THE JAIN TRADITION (rough notes)

Vardharmana Mahavira (b. 599 B.C.E.)

contemporary of the Buddha

"The Naked Ascetic of the Clan of the Jnatrikas)

24th and last of the Tirthankaras "For Makers"

Son of a chief of an oligarchic tribe north of the Ganges

left home at age 30 to become an ascetic

wandered 12 years

abandoned even clothing to be free of worldly things

worked off karmic burden that weighed down soul

continued path of self mortification

at 42 found full enlightenment

became a kevalin - perfect sour and conquered (jina)

Jainas "followers of the conqueror)

recruits from mercantile class

died by rite of Sallehana 30 years later (voluntary self starvation)

 

schism

Digambara (sky-clad) and Svetambara (white clad)

 

Beliefs

soul is enmeshed in matter

salvation found by freeing soul from matter

to enjoy omniscient self-sufficient bliss for all eternity

sentient and non sentient beings including fire have soul

whole universe is alive -- full of life

a match struck is a soul born that dies again when the match goes out

even maltreatment of water should be avoided

vegetarians

are not farmers - plowing earth causes harm

safest profession trade

monk carries feather duster, covers mouth with veil

 

Cosmology

infinite number of souls

cycles of time

periods of decline and collapse and cosmic nights

we are in fifth of six at present

• 1st - wishing tree grants all needs of humanity -- people spontaneously virtuous and of enormous stature and longevity
• 2nd diminished bliss
• 3rd sin and sorrow appear -- wishing tree withers -- men seek guidance and leadership -- first Tirthankara appears
• 4th 23 Tirthankara appear
• 5th begins with Mahavira's death and will endure 21,000 years at the end of which true religion with disappear
• 6th 21, 000 years in which humans will have a 20 year lifespan and will be a cubit tall. Civilization will disappear, men will live like beasts without heat or fire. Then the cycle will reverse itself and get better.

 

Story of the Man in the Well

 

A traveler was journeying through a dense and wild forest when he encountered a mad elephant which charged him with an upraised trunk. As he turned to flee, a terrible demoness with a naked sword in her hand appeared before him and barred his path. There was a great tree near the track. he ran to it hoping to find safety in its branches but he could find no foothold in its smooth trunk. His only refuge was an old well, covered with grass and weeds, at the foot of the tree, and into this he leapt. As he fell he managed to catch hold of a clump of reeds which grew from the wall, and there he hung, midway between the mouth of the well and its bottom. Looking down, he saw that the bottom did not contain water, but was surrounded by snakes, which hissed at him as he hung above them. In their midst was a mighty python, its mouth agape, waiting to catch him when he fell. Raising his head again, the man saw on the clump of reeds two mice, one white and the other black, busily gnawing away at the roots. Meanwhile the wild elephant ran up to the well and enraged at losing its victim, began charging at the trunk of the tree. Thus he dislodged a honey comb which hung from a branch above the well, and it fell upon the man hanging there so precariously. Angry bees swarmed around his head and tormented him with their stings. But one drop of honey fell on his brow, rolled down his face and reached his lips. Immediately, he forgot his peril and thought of nothing more than of obtaining another drop of honey.