Causes of New Movement

• The Vedic rituals were expensive & the sacrifices prescribed were very complicated & had lost their meaning.
• The caste system had become rigid (both Buddhism & Jainism offered them an honored place).
• Supremacy of Brahmins created unrest.
• All the religious text was in Sanskrit, which was not understandable to the masses.

BUDDHISM

• Buddhism stands for 3 pillars:
• Buddha: Its Founder
• Dhamma: His Teachings
• Sangha: order of Buddhist monks and nuns.

The Buddha

• Also known as Sakyamuni or Tathagata.
• Born in 563 BC on the Vaishakha Poornima Day at Lumbini (near Kapilavasty) in Nepal.
• His father Suddhodana was the saka ruler.
• His mother (Mahamaya, of Kosala dynasty) died after 7 days of his birth. Brought up by stepmother Gautami.

• Married at 16 to Yashodhara. Enjoyed the married life for 13 years and had a son named Rahula.
• After seeing an old man, a sick man, a corpse and an ascetic, he decided to become a wanderer.
• Left his palace at 29 (with Channa, the charioteer and his favourite horse, Kanthaka) in search of truth (also called `Mahabhinishkramana’ or The Great Renunciation) and wandered for 6 years.
• He first mediated with Alara Kalama. But he was not convinced that man could obtain liberation from sorrow by mental discipline and knowledge. His next teacher was Udraka Ramputra. He then joined forces with five ascetics-Kondana, Vappa, Bhadiya, Mahanama and Assagi, who were practicing the most rigorous self-mortification in the hope of wearing away their karma and obtaining final bliss.
• Fox six years he tortured himself until he was nothing but a walking skeleton. But after six years, he felt that his fasts and penance had been useless. So he abandoned these things. The five disciples also left him.
• Attained `nirvana’ or Enlightenment’ at 35 at Gaya in Magadha (Bihar) under the Pipal tree.
• Delivered the first sermon at Sarnath where his five disciples had settled. His first sermon is called `Dharmachakrapravartan’ or `Turning of the Wheel of Law’.
• Attained Mahaparinirvana at Kushinagar (identical with village Kasia in Deoria district of UP) in 483 BC at the age of 80 in the Malla republic.

The Damma
(1) The four Great Truths

• The world is full of sorrow and misery.
• The cause of all pain and misery is desire.
• Pain and misery can be ended by killing or controlling desire.
• Desire can be controlled by following the Eight Fold Path.

(2) The Eight Fold Path

• Consists of: Right Faith, Right Thought, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Efforts, Rights Speech, Right Remembrance and Right Concentration.

(3) Belief in Nirvana

• When desire ceases, rebirth ceases and nirvana is attained i.e. freedom from the cycle of birth, death and rebirth is gained by following the 8-fold path.
• According to Buddha, soul is a myth.

(4) Belief in Ahimsa

One Should Not Cause Injury To Any Living Being, Animal Or Man.

(5) Law of Karma

• Man reaps the fruits of his past deeds.

The Sangha

• Consists of monks (Bhikshus or Shramanas) and nuns.
• Bhikshus acted as a torch bearer of the dhamma.
• Apart form Sangha, the worshippers were called Upasakas.

Buddhist Councils

• The monks gathered 4 times after the death of Buddha and the effect of these events had their effect on Buddhism.
• First Council: At Rajgriha, in 483 BC under the chairman ship of Mehakassaapa (king was Ajatshatru). Divided the teachings of Buddha into two Pitakas – Vinaya Pitaka and Sutta Pitaka. Upali recited the Vinaya Pitaka and Ananda recited the Sutta Pitaka.
• Second Council: At Vaishali, in 383 BC under Sabakami (king was Kalasoka). Followers divided into Sthavirmading and Mahasanghikas.
• Third Council: At Pataliputra, in 250 BC under Mogaliputta Tissa (king was Ashoka). In this, the third part of the Tripitaka was coded in the Pali language.
• Fourth Council: At Kashmir (Kundalvan), in 72 AD under Vasumitra (King was Kanishka). Vice-Chairman was Ashwaghosha). Divided Buddhism into Mahayana and Hinayana sects.

Note:

• In Mahayana, idol worship is there. It became popular in China, Japan, Korea, Afghanistan, Turkey and other SE countries. Hinayana became popular in Magadha and Sri Lanka. It believed in individual salvation and not in idol-worship. Apart from these 2, there is a third vehicle, called `Vajrayana’, which appeared in 8^th century and grew rapidly in Bihar and Bengal. They did not treat meat, fish, wine, etc, as a taboo in dietary habit and freely consumed them.

Buddhist Literature

• In Pali language.
• Buddhist scriptures in Pali are commonly referred to as Triptiakas, i.e. `Threefold Basket’.

Viniya Pitaka 

• Rules of discipline in Buddhist monasteries.

Sutta Pitaka

• Largest, contains collection of Buddha’s sermons.

Abhidhamma Pitaka

• Explanation of the philosophical principles of the Buddhist religion.

Note:

• ¦ Mahavamsa and Deepavamsa are the other Buddhist texts. They provide information about the then Sri Lanka.
• ¦ Jatakas are the tales about the different births of Buddha.

Cause of Decline of Buddhism

• It succumbed to the brahmanic rituals and ceremonies, such as idol worship, etc, which Buddhism had earlier denounced.
• Revival of reformed Hinduism with the preaching of Shankaracharya from ninth century onwards.
• Use of Sanskrit, the language of intellectuals, in place of Pali, the language of the common people.
• Deterioration in the moral standards among the monks living in Buddhist monasteries.
• Entry of women into Buddhist monasteries.
• Attacks of Huna king Mihirkula in the century and the Turkish invaders in the twelfth century AD.

JAINISM

• Founded by Rishabhanath.
• There wee 24 tirthankaras (Prophets or Gurus), all Kshatriyas. First was Rishabhanath (Emblem: Bull). His reference is also in Rigveda. But there is no historical basis for the first 22 Tirthankaras. Only the last two Tirthankaras are historical personalities.
• The 23rd Tirthankar Parshwanath (Emblem: Snake) was the son of King Ashvasena of Banaras. His main teachings were: Non-injury, Non-lying, Non-stealing, Non-possession.
• The 24th and the last Tirthankar was Vardhman Mahavira (Emblem: Lion).

Vardhman Mahavira

• He was born in Kundagram (Distt Muzaffarpur, Bihar) in 599 BC.
• His father Siddhartha was the head of Jnatrika clan. His mother was Trishla, sister of Lichchavi Prince Chetak of Vaishali.
• Mahavira was related to Bimbisara.
• Married to Yashoda, had a daughter named Priyadarsena, whose husband Jamali became his first disciple.
• At 30, after the death of his parents, be became an ascetic.
• In the 13th year of his asceticism (on the 10th of  Vaishakha), outside the town of Jrimbhikgrama, he attained supreme knowledge (kaivalya).
• From now on he was called Jaina or Jitendriya and Mahavira, and his followers were named Jains. He also got the title of Arihant, i.e., worthy.
• At the age of 72, he attained death of Pava, near Patna in 527 BC.
• Mahavira preached almost the same message as Parshvanath and added one more, Brahmacharya (celibacy) to it.
• After the death of Mahavira, during the reign of King Chandragupta Murya, a severe famine led to a great exodus of Jain monks from the Ganga valley to the Deccan, where they established important centers of their faith. This migration led to a great schism in Jainism. Bhadrabhau, who led the emigrants, insisted on the retention of the rule of nudity which Mahavira had established. Sthulabhadra, the leader of the monks who remained in the north, allowed his followers to wear white garments, owing to the hardships and confusions of the famine. Hence arose the two sects of the Jains, the Digambaras (sky-clad, i.e., naked) and the Svetambaras (white-clad).

Teachings of Mahavira

• Rejected the authority of the Vedas and do not attach any importance to the performance of sacrifices.
• He believed that every object, even the smallest particle, possesses a soul and is endowed with consciousness. That is why they observe strict non-violence.
• The Jains reject the concept of a Universal Soul of a Supreme Power as the creator or Sustainer of the universe.
• Jainism does not deny the existence of gods but refuses to give gods any important part in the universe scheme. Gods are placed lower than the Jina.
• Universal brotherhood (non-belief in caste system).

Note:

• In Jainism, three Ratnas (Triratnas) are given and they are called the way to Nirana. They are right Faith, Right knowledge and Right Conduct.

Jain Councils

• First Council: Held at Pataliputra by Sthulabhadra in the beginning of third century BC. It resulted in the compilation of 12 Angas to replace Purvas.
• Second Council: It was held at Vallabhi (Gujarat) in the fifth century AD under the leadership of Devridhigani. It resulted in final compilation of 12 Angas and 12 Upangas.

Other Points

• Jainism reached the highest point in Chandragupta Maurya’s time. In Kalinga, it was greatly patronized by Kharavela in the first century AD.
• Various factors were responsible for the decline of Jainism in India. They took the concept of Ahmisa 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 tress and vegetables and so refrained from harming them. Such practices could not become popular with common man. There was moreover no patronage from the later kings.
• Jain literature is in Ardh-Magadhi and Prakrit dialects.
• Due to the influence of Jainism, many regional languages emerged out, like Sauraseni, out of which grew the Marasthi, Gujarat, Rajasthani and Kannada.