinguished if one follows the 'Noble
Eightfold Path' (Astangika Marga): (i) right belief, (ii) right thought, (ill) right speech, (iv) right action, (v) right means of livelihood, (vi) right endeavour, (vii) right recollection, (vill) right meditation. 'fl.Us is the 'great Middle Path', for it avoids the extremes of gross luxury and severe austerity. This Middle Path leads finally to nirvana, which implies not only the extinction of desire, but also the attainment of a perfect state of tranquillity. Emphasis is laid on the obser­vance of the silas (moralities), samadhi (concentration) and prajan (insight).

The Buddha differed from Mahavira in his attitude towards asceticism. He laid great stress on non-injury to living creatures, but in this respect Jainism is far more strict than Buddhism. The Buddha repudiated the authority of the Vedas and denied the spiritual efficacy of Vedic rites and sacrifices, although he accepted the traditional belief in transmigration of the soul and the law of karma. He did not concern himself with the problem of the existence of God, for abstruse metaphysical speculations were, ac( ing to him, quite irrelevant for the development of n moral and spiritual worth. His simple faith was meaIl all, irrespective of sex, age or social position. He introdl the practice of holding religious discourses in the langl of the common-people, and refused to confine spir teachings to Sanskrit, the language of the learned- fe

Death

Death The Buddha told his disciples that when he was gone they were not to look for a new leader-the Dhamma would lead them. They must rely on themselves, be their own lamps, and look for no refuge outside themselves. On the outskirts of Kusinagara (identified with Kasia village in the Deoria district in Eastern Uttar Pradesh), the Buddha lay under a sal tree, and died at the age of 80 (about 487 Be). His last words were: "All composite things decay. Strive diligently." This was his final parinirvana. His sorrowing disciples cremated his body, and hi~ ashes were divided between the representatives of various tibal peoples and King Ajatasatru of Magadha.

Symbols for the events in his life The Buddha's birth is symbolised by the lotus and the bull; his great re­nunciation by the horse; his nirvana by the Bodhi tree; his first sermon by the Dhamma Chakra or Wheel of Law; hi_s parinirvana or death by the stupa.

Enlightenment

Enlightenment One day Siddhartha, now 35 years old, was seated beneath a large pipal tree on the outskirts of Gaya (now Bodh Gaya). He made a solemn vow that, though 'his bones may waste away and his blood dry up, he would not leave his seat until the riddle of suffering was Solved. He withstood fear and the temptations of desire, passion, pleasure, and material power (symbolised by Mara, the devil in Buddhist thought). At the dawn of the 49th day he knew the truth. He had found the secret of sorrow, and understood at last why the world is full of suffering, and what man must do to.overcome them. He was fully enlightened-a Buddha. For another seven weeks he re­mained under the Tree of Wisdom (Bodhivriksha), meditating on the great truth he had found.

For a time he doubted whether he should proclaim his wisdom to the world, as it was so recondite and difficult to express that few would understand it; ultimately, leaving the Tree of Wisdom, he journeyed to the Deer Park (the modern Sarnath) near Varanasi, where his five former disciples had settled to continue their penances, To these five ascetics the Buddha preached his first sermon, or "set in I]\otion the Whe~l qfth~ Law". Soon his nam~ was, well­known throllghout the Ganga plC!.in, al\d the greatest kings of the time favoured him .and his followers. He gathered together, a disciplined body of monks, called bhikshus ('beggar?'), knit together Py tre y~Uow robes of the order and a common discipline.

Buddha returned to Kapilavastu, and converted his- father, wife and son Raflul, and other members of the court, i[l<::luding his cousin IJevadatta, ,.wh.ose _heart, however, remained (ultof jealousy. At the request of his foster-mother and aunt, Krishna-Gautazni, he allowed with much misgiv­ing the formation of a community of nuns. According to legend, he averted a war between the Sakyas and the Koliyas, by walking between the assembled armies and convincing them of the uselessness and evil of bloodshed. He went alone to the camp of the notorious bandit, Angulimal, and converted him and his followers from their evil ways. There is no record, however, of his healing the sick by sup~rnatural means.

Buddhism : Life of Buddha

Life of Buddha About 566 BC, a son was born to Suddhodhana, a chief of the Sakyas (a small clan in the Nepal terai) and his chief queen, Mahamaya. The birth took place in a grove of sal trees at Lumbini (now in Nepal) near the capital of the Sakyas, Kapilavastu. The boy was named Siddhartha, his gotra being Gautama.

Four Signs One day, as he was driving around the royal park with his charioteer Channa, he saw an aged man, in the last stages of infirmity and decrepitude. When he learned that all men must grow old he was troubled in mind. The second sign that was to decide his career came in the form of a very sick man, covered with boils and shivering with fever. The third was even more terrible-­a corpse, being carried to the cremation ground, followed by weeping mourners; But the fourth sign brought hope and consolation-a wandering religious beggar, clad in a simple yellow robe, peaceful and calm.

Renunciation Yasodhara gave birth to his son Rahul, but it gave him no pleasure. That night there were great festivities, but when all were sleeping Siddhartha roused Channa, who saddled his favourite horse Kanthaka, and he rode off into the night. When far from the city he stripped
History of India. 35 ()ff his jewellery and fin~garments, and put on a hermit's robe. The horse Kanthaka is said to have dropped dead from grief. Thus Siddhartha performed his 'Great Going For$' (Mahabhinishkramana) and became a wandering as­cetic; ownil1g .nothing ,but the robe he wore.

At first he begged for his food. as a wanderer, but he soon gave up this life for that o£ a forest hermit. From a sage,.Alana Kalama, he learned the technique of meditation, ilnd ,the lore of Brahman as taught il1 the Upanishads; but he was not convinced that man could obtain liberation from sorrow Py. mental discipline and knowledge. So he joined forces with five ascetics who were .practising the most r~gorous self-mortification in the hope of wearing away their karma and obtaining final bliss. His penances became so severe that the five quickly recognised him as their leader. For si~ years he tortured himself until he was nothing but a walking skeleton. But he realised that his fasts and penances were useless. He again began to beg for~food, and his body regained its strength. The five disciples left him i!1 disgust at what they thought was a step backward.

Spread and, Decline

Spread and, Decline Jainism .spread fu Kalinga infu fourth century ac. Kharavelapatroni5ed.if"inthe ,firs century AD. In.the' period between the Maoryas and 'tht G\lptas, Jainism can be traced from Orissa ih the eastt< Mathura in the west, but in .later times jt was'chief9 ~opcentrated .in tworegions-.-(i} Gttjarat ;and Rajasthan; where ;the Svetambara sect prevailed,. and, (ii) Mysore, where the. Digambaras were dominant. The Ganga vallJainism surviVed in India, whereas Buddhism perished, because the former sect took better care of its layfolk In Jainis1I\, the laym~ was a definite member of the order, encpuragedjto und~rtaJ...Li~ Buddhism, J~.Q1 encouraged the commercial virt,.res of honesty and frugality. The splendid Jaina temples att40unt Abu and SrclVanabelagola are. testimoni~s of the great wealth cind piety of medieval Jaina laymen.
Jainism had np special social doctrines. The,90mestic rites of tl1e laymen, such as. birth, 1I1ilrriilge and de~~ were those of the Hind lIS. At one time, Jainism IIu\intained a cult of stupas like Buddhism, but this has not surviyed, i¥1d in th~ early Christian centuries the Tirthankaras were adored in temples in the form of icons. By the Middle Ages, this worship approximated to that of the Hindus, with offerings of flowers, incense, lamps etc. As with Buddhism, the chief gods of the Hindus found their way into Jaina temples in subordinate positions, and though there was no real com­promise with theism, the sect easily fitted into the Hindu order, its members forming distinct castes.

Various factors were responsible for the decline of Jainism in India, The Jains took the concept of ahimsa too far. They advised that one should not take medicine when one fell sick because the medicine killed germs. They believed that there was life in trees and vegetables and so refrained from harming them. Such practices could not become popular with the common man. There was ~more­over no patronage from later kings. Bimbisara and Ajatasatru helped this religion in many ways but after them nocking of the later dynasties extended help in.. its spread. The observance of extreme penance and austerity could not find favour with the common people. The Jains did not make' any efforts to spread their religion. They remained peaceful and did not compel anyone to embrace their religion.

Literature

'Literature According to tradition, an oralsacredJit tute hal-heeRpassed down from. the ,days. of Mahavirat Bhadrabahu . was the last person to know it perfectly,
his dea~,$thulabhadracalled it great council at Patalipu and the canon' was recoru;truded as best: possible in twE Angas or> sections, which replaced, the fourteen' former te (Purvas). This canonwasaccepted only by the Svetamba: the, Digainbaras claimed that the old canon was hopele:;

lost, and proceeded to devise new .scriptures for themseh some of which are still unpublished. The texts, of ' Svetambara canon were finally settled and reduced
writing at a,coQIldl at Valabhi in Gujarat in the fifth cenft Be. By this time the texts 'had become corrupt'anti one the Angas had been completely lost, while new material,h been added to the original canon in the form- oftwel Upangas, or minor sections, and' various Jesser' works. 'F literatufe is in Ardha-Magadhi.

In the Middle Ages, a great body of non-canonit literature. was written both : in Prakritand-8ansktit. ArnOl the Jain writers the most important! were Bhadrabah Siddhasena, Divakara, .Manibhadl'a, Siddha; Hemachandl Nayachandraand Mallinath. ,The Jainaswrote narratil lHerabIre, kavyas, novelsrdramasand hymns. Jain philoSo phers, elaborated the ,doctrine ofsyadvadaas against the Buddhistsunyavadaiand' attained:special excellence-inlogi Jainscontril>,uted much to grammar; lexicography; poetia mathematics, astranomy; astrology and politicalth6ugh They also contributed to the development. of SOIne.Iegioru languages lik~~Kannada, Tamil; Telugu;Gujarati, Hind Rajasthani . -and Marathi.