All About Buddhism & Jainism PDF

Revised Edition: 2016
ISBN 978-1-280-22724-0
© All rights reserved.
Published by:
College Publishing House
48 West 48 Street, Suite 1116,
New York, NY 10036, United States
Email: info@wtbooks.com
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 - Introduction to Buddhism
Chapter 2 - Gautama Buddha
Chapter 3 - Karma in Buddhism
Chapter 4 - Rebirth
Chapter 5 - Saṃsāra
WT
Chapter 6 - Four Noble Truth & Noble Eightfold Path
Chapter 7 - Introduction to Jainism
Chapter 8 - Anekantavada
Chapter 9 - Karma in Jainism
Chapter 10 - Jain Meditation
Chapter 11 - Jain Cosmology
Chapter 12 - Jain Rituals and Festivals
________________________WORLD TECHNOLOGIES________________________
Chapter 1
Introduction to Buddhism
WT
A statue of Gautama Buddha in Bodhgaya, India. Bodhgaya is traditionally considered
the place of his awakening
Buddhism (Pali/Sanskrit: Buddha Dharma) is a religion and philosophy encompassing a
variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to
Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha (Pāli/Sanskrit "the awakened
one"). The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time
between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE. He is recognized by Buddhists as an awakened or
enlightened teacher who shared his insights to help sentient beings end suffering (or
dukkha), achieve nirvana, and escape what is seen as a cycle of suffering and rebirth.
Two major branches of Buddhism are recognized: Theravada ("The School of the
Elders") and Mahayana ("The Great Vehicle"). Theravada—the oldest surviving
branch—has a widespread following in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, and Mahayana is
found throughout East Asia and includes the traditions of Pure Land, Zen, Nichiren
Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism, Shingon, Tendai and Shinnyo-en. In some classifications
Vajrayana—a subcategory of Mahayana practiced in Tibet and Mongolia—is recognized
as a third branch. While Buddhism remains most popular within Asia, both branches are
WT
now found throughout the world. Estimates of Buddhists worldwide vary significantly
depending on the way Buddhist adherence is defined. Lower estimates are between 350-
500 million. However, when including Chinese religion which has traditionally consisted
of forms of Mahayana Buddhism alongside Chinese folk religion the number would
range from 1—1.6 billion.
Buddhist schools vary on the exact nature of the path to liberation, the importance and
canonicity of various teachings and scriptures, and especially their respective practices.
The foundations of Buddhist tradition and practice are the Three Jewels: the Buddha, the
Dharma (the teachings), and the Sangha (the community). Taking "refuge in the triple
gem" has traditionally been a declaration and commitment to being on the Buddhist path
and in general distinguishes a Buddhist from a non-Buddhist. Other practices may
include following ethical precepts, support of the monastic community, renouncing
conventional living and becoming a monastic, the development of mindfulness and
practice of meditation, cultivation of higher wisdom and discernment, study of scriptures,
devotional practices, ceremonies, and in the Mahayana tradition, invocation of buddhas
and bodhisattvas.
Life of the Buddha
WT
Ascetic Gautama with his five companions, who later comprised the first Sangha. Wall
painting in a Laotian temple
The evidence of the early texts suggests that the Buddha was born in a community that
was on the periphery, both geographically and culturally, of the northeastern Indian
subcontinent in the 5th century BCE. It was either a small republic, in which case his
father was an elected chieftain, or an oligarchy, in which case his father was an oligarch.
This community was not yet likely to have been absorbed into Brahmanical culture (the
tradition that would evolve into Hinduism), and it is even possible that the Buddha's
mother tongue was not Indo-Aryan.
According to the Theravada Tipitaka scriptures (from Pali, meaning "three baskets"), the
Buddha was born in Lumbini, around the year 563 BCE, and raised in Kapilavastu, both
in modern-day Nepal.
According to this narrative, shortly after the birth of young prince Siddhartha Gautama,
an astrologer visited the young prince's father—King Śuddhodana—and prophesied that
Siddhartha would either become a great king or renounce the material world to become a
holy man, depending on whether he saw what life was like outside the palace walls.
Śuddhodana was determined to see his son become a king so he prevented him from
leaving the palace grounds. But at age 29, despite his father's efforts, Siddhartha ventured
beyond the palace several times. In a series of encounters—known in Buddhist literature
as the four sights he learned of the suffering of ordinary people, encountering an old man,
a sick man, a corpse and, finally, an ascetic holy man, apparently content and at peace
with the world. These experiences prompted Gautama to abandon royal life and take up a
spiritual quest.
Gautama first went to study with famous religious teachers of the day, and mastered the
meditative attainments they taught. But he found that they did not provide a permanent
end to suffering, so he continued his quest. He next attempted an extreme asceticism,
which was a religious pursuit common among the Shramanas, a religious culture distinct
from the Vedic one. Gautama underwent prolonged fasting, breath-holding, and exposure
to pain. He almost starved himself to death in the process. He realized that he had taken
this kind of practice to its limit, and had not put an end to suffering. So in a pivotal
moment he accepted milk and rice from a village girl and changed his approach. He
devoted himself to anapanasati meditation, through which he discovered what Buddhists
call the Middle Way (Skt. madhyamā-pratipad): a path of moderation between the
WT
extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification.
Gautama was now determined to complete his spiritual quest. At the age of 35, he
famously sat in meditation under a sacred fig tree — known as the Bodhi tree — in the
town of Bodh Gaya, India, and vowed not to rise before achieving enlightenment. After
many days, he finally destroyed the fetters of his mind, thereby liberating himself from
the cycle of suffering and rebirth, and arose as a fully enlightened being (Skt.
samyaksaṃbuddha). Soon thereafter, he attracted a band of followers and instituted a
monastic order. Now, as the Buddha, he spent the rest of his life teaching the path of
awakening he discovered, traveling throughout the northeastern part of the Indian
subcontinent, and died at the age of 80 (483 BCE) in Kushinagar, India.
The above narrative draws on the early scriptures. However, later texts, such as the
Mahayana Lalitavistara Sutra, give different accounts.
Scholars are hesitant to make unqualified claims about the historical facts of the Buddha's
life. Most accept that he lived, taught and founded a monastic order but do not con-
sistently accept all of the details contained in his biographies. According to author
Michael Carrithers, while there are good reasons to doubt the traditional account, "the
outline of the life must be true: birth, maturity, renunciation, search, awakening and
liberation, teaching, death."
In writing her biography of Buddha, Karen Armstrong noted, "It is obviously difficult,
therefore, to write a biography of the Buddha that will meet modern criteria, because we
have very little information that can be considered historically sound... [but] we can be
reasonably confident Siddhatta Gotama did indeed exist and that his disciples preserved
the memory of his life and teachings as well as they could."
Buddhist concepts
Life and the world
Karma
WT
Traditional Tibetan Buddhist Thanka depicting the "Wheel of Life" with its six realms
Karma (from Sanskrit: "action, work") in Buddhism is the force that drives saṃsāra—the
cycle of suffering and rebirth for each being. Good, skillful deeds (Pāli: "kusala") and
bad, unskillful (Pāli: "akusala") actions produce "seeds" in the mind which come to
fruition either in this life or in a subsequent rebirth. The avoidance of unwholesome
actions and the cultivation of positive actions is called śīla (from Sanskrit: "ethical
conduct").
In Buddhism, karma specifically refers to those actions (of body, speech, and mind) that
spring from mental intent ("cetana"), and which bring about a consequence (or fruit,
"phala") or result ("vipāka"). Every time a person acts there is some quality of intention
at the base of the mind and it is that quality rather than the outward appearance of the
action that determines its effect.
In Theravada Buddhism there can be no divine salvation or forgiveness for one's karma,
since it is a purely impersonal process that is a part of the makeup of the universe. Some
Mahayana traditions hold different views. For example, the texts of certain Mahayana
sutras (such as the Lotus Sutra, the Angulimaliya Sutra and the Nirvana Sutra) claim that
reciting or merely hearing their texts can expunge great swathes of negative karma. Some
forms of Buddhism (for example, Vajrayana) regard the recitation of mantras as a means
for cutting off previous negative karma. The Japanese Pure Land teacher Genshin taught
that Amida Buddha has the power to destroy the karma that would otherwise bind one in
saṃsāra.
Rebirth
WT
Two Tibetan Buddhist monks in traditional clothing
Rebirth refers to a process whereby beings go through a succession of lifetimes as one of

many possible forms of sentient life, each running from conception to death. Buddhism
rejects the concepts of a permanent self or an unchanging, eternal soul, as it is called in
Hinduism and Christianity. According to Buddhism there ultimately is no such thing as
a self independent from the rest of the universe (the doctrine of anatta). Rebirth in
subsequent existences must be understood as the continuation of a dynamic, ever-
changing process of "dependent arising" ("pratītyasamutpāda") determined by the laws of
cause and effect (karma) rather than that of one being, transmigrating or incarnating from
one existence to the next.
Each rebirth takes place within one of five realms according to Theravadins, or six
according to other schools. These are further subdivided into 31 planes of existence:
1. Naraka beings: those who live in one of many Narakas (Hells)

2. Preta: sometimes sharing some space with humans, but invisible to most people;
an important variety is the hungry ghost
3. Animals: sharing space with humans, but considered another type of life
4. Human beings: one of the realms of rebirth in which attaining Nirvana is possible
5. Asuras: variously translated as lowly deities, demons, titans, antigods; not
recognized by Theravāda (Mahavihara) tradition as a separate realm
6. Devas including Brahmas: variously translated as gods, deities, spirits, angels, or
left untranslated
WT
Rebirths in some of the higher heavens, known as the Śuddhāvāsa Worlds (Pure Abodes),
can be attained only by skilled Buddhist practitioners known as anāgāmis (non-returners).
Rebirths in the arupa-dhatu (formless realms) can be attained only by those who can
meditate on the arūpajhānas, the highest object of meditation.
According to East Asian and Tibetan Buddhism, there is an intermediate state (Tibetan
"Bardo") between one life and the next. The orthodox Theravada position rejects this;
however there are passages in the Samyutta Nikaya of the Pali Canon (the collection of
texts on which the Theravada tradition is based), that seem to lend support to the idea that
the Buddha taught of an intermediate stage between one life and the next.
Saṃsāra
Sentient beings crave pleasure and are averse to pain from birth to death. In being
controlled by these attitudes, they perpetuate the cycle of conditioned existence and
suffering (saṃsāra), and produce the causes and conditions of the next rebirth after death.
Each rebirth repeats this process in an involuntary cycle, which Buddhists strive to end
by eradicating these causes and conditions, applying the methods laid out by the Buddha
and subsequent Buddhists.
Suffering's causes and solution
The Four Noble Truths
WT
Polish Buddhists
According to the Pali Tipitaka and the Āgamas of other early Buddhist schools, the Four
Noble Truths were the first teaching of Gautama Buddha after attaining Nirvana. They
are sometimes considered to contain the essence of the Buddha's teachings:
1. Life as we know it ultimately is or leads to suffering/uneasiness (dukkha) in one

way or another.
2. Suffering is caused by craving. This is often expressed as a deluded clinging to a
certain sense of existence, to selfhood, or to the things or phenomena that we
consider the cause of happiness or unhappiness. Craving also has its negative
aspect, i.e. one craves that a certain state of affairs not exist.
3. Suffering ends when craving ends. This is achieved by eliminating delusion,
thereby reaching a liberated state of Enlightenment (bodhi);
4. Reaching this liberated state is achieved by following the path laid out by the
Buddha.
This method is described by early Western scholars, and taught as an introduction to

Buddhism by some contemporary Mahayana teachers (for example, the Dalai Lama).
According to other interpretations by Buddhist teachers and scholars, lately recognized

by some Western non-Buddhist scholars, the "truths" do not represent mere statements,
but are categories or aspects that most worldly phenomena fall into, grouped in two:
WT
1. Suffering and causes of suffering
2. Cessation and the paths towards liberation from suffering.
Thus, according to the Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism they are
1. "The noble truth that is suffering"

2. "The noble truth that is the arising of suffering"
3. "The noble truth that is the end of suffering"
4. "The noble truth that is the way leading to the end of suffering"
The traditional Theravada understanding is that the Four Noble Truths are an advanced
teaching for those who are ready for them. The East Asian Mahayana position is that they
are a preliminary teaching for people not yet ready for the higher and more expansive
Mahayana teachings.
The Noble Eightfold Path
WT The Dharmachakra represents the Noble Eightfold Path.
The Noble Eightfold Path—the fourth of the Buddha's Noble Truths—is the way to the
cessation of suffering (dukkha). It has eight sections, each starting with the word
"samyak" (Sanskrit, meaning "correctly", "properly", or "well", frequently translated into
English as "right"), and presented in three groups known as the three higher trainings.
(NB: Pāli transliterations appear in brackets after Sanskrit ones):
• Prajñā is the wisdom that purifies the mind, allowing it to attain spiritual insight
into the true nature of all things. It includes:
1. dṛṣṭi (ditthi): viewing reality as it is, not just as it appears to be.

2. saṃkalpa (sankappa): intention of renunciation, freedom and harmlessness.
• Śīla is the ethics or morality, or abstention from unwholesome deeds. It includes:
3. vāc (vāca): speaking in a truthful and non-hurtful way

4. karman (kammanta): acting in a non-harmful way
5. ājīvana (ājīva): a non-harmful livelihood
• Samādhi is the mental discipline required to develop mastery over one's own
mind. This is done through the practice of various contemplative and meditative
practices, and includes:
6. vyāyāma (vāyāma): making an effort to improve

7. smṛti (sati): awareness to see things for what they are with clear consciousness,
being aware of the present reality within oneself, without any craving or aversion
8. samādhi (samādhi): correct meditation or concentration, explained as the first four
WT
jhānas
The practice of the Eightfold Path is understood in two ways, as requiring either
simultaneous development (all eight items practiced in parallel), or as a progressive series
of stages through which the practitioner moves, the culmination of one leading to the
beginning of another.
The Middle Way
An important guiding principle of Buddhist practice is the Middle Way (or Middle Path),
which is said to have been discovered by Gautama Buddha prior to his enlightenment.
The Middle Way has several definitions:
1. The practice of non-extremism: a path of moderation away from the extremes of

self-indulgence and self-mortification
2. The middle ground between certain metaphysical views (for example, that things
ultimately either do or do not exist)
3. An explanation of Nirvana (perfect enlightenment), a state wherein it becomes
clear that all dualities apparent in the world are delusory
4. Another term for emptiness, the ultimate nature of all phenomena (in the
Mahayana branch), a lack of inherent existence, which avoids the extremes of
permanence and nihilism or inherent existence and nothingness
Nature of existence
WT
Debating monks at Sera Monastery, Tibet
Buddhist scholars have produced a remarkable quantity of intellectual theories, phil-

osophies and world view concepts (see, for example, Abhidharma, Buddhist philosophy
and Reality in Buddhism). Some schools of Buddhism discourage doctrinal study, and
some regard it as essential, but most regard it as having a place, at least for some persons
at some stages in Buddhist practice.
In the earliest Buddhist teachings, shared to some extent by all extant schools, the
concept of liberation (Nirvana)—the goal of the Buddhist path—is closely related to the
correct understanding of how the mind causes stress. In awakening to the true nature of
clinging, one develops dispassion for the objects of clinging, and is liberated from
suffering (dukkha) and the cycle of incessant rebirths (saṃsāra). To this end, the Buddha
recommended viewing things as characterized by the three marks of existence.
Three Marks of Existence
The Three Marks of Existence are impermanence, suffering, and not-self.
Impermanence (Pāli: anicca) expresses the Buddhist notion that all compounded or
conditioned phenomena (all things and experiences) are inconstant, unsteady, and
impermanent. Everything we can experience through our senses is made up of parts, and
its existence is dependent on external conditions. Everything is in constant flux, and so
conditions and the thing itself are constantly changing. Things are constantly coming into
being, and ceasing to be. Since nothing lasts, there is no inherent or fixed nature to any
WT
object or experience. According to the doctrine of impermanence, life embodies this flux
in the aging process, the cycle of rebirth (saṃsāra), and in any experience of loss. The
doctrine asserts that because things are impermanent, attachment to them is futile and
leads to suffering (dukkha).
Suffering is also a central concept in Buddhism. The word roughly corresponds to a

number of terms in English including suffering, pain, unsatisfactoriness, sorrow,
affliction, anxiety, dissatisfaction, discomfort, anguish, stress, misery, and frustration.
Although the term is often translated as "suffering", its philosophical meaning is more
analogous to "disquietude" as in the condition of being disturbed. As such, "suffering" is
too narrow a translation with "negative emotional connotations" which can give the
impression that the Buddhist view is one of pessimism, but Buddhism seeks to be neither
pessimistic nor optimistic, but realistic. In English-language Buddhist literature translated
from Pāli, "dukkha" is often left untranslated, so as to encompass its full range of
meaning.
Not-self (Pāli: anatta; Sanskrit: anātman) is the third mark of existence. Upon careful
examination, one finds that no phenomenon is really "I" or "mine"; these concepts are in
fact constructed by the mind. In the Nikayas anatta is not meant as a metaphysical
assertion, but as an approach for gaining release from suffering. In fact, the Buddha
rejected both of the metaphysical assertions "I have a Self" and "I have no Self" as
ontological views that bind one to suffering. When asked if the self was identical with the
body, the Buddha refused to answer. By analyzing the constantly changing physical and
mental constituents (skandhas) of a person or object, the practitioner comes to the
conclusion that neither the respective parts nor the person as a whole comprise a self.
Dependent arising
The doctrine of pratītyasamutpāda (Sanskrit; Pali: paticcasamuppāda; Tibetan:

rten.cing.'brel.bar.'byung.ba; Chinese: 緣起) is an important part of Buddhist meta-
physics. It states that phenomena arise together in a mutually interdependent web of
cause and effect. It is variously rendered into English as "dependent origination",
"conditioned genesis", "dependent co-arising", "interdependent arising", or "cont-
ingency".
The best-known application of the concept of pratītyasamutpāda is the scheme of Twelve

Nidānas (from Pāli "nidāna" meaning "cause, foundation, source or origin"), which
explain the continuation of the cycle of suffering and rebirth (saṃsāra) in detail.
The Twelve Nidānas describe a causal connection between the subsequent characteristics
or conditions of cyclic existence, each one giving rise to the next:
1. Avidyā: ignorance, specifically spiritual ignorance of the nature of reality

2. Saṃskāras: literally formations, explained as referring to karma
3. Vijñāna: consciousness, specifically discriminative
4. Nāmarūpa: literally name and form, referring to mind and body
WT
5. Ṣaḍāyatana: the six sense bases: eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind-organ
6. Sparśa: variously translated contact, impression, stimulation (by a sense object)
7. Vedanā: usually translated feeling: this is the "hedonic tone", i.e. whether
something is pleasant, unpleasant or neutral
8. Tṛṣṇā: literally thirst, but in Buddhism nearly always used to mean craving
9. Upādāna: clinging or grasping; the word also means fuel, which feeds the
continuing cycle of rebirth
10. Bhava: literally being (existence) or becoming. (The Theravada explains this as
having two meanings: karma, which produces a new existence, and the existence
itself.)
11. Jāti: literally birth, but life is understood as starting at conception
12. Jarāmaraṇa: (old age and death) and also śokaparidevaduḥkhadaurmanasyopāyāsa
(sorrow, lamentation, pain, sadness, and misery)
Sentient beings always suffer throughout saṃsāra, until they free themselves from this
suffering by attaining Nirvana. Then the absence of the first Nidāna—ignorance—leads
to the absence of the others.
Emptiness
WT
A monk in the Jade Buddha Temple, Shanghai, China
Mahayana Buddhism received significant theoretical grounding from Nagarjuna (perhaps

c. 150–250 CE), arguably the most influential scholar within the Mahayana tradition.
Nagarjuna's primary contribution to Buddhist philosophy was the systematic exposition
of the concept of śūnyatā, or "emptiness", widely attested in the Prajñāpāramitā sutras
which were emergent in his era. The concept of emptiness brings together other key
Buddhist doctrines, particularly anatta and pratītyasamutpāda (dependent origination), to
refute the metaphysics of Sarvastivada and Sautrantika (extinct non-Mahayana schools).
For Nagarjuna, it is not merely sentient beings that are empty of ātman; all phenomena
(dharmas) are without any svabhava (literally "own-nature" or "self-nature"), and thus
without any underlying essence; they are "empty" of being independent; thus the
heterodox theories of svabhava circulating at the time were refuted on the basis of the
doctrines of early Buddhism. Nagarjuna's school of thought is known as the
Mādhyamaka. Some of the writings attributed to Nagarjuna made explicit references to
Mahayana texts, but his philosophy was argued within the parameters set out by the
agamas. He may have arrived at his positions from a desire to achieve a consistent
exegesis of the Buddha's doctrine as recorded in the Canon. In the eyes of Nagarjuna the
Buddha was not merely a forerunner, but the very founder of the Mādhyamaka system.
Sarvastivada teachings—which were criticized by Nāgārjuna—were reformulated by

scholars such as Vasubandhu and Asanga and were adapted into the Yogacara (Sanskrit:
yoga practice) school. While the Mādhyamaka school held that asserting the existence or
non-existence of any ultimately real thing was inappropriate, some exponents of
Yogacara asserted that the mind and only the mind is ultimately real (a doctrine known as
cittamatra). Not all Yogacarins asserted that mind was truly existent; Vasubandhu and
WT
Asanga in particular did not. These two schools of thought, in opposition or synthesis,
form the basis of subsequent Mahayana metaphysics in the Indo-Tibetan tradition.
Besides emptiness, Mahayana schools often place emphasis on the notions of perfected
spiritual insight (prajñāpāramitā) and Buddha-nature (tathāgatagarbha, meaning "Buddha
embryo" or "Buddha-matrix"). According to the Tathāgatagarbha Sutras, the Buddha
revealed the reality of the deathless Buddha-nature, which is said to be inherent in all
sentient beings and enables them all eventually to reach complete enlightenment, i.e.
Buddhahood. Buddha-nature is stated in the Mahayana Angulimaliya Sutra and
Mahaparinirvana Sutra to not be śūnya, but to be replete with eternal Buddhic virtues. In
the Tathāgatagarbha Sutras the Buddha is portrayed proclaiming that the teaching of the
tathāgatagarbha constitutes the "absolutely final culmination" of his Dharma—the highest
presentation of truth (other sūtras make similar statements about other teachings) and it
has traditionally been regarded as the highest teaching in East Asian Buddhism.
However, in modern China all doctrines are regarded as equally valid. The Mahayana can
also on occasion communicate a vision of the Buddha or Dharma which amounts to
mysticism and gives expression to a form of mentalist panentheism.
Liberation
WT
Mahabodhi temple in Bodhgaya, India, where Gautama Buddha attained Nirvana under
the Bodhi Tree (left)
Nirvana
Nirvana (Sanskrit; Pali: "Nibbana") means "cessation", "extinction" (of craving and
ignorance and therefore suffering and the cycle of involuntary rebirths (saṃsāra),
"extinguished", "quieted", "calmed"; it is also known as "Awakening" or "Enli-
ghtenment" in the West. The term for anybody who has achieved nirvana, including the
Buddha, is arahant.
Bodhi is a term applied to the experience of Awakening of arahants. Bodhi literally
means "awakening", but it is more commonly translated into English as "enlightenment".
In Early Buddhism, bodhi carried a meaning synonymous to nirvana, using only some
different metaphors to describe the experience, which implies the extinction of
raga (greed, craving), dosa (hate, aversion) and moha (delusion). In the later school of
Mahayana Buddhism, the status of nirvana was downgraded in some scriptures, coming
to refer only to the extinction of greed and hate, implying that delusion was still present
in one who attained nirvana, and that one needed to attain bodhi to eradicate delusion:
An important development in the Mahayana [was] that it came to separate nirvana from
bodhi ('awakening' to the truth, Enlightenment), and to put a lower value on the former
(Gombrich, 1992d). Originally nirvana and bodhi refer to the same thing; they merely use
different metaphors for the experience. But the Mahayana tradition separated them and
considered that nirvana referred only to the extinction of craving (passion and hatred),
with the resultant escape from the cycle of rebirth. This interpretation ignores the third
WT
fire, delusion: the extinction of delusion is of course in the early texts identical with what
can be positively expressed as gnosis, Enlightenment.
—Richard F. Gombrich, How Buddhism Began
Therefore, according to Mahayana Buddhism, the arahant has attained only nirvana, thus
still being subject to delusion, while the bodhisattva not only achieves nirvana but full
liberation from delusion as well. He thus attains bodhi and becomes a buddha. In
Theravada Buddhism, bodhi and nirvana carry the same meaning as in the early texts,
that of being freed from greed, hate and delusion.
The term parinirvana is also encountered in Buddhism, and this generally refers to the
complete nirvana attained by the arhat at the moment of death, when the physical body
expires.
Buddhas
WT
Gautama Buddha, 1st century CE, Gandhara
Theravada
In Theravada doctrine, a person may awaken from the "sleep of ignorance" by directly
realizing the true nature of reality; such people are called arahants and occasionally
buddhas. After numerous lifetimes of spiritual striving, they have reached the end of the
cycle of rebirth, no longer reincarnating as human, animal, ghost, or other being. The
commentaries to the Pali Canon classify these awakened beings into three types:
• Sammasambuddha, usually just called Buddha, who discovers the truth by himself
and teaches the path to awakening to others
• Paccekabuddha, who discovers the truth by himself but lacks the skill to teach
others
• Savakabuddha, who receive the truth directly or indirectly from a Samm-
asambuddha
Bodhi and nirvana carry the same meaning, that of being freed from craving, hate, and
delusion. In attaining bodhi, the arahant has overcome these obstacles. As a further
distinction, the extinction of only hatred and greed (in the sensory context) with some
residue of delusion, is called anagami.
Mahayana
WTThe Great Statue of Buddha Amitabha in Kamakura, Japan
In the Mahayana, the Buddha tends not to be viewed as merely human, but as the earthly
projection of a beginningless and endless, omnipresent being beyond the range and reach
of thought. Moreover, in certain Mahayana sutras, the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha are
viewed essentially as One: all three are seen as the eternal Buddha himself.
Celestial Buddhas are individuals who no longer exist on the material plane of existence,
but who still aid in the enlightenment of all beings.
Nirvana came to refer only to the extinction of greed and hate, implying that delusion was
still present in one who attained Nirvana. Bodhi became a higher attainment that
eradicates delusion entirely. Thus, the Arahant attains Nirvana but not Bodhi, thus still
being subject to delusion, while the Buddha attains Bodhi.
The method of self-exertion or "self-power"—without reliance on an external force or

being—stands in contrast to another major form of Buddhism, Pure Land, which is
characterised by utmost trust in the salvific "other-power" of Amitabha Buddha. Pure
Land Buddhism is a very widespread and perhaps the most faith-orientated manifestation
of Buddhism and centres upon the conviction that faith in Amitabha Buddha and the
chanting of homage to his name will liberate one at death into the "happy land" (安樂) or
"pure land" (淨土) of Amitabha Buddha. This Buddhic realm is variously construed as a
foretaste of Nirvana, or as essentially Nirvana itself. The great vow of Amitabha Buddha
to rescue all beings from samsaric suffering is viewed within Pure Land Buddhism as
universally efficacious, if only one has faith in the power of that vow or chants his name.
Buddha eras
Buddhists believe Gautama Buddha was the first to achieve enlightenment in this Buddha
era and is therefore credited with the establishment of Buddhism. A Buddha era is the
stretch of history during which people remember and practice the teachings of the earliest
known Buddha. This Buddha era will end when all the knowledge, evidence and
teachings of Gautama Buddha have vanished. This belief therefore maintains that many
Buddha eras have started and ended throughout the course of human existence. The
Gautama Buddha, then, is the Buddha of this era, who taught directly or indirectly to all
other Buddhas in it.
WT
In addition, Mahayana Buddhists believe there are innumerable other Buddhas in other
universes. A Theravada commentary says that Buddhas arise one at a time in this world
element, and not at all in others. The understandings of this matter reflect widely
differing interpretations of basic terms, such as "world realm", between the various
schools of Buddhism.
The idea of the decline and gradual disappearance of the teaching has been influential in
East Asian Buddhism. Pure Land Buddhism holds that it has declined to the point where
few are capable of following the path, so it may be best to rely on the power of the
Amitabha Buddha.
Bodhisattvas
Bodhisattva means "enlightenment being", and generally refers to one who is on the
path to buddhahood, typically as a fully enlightened buddha (Skt. samyaksaṃbuddha).
Theravada Buddhism primarily uses the term in relation to Gautama Buddha's previous
existences, but has traditionally acknowledged and respected the bodhisattva path as well.
Mahāyāna Buddhism is based principally upon the path of a bodhisattva. According to

Jan Nattier, the term Mahāyāna ("Great Vehicle") was originally even an honorary
synonym for Bodhisattvayāna, or the "Bodhisattva Vehicle." The Aṣṭasāhasrikā Pra-
jñāpāramitā Sūtra, an early and important Mahāyāna text, contains a simple and brief
definition for the term bodhisattva, and this definition is the following:
Because he has enlightenment as his aim, a bodhisattva-mahāsattva is so called.
Mahāyāna Buddhism encourages everyone to become bodhisattvas and to take the

bodhisattva vows. With these vows, one makes the promise to work for the complete
enlightenment of all beings by practicing six perfections (Skt. pāramitā). According to
the Mahāyāna teachings, these perfections are: giving, discipline, forbearance, effort,
meditation, and transcendent wisdom.
Practice
Devotion
Devotion is an important part of the practice of most Buddhists. Devotional practices

include bowing, offerings, pilgrimage, and chanting. In Pure Land Buddhism, devotion to
the Buddha Amitabha is the main practice. In Nichiren Buddhism, devotion to the Lotus
Sutra is the main practice.
Yoga
WT
Amitābha Buddha meditating, sitting in the lotus position. Borobodur, Java, Indonesia.
Buddhism traditionally incorporates states of meditative absorption (Pali: jhāna; Skt:
dhyāna). The most ancient sustained expression of yogic ideas is found in the early
sermons of the Buddha. One key innovative teaching of the Buddha was that meditative
absorption must be combined with liberating cognition. The difference between the
Buddha's teaching and the yoga presented in early Brahminic texts is striking. Meditative
states alone are not an end, for according to the Buddha, even the highest meditative state
is not liberating. Instead of attaining a complete cessation of thought, some sort of mental
activity must take place: a liberating cognition, based on the practice of mindful
awareness.
Meditation was an aspect of the practice of the yogis in the centuries preceding the
Buddha. The Buddha built upon the yogis' concern with introspection and developed their
meditative techniques, but rejected their theories of liberation. In Buddhism, mindfulness
and clear awareness are to be developed at all times, in pre-Buddhist yogic practices there
is no such injunction. A yogi in the Brahmanical tradition is not to practice while
WT
defecating, for example, while a Buddhist monastic should do so.
Another new teaching of the Buddha was that meditative absorption must be combined
with a liberating cognition.
Religious knowledge or "vision" was indicated as a result of practice both within and
outside of the Buddhist fold. According to the Samaññaphala Sutta this sort of vision
arose for the Buddhist adept as a result of the perfection of "meditation" (Skt. dhyāna)
coupled with the perfection of "discipline" (Skt. śīla). Some of the Buddha's meditative
techniques were shared with other traditions of his day, but the idea that ethics are
causally related to the attainment of "transcendent wisdom" (Skt. prajñā) was original.
The Buddhist texts are probably the earliest describing meditation techniques. They
describe meditative practices and states which had existed before the Buddha as well as
those which were first developed within Buddhism. Two Upanishads written after the rise
of Buddhism do contain full-fledged descriptions of yoga as a means to liberation.
While there is no convincing evidence for meditation in pre-Buddhist early Brahminic

texts, Wynne argues that formless meditation originated in the Brahminic or Shramanic
tradition, based on strong parallels between Upanishadic cosmological statements and the
meditative goals of the two teachers of the Buddha as recorded in the early Buddhist
texts. He mentions less likely possibilities as well. Having argued that the cosmological
statements in the Upanishads also reflect a contemplative tradition, he argues that the
Nasadiya Sukta contains evidence for a contemplative tradition, even as early as the late
Rg Vedic period.
Refuge in the Three Jewels
WT
Footprint of the Buddha with Dharmachakra and triratna, 1st century CE, Gandhāra
Traditionally, the first step in most Buddhist schools requires taking refuge in the Three
Jewels (Sanskrit: tri-ratna, Pāli: ti-ratana) as the foundation of one's religious practice.
The practice of taking refuge on behalf of young or even unborn children is mentioned in
the Majjhima Nikaya, recognized by most scholars as an early text (cf. Infant baptism).
Tibetan Buddhism sometimes adds a fourth refuge, in the lama. In Mahayana, the person
who chooses the bodhisattva path makes a vow or pledge, considered the ultimate
expression of compassion. In Mahayana, too, the Three Jewels are perceived as possessed
of an eternal and unchanging essence and as having an irreversible effect: "The Three
Jewels have the quality of excellence. Just as real jewels never change their faculty and
goodness, whether praised or reviled, so are the Three Jewels (Refuges), because they
have an eternal and immutable essence. These Three Jewels bring a fruition that is
changeless, for once one has reached Buddhahood, there is no possibility of falling back
to suffering."
The Three Jewels are:
• The Buddha. This is a title for those who have attained Nirvana. The Buddha
could also be represented as a concept instead of a specific person: the perfect
wisdom that understands Dharma and sees reality in its true form. In Mahayana
Buddhism, the Buddha can be viewed as the supreme Refuge: "Buddha is the
Unique Absolute Refuge. Buddha is the Imperishable, Eternal, Indestructible and
Absolute Refuge."
• The Dharma. The teachings or law of nature as expounded by the Gautama
Buddha. It can also, especially in Mahayana, connote the ultimate and sustaining
WT
Reality which is inseparable from the Buddha. Further, from some Mahayana
perspectives, the Dharma embodied in the form of a great sutra (Buddhic
scripture) can replace the need for a personal teacher and can be a direct and
spontaneous gateway into Truth (Dharma). This is especially said to be the case
with the Lotus Sutra. Dr. Hiroshi Kanno writes of this view of the Lotus Sutra: "it
is a Dharma-gate of sudden enlightenment proper to the Great Vehicle; it is a
Dharma-gate whereby one awakens spontaneously, without resorting to a
teacher".
• The Sangha. Those who have attained to any of the Four stages of enlightenment,
or simply the congregation of monastic practitioners.
According to the scriptures, Gautama Buddha presented himself as a model. The Dharma
offers a refuge by providing guidelines for the alleviation of suffering and the attainment
of Nirvana. The Sangha is considered to provide a refuge by preserving the authentic
teachings of the Buddha and providing further examples that the truth of the Buddha's
teachings is attainable.
Buddhist ethics
WT Japanese Mahayana Buddhist monk
Śīla (Sanskrit) or sīla (Pāli) is usually translated into English as "virtuous behavior",
"morality", "ethics" or "precept". It is an action committed through the body, speech, or
mind, and involves an intentional effort. It is one of the three practices (sila, samadhi,
and panya) and the second pāramitā. It refers to moral purity of thought, word, and deed.
The four conditions of śīla are chastity, calmness, quiet, and extinguishment.
Śīla is the foundation of Samadhi/Bhāvana (Meditative cultivation) or mind cultivation.

Keeping the precepts promotes not only the peace of mind of the cultivator, which is
internal, but also peace in the community, which is external. According to the Law of
Karma, keeping the precepts are meritorious and it acts as causes which would bring
about peaceful and happy effects. Keeping these precepts keeps the cultivator from
rebirth in the four woeful realms of existence.
Śīla refers to overall principles of ethical behavior. There are several levels of sila, which
correspond to "basic morality" (five precepts), "basic morality with asceticism" (eight
precepts), "novice monkhood" (ten precepts) and "monkhood" (Vinaya or Patimokkha).
Lay people generally undertake to live by the five precepts, which are common to all
Buddhist schools. If they wish, they can choose to undertake the eight precepts, which
add basic asceticism.
The five precepts are training rules in order to live a better life in which one is happy,
without worries, and can meditate well:
1. To refrain from taking life (non-violence towards sentient life forms), or ahimsā
2. To refrain from taking that which is not given (not committing theft)
3. To refrain from sensual (including sexual) misconduct
4. To refrain from lying (speaking truth always)
5. To refrain from intoxicants which lead to loss of mindfulness (specifically, drugs
and alcohol)
WT
The precepts are not formulated as imperatives, but as training rules that laypeople
undertake voluntarily to facilitate practice. In Buddhist thought, the cultivation of dana
and ethical conduct will themselves refine consciousness to such a level that rebirth in
one of the lower heavens is likely, even if there is no further Buddhist practice. There is
nothing improper or un-Buddhist about limiting one's aims to this level of attainment.
In the eight precepts, the third precept on sexual misconduct is made more strict, and
becomes a precept of celibacy. The three additional precepts are:
6. To refrain from eating at the wrong time (only eat from sunrise to noon)
7. To refrain from dancing and playing music, wearing jewelry and cosmetics,
attending shows and other performances
8. To refrain from using high or luxurious seats and bedding
The complete list of ten precepts may be observed by laypeople for short periods. For the
complete list, the seventh precept is partitioned into two, and a tenth added:
6. To refrain from taking food at an unseasonable time, that is after the mid-day
meal
7. To refrain from dancing, music, singing and unseemly shows
8. To refrain from the use of garlands, perfumes, ointments, and from things that
tend to beautify and adorn (the person)
9. To refrain from (using) high and luxurious seats (and beds)
10. To refrain from accepting gold and silver
Monastic life
Vinaya is the specific moral code for monks and nuns. It includes the Patimokkha, a set
of 227 rules for monks in the Theravadin recension. The precise content of the
vinayapitaka (scriptures on Vinaya) differ slightly according to different schools, and
different schools or subschools set different standards for the degree of adherence to
Vinaya. Novice-monks use the ten precepts, which are the basic precepts for monastics.
Regarding the monastic rules, the Buddha constantly reminds his hearers that it is the
spirit that counts. On the other hand, the rules themselves are designed to assure a
satisfying life, and provide a perfect springboard for the higher attainments. Monastics
are instructed by the Buddha to live as "islands unto themselves". In this sense, living life
as the vinaya prescribes it is, as one scholar puts it: "more than merely a means to an end:
it is very nearly the end in itself."
In Eastern Buddhism, there is also a distinctive Vinaya and ethics contained within the
Mahayana Brahmajala Sutra (not to be confused with the Pali text of that name) for
Bodhisattvas, where, for example, the eating of meat is frowned upon and vegetarianism
is actively encouraged. In Japan, this has almost completely displaced the monastic
vinaya, and allows clergy to marry.
WT
Meditation
Buddhist monks praying in Thailand
Buddhist meditation is fundamentally concerned with two themes: transforming the mind
and using it to explore itself and other phenomena. According to Theravada Buddhism
the Buddha taught two types of meditation, samatha meditation (Sanskrit: śamatha) and
vipassanā meditation (Sanskrit: vipaśyanā). In Chinese Buddhism, these exist (translated
chih kuan), but Chan (Zen) meditation is more popular. According to Peter Harvey,
whenever Buddhism has been healthy, not only monks, nuns, and married lamas, but also
more committed lay people have practiced meditation. According to Routledge's
Encyclopedia of Buddhism, in contrast, throughout most of Buddhist history before
modern times, serious meditation by lay people has been unusual. The evidence of the
early texts suggests that at the time of the Buddha, many male and female lay
practitioners did practice meditation, some even to the point of proficiency in all eight
jhānas.
Samādhi (meditative cultivation): samatha meditation
WT
In the language of the Noble Eightfold Path, samyaksamādhi is "right concentration". The
primary means of cultivating samādhi is meditation. Upon development of samādhi,
one's mind becomes purified of defilement, calm, tranquil, and luminous.
Once the meditator achieves a strong and powerful concentration, his mind is ready to
penetrate and gain insight (vipassanā) into the ultimate nature of reality, eventually
obtaining release from all suffering. The cultivation of mindfulness is essential to mental
concentration, which is needed to achieve insight.
Samatha meditation starts from being mindful of an object or idea, which is expanded to
one's body, mind and entire surroundings, leading to a state of total concentration and
tranquility (jhāna) There are many variations in the style of meditation, from sitting
cross-legged or kneeling to chanting or walking. The most common method of meditation
is to concentrate on one's breath (anapanasati), because this practice can lead to both
samatha and vipassana'.
In Buddhist practice, it is said that while samatha meditation can calm the mind, only
vipassanā meditation can reveal how the mind was disturbed to start with, which is what
leads to knowledge (jñāna; Pāli ñāṇa) and understanding (prajñā Pāli paññā), and thus
can lead to nirvāṇa (Pāli nibbāna). When one is in jhana, all defilements are suppressed
temporarily. Only understanding (prajñā or vipassana) eradicates the defilements
completely. Jhanas are also states which Arahants abide in order to rest.
In Theravāda
In Theravāda Buddhism, the cause of human existence and suffering is identified as

craving, which carries with it the various defilements. These various defilements are
traditionally summed up as greed, hatred and delusion. These are believed to be deeply
rooted afflictions of the mind that create suffering and stress. In order to be free from
suffering and stress, these defilements need to be permanently uprooted through internal
investigation, analyzing, experiencing, and understanding of the true nature of those
defilements by using jhāna, a technique which is part of the Noble Eightfold Path. It will
then lead the meditator to realize the Four Noble Truths, Enlightenment and Nibbana.
Nibbana is the ultimate goal of Theravadins.
Prajñā (Wisdom): vipassana meditation
Prajñā (Sanskrit) or paññā (Pāli) means wisdom that is based on a realization of

dependent origination, The Four Noble Truths and the three marks of existence. Prajñā is
the wisdom that is able to extinguish afflictions and bring about bodhi. It is spoken of as
the principal means of attaining nirvāṇa, through its revelation of the true nature of all
things as dukkha (unsatisfactoriness), anicca (impermanence) and anatta (not-self).
Prajñā is also listed as the sixth of the six pāramitās of the Mahayana.
Initially, prajñā is attained at a conceptual level by means of listening to sermons
WT
(dharma talks), reading, studying, and sometimes reciting Buddhist texts and engaging in
discourse. Once the conceptual understanding is attained, it is applied to daily life so that
each Buddhist can verify the truth of the Buddha's teaching at a practical level. Notably,
one could in theory attain Nirvana at any point of practice, whether deep in meditation,
listening to a sermon, conducting the business of one's daily life, or any other activity.
Zen
Zen Buddhism (禅), pronounced chán in Chinese, seon in Korean or zen in Japanese
(derived from the Sanskrit term dhyāna, meaning "meditation") is a form of Buddhism
that became popular in China, Korea and Japan and that lays special emphasis on
meditation. Zen places less emphasis on scriptures than some other forms of Buddhism
and prefers to focus on direct spiritual breakthroughs to truth.
Zen Buddhism is divided into two main schools: Rinzai (臨済宗) and Sōtō (曹洞宗), the
former greatly favouring the use in meditation on the koan (公案, a meditative riddle or
puzzle) as a device for spiritual break-through, and the latter (while certainly employing
koans) focusing more on shikantaza or "just sitting".
Zen Buddhist teaching is often full of paradox, in order to loosen the grip of the ego and
to facilitate the penetration into the realm of the True Self or Formless Self, which is
equated with the Buddha himself. According to Zen master, Kosho Uchiyama, when
thoughts and fixation on the little 'I' are transcended, an Awakening to a universal, non-
dual Self occurs: ' When we let go of thoughts and wake up to the reality of life that is
working beyond them, we discover the Self that is living universal non-dual life (before
the separation into two) that pervades all living creatures and all existence.'. Thinking and
thought must therefore not be allowed to confine and bind one. Nevertheless, Zen does
not neglect the scriptures.
Vajrayana and Tantra
Though based upon Mahayana, Tibeto-Mongolian Buddhism is one of the schools that
practice Vajrayāna or "Diamond Vehicle" (also referred to as Mantrayāna, Tantrayāna,
Tantric Buddhism, or esoteric Buddhism). It accepts all the basic concepts of Mahāyāna,
but also includes a vast array of spiritual and physical techniques designed to enhance
Buddhist practice. Tantric Buddhism is largely concerned with ritual and meditative
practices. One component of the Vajrayāna is harnessing psycho-physical energy through
ritual, visualization, physical exercises, and meditation as a means of developing the
mind. Using these techniques, it is claimed that a practitioner can achieve Buddhahood in
one lifetime, or even as little as three years. In the Tibetan tradition, these practices can
include sexual yoga, though only for some very advanced practitioners.
History
WT
Philosophical roots
The Buddhist "Carpenter's Cave" at Ellora in Maharashtra, India
Historically, the roots of Buddhism lie in the religious thought of Ancient India during
the second half of the first millennium BC. That was a period of social and religious
turmoil, as there was significant discontent with the sacrifices and rituals of Vedic
Brahmanism. It was challenged by numerous new ascetic religious and philosophical
groups and teachings that broke with the Brahmanic tradition and rejected the authority
of the Vedas and the Brahmans. These groups, whose members were known as
shramanas, were a continuation of a non-Vedic strand of Indian thought distinct from
Indo-Aryan Brahmanism. Scholars have reasons to believe that ideas such as samsara,
karma (in the sense of the influence of morality on rebirth), and moksha originated in the
shramanas, and were later adopted by Brahmin orthodoxy. At the same time, they were
influenced by, and in some respects continued, earlier philosophical thought within the
Vedic tradition as reflected e.g. in the Upanishads. These movements included, besides
Buddhism, various skeptics (such as Sanjaya Belatthiputta), atomists (such as Pakudha
Kaccayana), materialists (such as Ajita Kesakambali), antinomians (such as Purana
Kassapa); the most important ones in the 5th century BC were the Ajivikas, who
emphasized the rule of fate, the Lokayata (materialists), the Ajnanas (agnostics) and the
Jains, who stressed that the soul must be freed from matter.
WT
Many of these new movements shared the same conceptual vocabulary - atman ("Self"),
buddha ("awakened one"), dhamma ("rule" or "law"), karma ("action"), nirvana
("extinguishing"), samsara ("eternal recurrence") and yoga ("spiritual practice"). The
shramanas rejected the Veda, and the authority of the brahmans, who claimed to be in
possession of revealed truths not knowable by any ordinary human means; moreover,
they declared that the entire Brahmanical system was fraudulent: a conspiracy of the
brahmans to enrich themselves by charging exorbitant fees for the performance of bogus
rites and the giving of futile advice. A particular criticism of the Buddha's was Vedic
animal sacrifice. Their leaders, including Buddha, were often known as śramaṇas. The
Buddha declared that priests reciting the Vedas were like the blind leading the blind.
According to him, those priests who had memorized the Vedas really knew nothing. He
also mocked the Vedic "hymn of the cosmic man". He declared that the primary goal of
Upanishadic thought, the Atman, was in fact non-existent, and, having explained that
Brahminical attempts to achieve liberation at death were futile, proposed his new idea of
liberation in life. At the same time, the traditional Brahminical religion itself gradually
underwent profound changes, transforming it into what is recognized as early Hinduism.
In particular, the brahmans thus developed "philosophical systems of their own, meeting
the new ideas with adaptations of their doctrines".
Indian Buddhism
The history of Indian Buddhism may be divided into five periods: Early Buddhism
(occasionally called Pre-sectarian Buddhism), Nikaya Buddhism or Sectarian Buddhism:
The period of the Early Buddhist schools, Early Mahayana Buddhism, Later Mahayana
Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism (also called Vajrayana Buddhism).
Pre-sectarian Buddhism
Pre-sectarian Buddhism is the earliest phase of Buddhism, recognized by nearly all

scholars. Its main scriptures are the Vinaya Pitaka and the four principal Nikayas or
Agamas. Certain basic teachings appear in many places throughout the early texts, so
most scholars conclude that Gautama Buddha must have taught something similar to
the Three marks of existence, the Five aggregates, Dependent origination, Karma and
Rebirth, the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, and Nirvana. Some scholars
disagree, and have proposed many other theories.
Early Buddhist schools
According to the scriptures, soon after the parinirvāṇa (from Sanskrit: "highest
extinguishment") of Gautama Buddha, the first Buddhist council was held. As with any
ancient Indian tradition, transmission of teaching was done orally. The primary purpose
of the assembly was to collectively recite the teachings to ensure that no errors occurred
in oral transmission. In the first council, Ānanda, a cousin of the Buddha and his personal
attendant, was called upon to recite the discourses (sūtras, Pāli suttas) of the Buddha,
and, according to some sources, the abhidhamma. Upāli, another disciple, recited the
WT
monastic rules (vinaya). Scholars regard the traditional accounts of the council as greatly
exaggerated if not entirely fictitious.
According to most scholars, at some period after the Second Council the Sangha began to
break into separate factions. The various accounts differ as to when the actual schisms
occurred. According to the Dipavamsa of the Pāli tradition, they started immediately after
the Second Council, the Puggalavada tradition places it in 137 AN, the Sarvastivada
tradition of Vasumitra says it was in the time of Asoka and the Mahasanghika tradition
places it much later, nearly 100 BCE.
The root schism was between the Sthaviras and the Mahāsāṅghikas. The fortunate
survival of accounts from both sides of the dispute reveals disparate traditions. The
Sthavira group offers two quite distinct reasons for the schism. The Dipavamsa of the
Theravāda says that the losing party in the Second Council dispute broke away in protest
and formed the Mahasanghika. This contradicts the Mahasanghikas' own vinaya, which
shows them as on the same, winning side. The Mahāsāṅghikas argued that the Sthaviras
were trying to expand the vinaya and may also have challenged what they perceived to be
excessive claims or inhumanly high criteria for arhatship. Both parties, therefore,
appealed to tradition.
The Sthaviras gave rise to several schools, one of which was the Theravāda school.
Originally, these schisms were caused by disputes over vinaya, and monks following
different schools of thought seem to have lived happily together in the same monasteries,
but eventually, by about 100 CE if not earlier, schisms were being caused by doctrinal
disagreements too.
Following (or leading up to) the schisms, each Saṅgha started to accumulate an
Abhidharma, a detailed scholastic reworking of doctrinal material appearing in the Suttas,
according to schematic classifications. These Abhidharma texts do not contain systematic
philosophical treatises, but summaries or numerical lists. Scholars generally date these
texts to around the 3rd century BCE, 100 to 200 years after the death of the Buddha.
Therefore the seven Abhidharma works are generally claimed not to represent the words
of the Buddha himself, but those of disciples and great scholars. Every school had its own
version of the Adhidharma, with different theories and different texts. The different
Adhidharmas of the various schools did not agree with each other. Scholars disagree on
whether the Mahasanghika school had an Abhidhamma Pitaka or not.
Early Mahayana Buddhism
WT
Statue of Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva, with Sanskrit in the Siddham script, Singapore
The origins of Mahāyāna are still not completely understood. The earliest views of
Mahāyāna Buddhism in the West assumed that it existed as a separate school in
competition with the so-called "Hīnayāna" schools. Due to the veneration of buddhas and
bodhisattvas, Mahāyāna was often interpreted as a more devotional, lay-inspired form of
Buddhism, with supposed origins in stūpa veneration, or by making parallels with the
history of the European Protestant Reformation. These views have been largely dismissed
in modern times in light of a much broader range of early texts that are now available.
The old views of Mahāyāna as a separate lay-inspired and devotional sect are now largely
dismissed as misguided and wrong on all counts.
There is no evidence that Mahāyāna ever referred to a separate formal school or sect of
Buddhism, but rather that it existed as a certain set of ideals, and later doctrines, for
bodhisattvas. Paul Williams has also noted that the Mahāyāna never had nor ever
attempted to have a separate Vinaya or ordination lineage from the early schools of
Buddhism, and therefore each bhikṣu or bhikṣuṇī adhering to the Mahāyāna formally
belonged to an early school. This continues today with the Dharmaguptaka ordination
lineage in East Asia, and the Mūlasarvāstivāda ordination lineage in Tibetan Buddhism.
Therefore Mahāyāna was never a separate rival sect of the early schools. From Chinese
monks visiting India, we now know that both Mahāyāna and non-Mahāyāna monks in
India often lived in the same monasteries side by side.
The Chinese monk Yijing who visited India in the 7th century CE, distinguishes
Mahāyāna from Hīnayāna as follows:
WT
Both adopt one and the same Vinaya, and they have in common the prohibitions of the
five offences, and also the practice of the Four Noble Truths. Those who venerate the
bodhisattvas and read the Mahāyāna sūtras are called the Mahāyānists, while those who
do not perform these are called the Hīnayānists.
Much of the early extant evidence for the origins of Mahāyāna comes from early Chinese
translations of Mahāyāna texts. These Mahāyāna teachings were first propagated into
China by Lokakṣema, the first translator of Mahāyāna sūtras into Chinese during the 2nd
century CE. Some scholars have traditionally considered the earliest Mahāyāna sūtras to
include the very first versions of the Prajñāpāramitā series, along with texts concerning
Akṣobhya Buddha, which were probably composed in the 1st century BCE in the south
of India.
Late Mahayana Buddhism
During the period of Late Mahayana Buddhism, four major types of thought developed:
Madhyamaka, Yogacara, Tathagatagarbha, and Buddhist Logic as the last and most
recent. In India, the two main philosophical schools of the Mahayana were the Madh-
yamaka and the later Yogacara. According to Dan Lusthaus, Madhyamaka and Yogacara
have a great deal in common, and the commonality stems from early Buddhism. There
were no great Indian teachers associated with tathagatagarbha thought.
Vajrayana (Esoteric Buddhism)
Scholarly research concerning Esoteric Buddhism is still in its early stages and has a
number of problems which make research difficult:
1. Vajrayana Buddhism was influenced by Hinduism, and therefore the research has
to include research on Hinduism as well.
2. The scriptures of Vajrayana have not yet been put in any kind of order.
3. Ritual has to be examined as well, not just doctrine.
The early development of Buddhism
WT
Buddhist proselytism at the time of emperor Ashoka (260–218 BCE)
Buddhist tradition records in the Milinda Panha that the 2nd century BCE Indo-Greek
king Menander converted to the Buddhist faith and became an arhat.
Buddhism may have spread only slowly in India until the time of the Mauryan emperor
Ashoka, who was a public supporter of the religion. The support of Aśoka and his
descendants led to the construction of more stūpas (Buddhist religious memorials) and to
efforts to spread Buddhism throughout the enlarged Maurya empire and even into
neighboring lands—particularly to the Iranian-speaking regions of Afghanistan and
Central Asia, beyond the Mauryas' northwest border, and to the island of Sri Lanka south
of India. These two missions, in opposite directions, would ultimately lead, in the first
case to the spread of Buddhism into China, and in the second case, to the emergence of
Theravāda Buddhism and its spread from Sri Lanka to the coastal lands of Southeast
Asia.
This period marks the first known spread of Buddhism beyond India. According to the
edicts of Aśoka, emissaries were sent to various countries west of India in order to spread
Buddhism (Dharma), particularly in eastern provinces of the neighboring Seleucid
Empire, and even farther to Hellenistic kingdoms of the Mediterranean. This led, a
WT
century later, to the emergence of Greek-speaking Buddhist monarchs in the Indo-Greek
Kingdom, and to the development of the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhāra. During this
period Buddhism was exposed to a variety of influences, from Persian and Greek
civilization, and from changing trends in non-Buddhist Indian religions—themselves
influenced by Buddhism. It is a matter of disagreement among scholars whether or not
these emissaries were accompanied by Buddhist missionaries.
The Theravada school spread south from India in the 3rd century BC, to Sri Lanka and
Thailand and Burma and later also Indonesia. The Dharmagupta school spread (also in
3rd century BC) north to Kashmir, Gandhara and Bactria (Afghanistan). In the 2nd
century AD, Mahayana Sutras spread from that general area to China, and then to Korea
and Japan, and were translated into Chinese. During the Indian period of Esoteric
Buddhism (from the 8th century onwards), Buddhism spread from India to Tibet and
Mongolia.
Buddhism today
By the late Middle Ages, Buddhism had become virtually extinct in India, and although it
continued to exist in surrounding countries, its influence was no longer expanding. It is
now again gaining strength in India and elsewhere. Estimates of the number of Buddhist
followers by scholars range from 230 million to 500 million, with most around 350
million. Most scholars classify similar numbers of people under a category they call
"Chinese folk" or "traditional" religion, an amalgam of various traditions that includes
Buddhism.
WT Typical interior of a temple in Korea
Formal membership varies between communities, but basic lay adherence is often
defined in terms of a traditional formula in which the practitioner takes refuge in The
Three Jewels: the Buddha, the Dharma (the teachings of the Buddha), and the Sangha
(the Buddhist community).
Estimates are uncertain for several reasons:
•
•
difficulties in defining who counts as a Buddhist;
syncretism among the Eastern religions. Buddhism is practiced by adherents
alongside many other religious traditions- including Taoism, Confucianism,
Shinto, traditional religions, shamanism, and animism- throughout East and
Southeast Asia.
• difficulties in estimating the number of Buddhists who do not have congregational
memberships and often do not participate in public ceremonies;
• official policies on religion in several historically Buddhist countries that make
accurate assessments of religious adherence more difficult; most notably China,
Vietnam and North Korea. In many current and former Communist governments
in Asia, government policies may discourage adherents from reporting their
religious identity, or may encourage official counts to underestimate religious
adherence.
Demographics
WT
Buddhism is most prevalent in the Far East
According to one analysis, Buddhism is the fourth-largest religion in the world behind
Christianity, Islam and Hinduism. The monks' order (Sangha), which began during the
lifetime of the Buddha, is among the oldest organizations on earth.
• Theravāda Buddhism, using Pāli as its scriptural language, is the dominant form
of Buddhism in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Burma. The Dalit
Buddhist movement in India (inspired by B. R. Ambedkar) also practices
Theravada. Approximately 124 million adherents.
• East Asian forms of Mahayana Buddhism that use Chinese scriptures are
dominant in most of China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Vietnam as
well as such communities within Indochina, Southeast Asia and the West. App-
roximately 185 million adherents.
• Tibetan Buddhism is found in Tibet, Bhutan, Mongolia, surrounding areas
in India, China, Nepal, and the Russian Federation. Approximately 20 million
adherents.
Most Buddhist groups in the West are at least nominally affiliated with one of these three
traditions.
At the present time, the teachings of all three branches of Buddhism have spread
throughout the world, and Buddhist texts are increasingly translated into local languages.
While in the West Buddhism is often seen as exotic and progressive, in the East it is
regarded as familiar and traditional. Buddhists in Asia are frequently well organized and
well funded. In a number of countries, it is recognized as an official religion and receives
state support. Modern influences increasingly lead to new forms of Buddhism that
significantly depart from traditional beliefs and practices.
Overall there is an overwhelming diversity of recent forms of Buddhism.
Schools and traditions
Buddhists generally classify themselves as either Theravada or Mahayana. This classi-
fication is also used by some scholars and is the one ordinarily used in the English
language. An alternative scheme used by some scholars divides Buddhism into the
following three traditions or geographical or cultural areas: Theravada, East Asian
Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism.
Some scholars use other schemes. Buddhists themselves have a variety of other schemes.
Hinayana (literally "lesser vehicle") is used by Mahayana followers to name the family of
early philosophical schools and traditions from which contemporary Theravada emerged,
but as this term is rooted in the Mahayana viewpoint and can be considered derogatory, a
variety of other terms are increasingly used instead, including Śrāvakayāna, Nikaya
Buddhism, early Buddhist schools, sectarian Buddhism, conservative Buddhism,
WT
mainstream Buddhism and non-Mahayana Buddhism.
Not all traditions of Buddhism share the same philosophical outlook, or treat the same
concepts as central. Each tradition, however, does have its own core concepts, and some
comparisons can be drawn between them. For example, according to one Buddhist
ecumenical organization, several concepts common to both major Buddhist branches:
• Both accept the Buddha as their teacher.

• Both accept the Middle way, Dependent origination, the Four Noble Truths, the
Noble Eightfold Path and the Three marks of existence.
• Both accept that members of the laity and of the sangha can pursue the path
toward enlightenment (bodhi).
• Both consider buddhahood to be the highest attainment.
Timeline
This is a rough timeline of the development of the different schools/traditions:
Timeline: Development and propagation of Buddhist traditions (ca. 450 BCE – ca. 1300 CE)
450 BCE 250 BCE 100 CE 500 CE 700 CE 800 CE 1200 CE
India
Early
Sangha
Early Buddhist schools Mahayana Vajrayana
Sri Lanka & Theravada

Southeast Asia Buddhism
Greco-Buddhism
Central Asia Silk Road Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism
Chán, Tendai, Pure Land, Shingon
East Asia
Zen, Nichiren
450 BCE 250 BCE 100 CE 500 CE 700 CE 800 CE 1200 CE
= Mahayana = Vajrayana
Legend: = Theravada tradition
traditions traditions
Theravada school
Theravāda ("Doctrine of the Elders", or "Ancient Doctrine") is the oldest surviving

Buddhist school. It is relatively conservative, and generally closest to early Buddhism.
This school is derived from the Vibhajjavāda grouping which emerged amongst the older
Sthavira group at the time of the Third Buddhist Council (c. 250 BCE). This school
gradually declined on the Indian subcontinent, but its branch in Sri Lanka and South East
Asia continues to survive.
The Theravada school bases its practice and doctrine exclusively on the Pāli Canon and
its commentaries. After being orally transmitted for a few centuries, its scriptures, the
WT
Pali Canon, were finally committed to writing in the 1st century BCE, in Sri Lanka, at
what the Theravada usually reckon as the fourth council. It is also one of the first
Buddhist schools to commit the complete set of its canon into writing. The Sutta
collections and Vinaya texts of the Pāli Canon (and the corresponding texts in other
versions of the Tripitaka), are generally considered by modern scholars to be the earliest
Buddhist literature, and they are accepted as authentic in every branch of Buddhism.
Theravāda is primarily practiced today in Sri Lanka, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia
as well as small portions of China, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bangladesh. It has a growing
presence in Europe and America.
Mahayana traditions
Mahayana Buddhism flourished in India from the 5th century CE onwards, during the
dynasty of the Guptas. Mahāyāna centres of learning were established, the most
important one being the Nālandā University in north-eastern India.
Mahayana schools recognize all or part of the Mahayana Sutras. Some of these sutras
became for Mahayanists a manifestation of the Buddha himself, and faith in and
veneration of those texts are stated in some sutras (e.g. the Lotus Sutra and the
Mahaparinirvana Sutra) to lay the foundations for the later attainment of Buddhahood
itself.
WT
Blue-eyed Central Asian and Chinese Buddhist monks. Bezeklik, Eastern Tarim Basin,
China, 9th–10th century.
Native Mahayana Buddhism is practiced today in China, Japan, Korea, Singapore, parts
of Russia and most of Vietnam (also commonly referred to as "Eastern Buddhism"). The
Buddhism practiced in Tibet, the Himalayan regions, and Mongolia is also Mahayana in
origin, but will be discussed below under the heading of Vajrayana (also commonly
referred to as "Northern Buddhism". There are a variety of strands in Eastern Buddhism,
of which "the Pure Land school of Mahayana is the most widely practised today.". In
most of this area however, they are fused into a single unified form of Buddhism. In
Japan in particular, they form separate denominations with the five major ones being:
Nichiren, peculiar to Japan; Pure Land; Shingon, a form of Vajrayana; Tendai; and
Chan/Zen. In Korea, nearly all Buddhists belong to the Chogye school, which is officially
Son (Zen), but with substantial elements from other traditions.
Vajrayana traditions
WT Bodhnath Stupa, Kathmandu, Nepal
The Vajrayana tradition of Buddhism spread to China, Mongolia, and Tibet. In Tibet,
Vajrayana has always been a main component of Tibetan Buddhism, while in China it
formed a separate sect. However, Vajrayana Buddhism became extinct in China but
survived in elements of Japan's Shingon and Tendai sects.
There are differing views as to just when Vajrayāna and its tantric practice started. In the
Tibetan tradition, it is claimed that the historical Śākyamuni Buddha taught tantra, but as
these are esoteric teachings, they were passed on orally first and only written down long
after the Buddha's other teachings. Nālandā University became a center for the
development of Vajrayāna theory and continued as the source of leading-edge Vajrayāna
practices up through the 11th century. These practices, scriptures and theories were
transmitted to China, Tibet, Indochina and Southeast Asia. China generally received
Indian transmission up to the 11th century including tantric practice, while a vast amount
of what is considered to be Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayāna) stems from the late (9th–12th
century) Nālandā tradition.
In one of the first major contemporary academic treatises on the subject, Fairfield
University professor Ronald M. Davidson argues that the rise of Vajrayana was in part a
reaction to the changing political climate in India at the time. With the fall of the Gupta
dynasty, in an increasingly fractious political environment, institutional Buddhism had
difficulty attracting patronage, and the folk movement led by siddhas became more
prominent. After perhaps two hundred years, it had begun to get integrated into the
monastic establishment.
Vajrayana combined and developed a variety of elements, a number of which had already
existed for centuries. In addition to the Mahāyāna scriptures, Vajrayāna Buddhists
recognise a large body of Buddhist Tantras, some of which are also included in Chinese
and Japanese collections of Buddhist literature, and versions of a few even in the Pali
Canon.
Buddhist texts
WT
Buddhist scriptures and other texts exist in great variety. Different schools of Buddhism
place varying levels of value on learning the various texts. Some schools venerate certain
texts as religious objects in themselves, while others take a more scholastic approach.
Buddhist scriptures are written in these languages: Pāli, Tibetan, Mongolian, Chinese,
along with some texts that still exist in Sanskrit and Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit.
Unlike many religions, Buddhism has no single central text that is universally referred to
by all traditions. However, some scholars have referred to the Vinaya Pitaka and the first
four Nikayas of the Sutta Pitaka as the common core of all Buddhist traditions. This
could be considered misleading, as Mahāyāna considers these merely a preliminary, and
not a core, teaching. The Tibetan Buddhists have not even translated most of the āgamas
(though theoretically they recognize them) and they play no part in the religious life of
either clergy or laity in China and Japan. Other scholars say there is no universally
accepted common core. The size and complexity of the Buddhist canons have been seen
by some (including Buddhist social reformer Babasaheb Ambedkar) as presenting
barriers to the wider understanding of Buddhist philosophy.
The followers of Theravāda Buddhism take the scriptures known as the Pāli Canon as
definitive and authoritative, while the followers of Mahāyāna Buddhism base their faith
and philosophy primarily on the Mahāyāna sūtras and their own vinaya. The Pāli sutras,
along with other, closely related scriptures, are known to the other schools as the āgamas.
Over the years, various attempts have been made to synthesize a single Buddhist text that
can encompass all of the major principles of Buddhism. In the Theravada tradition,
condensed 'study texts' were created that combined popular or influential scriptures into
single volumes that could be studied by novice monks. Later in Sri Lanka, the
Dhammapada was championed as a unifying scripture.
Dwight Goddard collected a sample of Buddhist scriptures, with the emphasis on Zen,
along with other classics of Eastern philosophy, such as the Tao Te Ching, into his
'Buddhist Bible' in the 1920s. More recently, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar attempted to
create a single, combined document of Buddhist principles in "The Buddha and His
Dhamma". Other such efforts have persisted to present day, but currently there is no
single text that represents all Buddhist traditions.
Pāli Tipitaka
The Pāli Tipitaka, which means "three baskets", refers to the Vinaya Pitaka, the Sutta
Pitaka, and the Abhidhamma Pitaka. The Vinaya Pitaka contains disciplinary rules for
the Buddhist monks and nuns, as well as explanations of why and how these rules were
instituted, supporting material, and doctrinal clarification. The Sutta Pitaka contains
discourses ascribed to Gautama Buddha. The Abhidhamma Pitaka contains material often
described as systematic expositions of the Gautama Buddha's teachings.
WT
The Pāli Tipitaka is the only early Tipitaka (Sanskrit: Tripiṭaka) to survive intact in its
original language, but a number of early schools had their own recensions of the Tipitaka
featuring much of the same material. We have portions of the Tipitakas of the Sār-
vāstivāda, Dharmaguptaka, Sammitya, Mahāsaṅghika, Kāśyapīya, and Mahīśāsaka
schools, most of which survive in Chinese translation only. According to some sources,
some early schools of Buddhism had five or seven pitakas.
According to the scriptures, soon after the death of the Buddha, the first Buddhist council
was held; a monk named Mahākāśyapa (Pāli: Mahākassapa) presided. The goal of the
council was to record the Buddha's teachings. Upāli recited the vinaya. Ānanda, the
Buddha's personal attendant, was called upon to recite the dhamma. These became the
basis of the Tripitaka. However, this record was initially transmitted orally in form of
chanting, and was committed to text in the last century BCE. Both the sūtras and the
vinaya of every Buddhist school contain a wide variety of elements including discourses
on the Dharma, commentaries on other teachings, cosmological and cosmogonical texts,
stories of the Gautama Buddha's previous lives, and various other subjects.
Much of the material in the Canon is not specifically "Theravadin", but is instead the
collection of teachings that this school preserved from the early, non-sectarian body of
teachings. According to Peter Harvey, it contains material which is at odds with later
Theravadin orthodoxy. He states: "The Theravadins, then, may have added texts to the
Canon for some time, but they do not appear to have tampered with what they already
had from an earlier period."
Mahayana sutras
WT
The Tripiṭaka Koreana, an edition of the Chinese Buddhist canon carved and preserved in
over 81,000 wood printing blocks.
The Mahayana sutras are a very broad genre of Buddhist scriptures that the Mahayana
Buddhist tradition holds are original teachings of the Buddha. The adherents of
Mahayana accept both the early teachings (including in this the Sarvastivada Abh-
idharma, which was criticized by Nagarjuna and is in fact opposed to early Buddhist
thought) and the Mahayana sutras as authentic teachings of Gautama Buddha, and claim
they were designed for different types of persons and different levels of spiritual
understanding.
The Mahayana sutras often claim to articulate the Buddha's deeper, more advanced
doctrines, reserved for those who follow the bodhisattva path. That path is explained as
being built upon the motivation to liberate all living beings from unhappiness. Hence the
name Mahāyāna (lit., the Great Vehicle).
According to Mahayana tradition, the Mahayana sutras were transmitted in secret, came
from other Buddhas or Bodhisattvas, or were preserved in non-human worlds because
human beings at the time couldn't understand them:
Some of our sources maintain the authenticity of certain other texts not found in the
canons of these schools (the early schools). These texts are those held genuine by the
later school, not one of the eighteen, which arrogated to itself the title of Mahayana,
'Great Vehicle'. According to the Mahayana historians these texts were admittedly
unknown to the early schools of Buddhists. However, they had all been promulgated by
the Buddha. [The Buddha's] followers on earth, the sravakas ('pupils'), had not been
sufficiently advanced to understand them, and hence were not given them to remember,
but they were taught to various supernatural beings and then preserved in such places as
the Dragon World.
Approximately six hundred Mahayana sutras have survived in Sanskrit or in Chinese or

Tibetan translations. In addition, East Asian Buddhism recognizes some sutras regarded
by scholars to be of Chinese rather than Indian origin.
Generally, scholars conclude that the Mahayana scriptures were composed from the 1st
WT
century CE onwards: "Large numbers of Mahayana sutras were being composed in the
period between the beginning of the common era and the fifth century", five centuries
after the historical Gautama Buddha. Some of these had their roots in other scriptures
composed in the 1st century BCE. It was not until after the 5th century CE that the
Mahayana sutras started to influence the behavior of mainstream Buddhists in India: "But
outside of texts, at least in India, at exactly the same period, very different—in fact
seemingly older—ideas and aspirations appear to be motivating actual behavior, and old
and established Hinnayana groups appear to be the only ones that are patronized and
supported." These texts were apparently not universally accepted among Indian
Buddhists when they appeared; the pejorative label hinayana was applied by Mahayana
supporters to those who rejected the Mahayana sutras.
Only the Theravada school does not include the Mahayana scriptures in its canon. As the
modern Theravada school is descended from a branch of Buddhism that diverged and
established itself in Sri Lanka prior to the emergence of the Mahayana texts, debate exists
as to whether the Theravada were historically included in the hinayana designation; in
the modern era, this label is seen as derogatory, and is generally avoided.
Comparative studies
Buddhism provides many opportunities for comparative study with a diverse range
of subjects. For example, dependent origination can be considered one of Buddhism's
contributions to metaphysics. Additionally, Buddhism's emphasis on the Middle way not
only provides a unique guideline for ethics but has also allowed Buddhism to peacefully
coexist with various differing beliefs, customs and institutions in countries in which it has
resided throughout its history. Also, Its moral and spiritual parallels with other systems of
thought—for example, with various tenets of Christianity—have been subjects of close
study.
Chapter 2
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama Buddha
WT
A statue of the Buddha from Sarnath, 4th century CE
c. 563 BCE or 623 BCE

Born
Lumbini, today in Nepal
c. 483 BCE or 543 BCE (aged 80)

Died
Kushinagar, today in India
Ethnicity Shakya
Known for Founder of Buddhism
Predecessor Kassapa Buddha
Successor Maitreya Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from
ancient India who founded Buddhism. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the
Supreme Buddha (P. sammāsambuddha, S. samyaksaṃbuddha) of our age, "Buddha"
meaning "awakened one" or "the enlightened one." The time of his birth and death are
uncertain: most early 20th-century historians dated his lifetime as c. 563 BCE to 483
BCE, but more recent opinion dates his death to between to between 486 and 483 BCE
or, according to some, between 411 and 400 BCE.
WT
Gautama, also known as Śākyamuni ("Sage of the Śākyas"), is the primary figure in
Buddhism, and accounts of his life, discourses, and monastic rules are believed by
Buddhists to have been summarized after his death and memorized by his followers.
Various collections of teachings attributed to him were passed down by oral tradition, and
first committed to writing about 400 years later.
He is also regarded as a god or prophet in other religions such as Hinduism, the

Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and the Bahá'í faith.
Life
Traditional biographies
The primary sources for the life of Siddhārtha Gautama are in a variety of different and
sometimes conflicting traditional biographies. These include the Buddhacarita,
Lalitavistara Sūtra, Mahāvastu, and the Nidānakathā. Of these, the Buddhacarita is the
earliest full biography, an epic poem written by the poet Aśvaghoṣa, and dating around
the beginning of the 2nd century CE. The Lalitavistara Sūtra is the next oldest biography,
a Mahāyāna/Sarvāstivāda biography dating to the 3rd century CE. The Mahāvastu
from the Mahāsāṃghika Lokottaravāda sect is another major biography, composed
incrementally until perhaps the 4th century CE. Lastly, the Nidānakathā is from the
Theravāda sect in Sri Lanka, composed in the 5th century CE by Buddhaghoṣa.
From canonical sources, the Jātaka tales, Mahāpadāna Sutta (DN 14), and the
Acchariyaabbhuta Sutta (MN 123) include selective accounts that may be older, but are
not full biographies. The Jātaka tales retell previous lives of Gautama as a bodhisattva,
and the first collection of these can be dated among the earliest Buddhist texts. The
Mahāpadāna Sutta and Acchariyaabbhuta Sutta both recount miraculous events
surrounding Gautama's birth, such as the bodhisattva's descent from Tuṣita Heaven into
his mother's womb.
Traditional biographies of Gautama generally include numerous miracles, omens, and
supernatural events. The character of the Buddha in these traditional biographies is often
that of a fully transcendent (Skt. lokottara) and perfected being who is unencumbered by
the mundane world; this is not the picture painted by the earliest canonical sources. In
the Mahāvastu, over the course of many lives, Gautama is said to have developed
supramundane abilities including: a painless birth conceived without intercourse; no need
for sleep, food, medicine, or bathing, although engaging in such "in conformity with the
world"; omniscience, and the ability to "suppress karma." Nevertheless, some of the more
ordinary details of his life have been gathered from these traditional sources. In modern
times there has been an attempt to form a secular understanding of Siddhārtha Gautama's
life by omitting the traditional supernatural elements of his early biographies.
The ancient Indians were generally unconcerned with chronologies, being more focused
on philosophy. Buddhist texts reflect this tendency, providing a clearer picture of what
Gautama may have taught than of the dates of the events in his life. These texts contain
WT
descriptions of the culture and daily life of ancient India which can be corroborated from
the Jain scriptures, and make the Buddha's time the earliest period in Indian history for
which significant accounts exist. Karen Armstrong writes that although there is very little
information that can be considered historically sound, we can be reasonably confident
that Siddhārtha Gautama did exist as a historical figure. Michael Carrithers goes a bit
further by stating that the most general outline of "birth, maturity, renunciation, search,
awakening and liberation, teaching, death" must be true.
Conception and birth
Queen Māyā miraculously giving birth to Prince Siddhārtha. Sanskrit manuscript.

Nālandā, Bihar, India. Pāla period.
Gautama is thought to have been born in Lumbini and raised in the small kingdom or
principality of Kapilvastu, both of which are in modern day Nepal. At the time of his
birth, the area was at, or beyond, the boundary of Vedic civilization, the dominant culture
of northern India at the time. It is possible that his mother tongue was not an Indo-Aryan
language.
Early texts suggest that Gautama was not familiar with the dominant religious teachings
of his time until he left on his religious quest, which is said to have been motivated by
existential concern for the human condition. At the time, many small city-states existed in
Ancient India, called Janapadas. Republics and chiefdoms with diffused political power
and limited social stratification, were not uncommon amongst them, and were referred to
as gana-sanghas. The Buddha's community does not seem to have had a caste system. It
was not a monarchy, and seems to have been structured either as an oligarchy, or as a
form of republic. The more egalitarian gana-sangha form of government, as a political
alternative to the strongly hierarchical kingdoms, may have influenced the development
of the Shramana type Jain and Buddhist sanghas, where monarchies tended toward Vedic
Brahmanism.
WT
According to the most traditional biography, the Buddha's father was King Suddhodana,
the leader of Shakya clan, whose capital was Kapilavastu, and who were later annexed by
the growing Kingdom of Kosala during the Buddha's lifetime; Gautama was the family
name. His mother, Queen Maha Maya (Māyādevī) and Suddhodana's wife, was a Koliyan
princess. Legend has it that, on the night Siddhartha was conceived, Queen Maya dreamt
that a white elephant with six white tusks entered her right side, and ten months later
Siddhartha was born. As was the Shakya tradition, when his mother Queen Maya became
pregnant, she left Kapilvastu for her father's kingdom to give birth. However, her son is
said to have been born on the way, at Lumbini, in a garden beneath a sal tree.
The day of the Buddha's birth is widely celebrated in Theravada countries as Vesak.
Various sources hold that the Buddha's mother died at his birth, a few days or seven days
later. The infant was given the name Siddhartha (Pāli: Siddhatta), meaning "he who
achieves his aim". During the birth celebrations, the hermit seer Asita journeyed from his
mountain abode and announced that the child would either become a great king
(chakravartin) or a great holy man. By traditional account, this occurred after Siddhartha
placed his feet in Asita's hair and Asita examined the birthmarks. Suddhodana held a
naming ceremony on the fifth day, and invited eight brahmin scholars to read the future.
All gave a dual prediction that the baby would either become a great king or a great holy
man. Kaundinya (Pali: Kondanna), the youngest, and later to be the first arahant other
than the Buddha, was reputed to be the only one who unequivocally predicted that
Siddhartha would become a Buddha.
While later tradition and legend characterized Śuddhodana as a hereditary monarch, the
descendant of the Solar Dynasty of Ikṣvāku (Pāli: Okkāka), many scholars think that
Śuddhodana was the elected chief of a tribal confederacy.
Early life and marriage
Siddhartha was brought up by his mother's younger sister, Maha Pajapati. By tradition, he
is said to have been destined by birth to the life of a prince, and had three palaces (for
seasonal occupation) built for him. Although more recent scholarship doubts this status,
his father, said to be King Śuddhodana, wishing for his son to be a great king, is said to
have shielded him from religious teachings and from knowledge of human suffering.
When he reached the age of 16, his father reputedly arranged his marriage to a cousin of
the same age named Yaśodharā (Pāli: Yasodharā). According to the traditional account,[
she gave birth to a son, named Rahula. Siddhartha is then said to have spent 29 years as a
prince in Kapilavastu. Although his father ensured that Siddhartha was provided with
everything he could want or need, Buddhist scriptures say that the future Buddha felt that
material wealth was not life's ultimate goal.
Departure and ascetic life
WT
This scene depicts the "Great Departure" of Sidhartha Gautama, a predestined being. He
appears here surrounded by a halo, and accompanied by numerous guards, mithuna
loving couples, and devata, come to pay homage. Gandhara art, Kushan period(1st-3rd
century CE)
Prince Siddharta shaves his hair and become an ascetic. Borobudur, 8th century.
At the age of 29, the popular biography continues, Siddhartha left his palace to meet
his subjects. Despite his father's efforts to hide from him the sick, aged and suffering,
Siddhartha was said to have seen an old man. When his charioteer Channa explained to
him that all people grew old, the prince went on further trips beyond the palace. On these
he encountered a diseased man, a decaying corpse, and an ascetic. These depressed him,
and he initially strived to overcome ageing, sickness, and death by living the life of an
ascetic.
Accompanied by Channa and aboard his horse Kanthaka, Guatama quit his palace for the
life of a mendicant. It's said that, "the horse's hooves were muffled by the gods" to
prevent guards from knowing of the new bodhisattva's departure. This event is
traditionally known as "the great departure".
Guatama initially went to Rajagaha and began his ascetic life by begging for alms in the
street. Having been recognised by the men of King Bimbisara, Bimbisara offered him the
WT
throne after hearing of Siddhartha's quest. Siddhartha rejected the offer, but promised to
visit his kingdom of Magadha first, upon attaining enlightenment.
He left Rajagaha and practised under two hermit teachers. After mastering the teachings
of Alara Kalama (Skr. Ārāḍa Kālāma), he was asked by Kalama to succeed him.
However, Guatama felt unsatisfied by the practise, and moved on to become a student of
Udaka Ramaputta (Skr. Udraka Rāmaputra). With him he achieved high levels of
meditative consciousness, and was again asked to succeed his teacher. But, once more, he
was not satisfied, and again moved on.
Siddhartha and a group of five companions led by Kaundinya are then said to have set out
to take their austerities even further. They tried to find enlightenment through deprivation
of worldly goods, including food, practising self-mortification. After nearly starving
himself to death by restricting his food intake to around a leaf or nut per day, he collapsed
in a river while bathing and almost drowned. Siddhartha began to reconsider his path.
Then, he remembered a moment in childhood in which he had been watching his father
start the season's plowing. He attained a concentrated and focused state that was blissful
and refreshing, the jhāna.
Enlightenment
WT
The Buddha sitting in meditation, surrounded by demons of Māra. Sanskrit manuscript.
Nālandā, Bihar, India. Pāla period.
According to the early Buddhist texts, after realizing that meditative jhana was the right
path to awakening, but that extreme asceticism didn't work, Gautama discovered what
Buddhists call the Middle Way—a path of moderation away from the extremes of self-
indulgence and self-mortification. In a famous incident, after becoming starved and
weakened, he is said to have accepted milk and rice pudding from a village girl named
Sujata. Such was his emaciated appearance that she wrongly believed him to be a spirit
that had granted her a wish.
Following this incident, Gautama was famously seated under a pipal tree - now known as
the Bodhi tree - in Bodh Gaya, India, when he vowed never to arise until he had found
the truth. Kaundinya and four other companions, believing that he had abandoned his
search and become undisciplined, left. After a reputed 49 days of meditation, at the age of
35, he is said to have attained Enlightenment. According to some traditions, this occurred
in approximately the fifth lunar month, while, according to others, it was in the twelfth
month. From that time, Gautama was known to his followers as the Buddha or
"Awakened One." ("Buddha" is also sometimes translated as "The Enlightened One.") He
is often referred to in Buddhism as Shakyamuni Buddha, or "The Awakened One of the
Shakya Clan."
According to Buddhism, at the time of his awakening he realized complete insight into
the cause of suffering, and the steps necessary to eliminate it. These discoveries became
known as the "Four Noble Truths", which are at the heart of Buddhist teaching. Through
mastery of these truths, a state of supreme liberation, or Nirvana, is believed to be
possible for any being. The Buddha described Nirvāna as the perfect peace of a mind
that's free from ignorance, greed, hatred and other afflictive states, or "defilements"
(kilesas). Nirvana is also regarded as the "end of the world", in that no personal identity
or boundaries of the mind remain. In such a state, a being is said to possess the Ten
Characteristics, belonging to every Buddha.
According to a story in the Āyācana Sutta (Samyutta Nikaya VI.1) - a scripture found in
the Pāli and other canons - immediately after his awakening, the Buddha debated whether
or not he should teach the Dharma to others. He was concerned that humans were so
overpowered by ignorance, greed and hatred that they could never recognise the path,
which is subtle, deep and hard to grasp. However, in the story, Brahmā Sahampati
convinced him, arguing that at least some will understand it. The Buddha relented, and
agreed to teach.
Formation of the sangha
WT
Painting of the first sermon depicted at Wat Chedi Liem in Thailand
After his awakening, the Buddha met two merchants, named Tapussa and Bhallika, who
became his first lay disciples. They were apparently each given hairs from his head,
which are now claimed to be enshrined as relics in the Shwe Dagon Temple in Rangoon,
Burma. The Buddha intended to visit Asita, and his former teachers, Alara Kalama and
Uddaka Ramaputta, to explain his findings, but they had already died.
He then travelled to the Deer Park near Vārāṇasī (Benares) in northern India, where he
set in motion what Buddhists call the Wheel of Dharma by delivering his first sermon to
the five companions with whom he had sought enlightenment. Together with him, they
formed the first saṅgha: the company of Buddhist monks.
All five become arahants, and within the first two months, with the conversion of Yasa
and fifty four of his friends, the number of such arahants is said to have grown to 60. The
conversion of three brothers named Kassapa followed, with their reputed 200, 300 and
WT
500 disciples, respectively. This swelled the sangha to more than 1000.
Travels and teaching
Buddha with his protector Vajrapani, Gandhāra, 2nd century CE, Ostasiatische Kunst
Museum
For the remaining 45 years of his life, the Buddha is said to have traveled in the Gangetic
Plain, in what is now Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and southern Nepal, teaching a diverse range
of people: from nobles to outcaste street sweepers, murderers such as Angulimala, and
cannibals such as Alavaka. From the outset, Buddhism was equally open to all races and
classes, and had no caste structure, as was the rule in Hinduism. Although the Buddha's
language remains unknown, it's likely that he taught in one or more of a variety of closely
related Middle Indo-Aryan dialects, of which Pali may be a standardization.
The sangha traveled through the subcontinent, expounding the dharma. This continued
throughout the year, except during the four months of the vassana rainy season when
ascetics of all religions rarely traveled. One reason was that it was more difficult to do so
without causing harm to animal life. At this time of year, the sangha would retreat to
monasteries, public parks or forests, where people would come to them.
The first vassana was spent at Varanasi when the sangha was formed. After this,
WT
the Buddha kept a promise to travel to Rajagaha, capital of Magadha, to visit King
Bimbisara. During this visit, Sariputta and Mahamoggallana were converted by Assaji,
one of the first five disciples, after which they were to become the Buddha's two foremost
followers. The Buddha spent the next three seasons at Veluvana Bamboo Grove
monastery in Rajagaha, capital of Magadha.
Upon hearing of his son's awakening, Suddhodana sent, over a period, ten delegations to
ask him to return to Kapilavastu. On the first nine occasions, the delegates failed to
deliver the message, and instead joined the sangha to become arahants. The tenth
delegation, led by Kaludayi, a childhood friend of Gautama's (who also became an
arahant), however, delivered the message.
Now two years after his awakening, the Buddha agreed to return, and made a two-month
journey by foot to Kapilavastu, teaching the dharma as he went. At his return, the royal
palace prepared a midday meal, but the sangha was making an alms round in Kapilavastu.
Hearing this, Suddhodana approached his son, the Buddha, saying:
"Ours is the warrior lineage of Mahamassata, and not a single warrior has gone seeking
alms"
The Buddha is said to have replied:
"That is not the custom of your royal lineage. But it is the custom of my Buddha lineage.
Several thousands of Buddhas have gone by seeking alms"
Buddhist texts say that Suddhodana invited the sangha into the palace for the meal,
followed by a dharma talk. After this he is said to have become a sotapanna. During the
visit, many members of the royal family joined the sangha. The Buddha's cousins Ananda
and Anuruddha became two of his five chief disciples. At the age of seven, his son
Rahula also joined, and became one of his ten chief disciples. His half-brother Nanda also
joined and became an arahant.
Of the Buddha's disciples, Sariputta, Mahamoggallana, Mahakasyapa, Ananda and
Anuruddha are believed to have been the five closest to him. His ten foremost disciples
were reputedly completed by the quintet of Upali, Subhoti, Rahula, Mahakaccana and
Punna.
In the fifth vassana, the Buddha was staying at Mahavana near Vesali when he heard
news of the impending death of his father. He is said to have gone to Suddhodana and
taught the dharma, after which his father became an arahant.
The king's death and cremation was to inspire the creation of an order of nuns. Buddhist
texts record that the Buddha was reluctant to ordain women. His foster mother Maha
Pajapati, for example, approached him, asking to join the sangha, but he refused. Maha
Pajapati, however, was so intent on the path of awakening that she led a group of royal
Sakyan and Koliyan ladies, which followed the sangha on a long journey to Rajagaha. In
time, after Ananda championed their cause, the Buddha is said to have reconsidered and,
WT
five years after the formation of the sangha, agreed to the ordination of women as nuns.
He reasoned that males and females had an equal capacity for awakening. But he gave
women additional rules (Vinaya) to follow.
Devadatta tries to attack the Buddha. Picture of a wallpainting in a Laotian monastery.
Assassination attempts
According to colorful legends, even during the Buddha's life the sangha was not free of
dissent and discord. For example, Devadatta, a cousin of Gautama who became a monk
but not an arahant, more than once tried to kill him.
Initially, Devadatta is alleged to have often tried to undermine the Buddha. In one
instance, according to stories, Devadatta even asked the Buddha to stand aside and let
him lead the sangha. When this failed, he is accused of having three times tried to kill his
teacher. The first attempt is said to have involved him hiring a group of archers to shoot
the awakened one. But, upon meeting the Buddha, they laid down their bows and instead
became followers. A second attempt is said to have involved Devadatta rolling a boulder
down a hill. But this hit another rock and splintered, only grazing the Buddha's foot. In
the third attempt, Devadatta is said to have got an elephant drunk and set it loose. This
ruse also failed.
After his lack of success at homicide, Devadatta is said to have tried to create a schism in
the sangha, by proposing extra restrictions on the vinaya. When the Buddha again
prevailed, Devadatta started a breakaway order. At first, he managed to convert some of
the bhikkhus, but Sariputta and Mahamoggallana are said to have expounded the dharma
so effectively that they were won back.
WT
Mahaparinirvana
The Buddha's entry into Parinirvana. Sanskrit manuscript. Nālandā, Bihar, India. Pāla
period.
WT
The sharing of the relics of the Buddha, Zenyōmitsu-Temple Museum, Tokyo
According to the Mahaparinibbana Sutta of the Pali canon, at the age of 80, the Buddha
announced that he would soon reach Parinirvana, or the final deathless state, and abandon
his earthly body. After this, the Buddha ate his last meal, which he had received as an
offering from a blacksmith named Cunda. Falling violently ill, Buddha instructed his
attendant Ānanda to convince Cunda that the meal eaten at his place had nothing to do
with his passing and that his meal would be a source of the greatest merit as it provided
the last meal for a Buddha. Mettanando and von Hinüber argue that the Buddha died of
mesenteric infarction, a symptom of old age, rather than food poisoning. The precise
contents of the Buddha's final meal are not clear, due to variant scriptural traditions and
ambiguity over the translation of certain significant terms; the Theravada tradition
generally believes that the Buddha was offered some kind of pork, while the Mahayana
tradition believes that the Buddha consumed some sort of truffle or other mushroom.
These may reflect the different traditional views on Buddhist vegetarianism and the
precepts for monks and nuns.
Ananda protested the Buddha's decision to enter Parinirvana in the abandoned jungles of
Kuśināra (present-day Kushinagar, India) of the Malla kingdom. Buddha, however, is
said to have reminded Ananda how Kushinara was a land once ruled by a righteous
wheel-turning king that resounded with joy:
44. Kusavati, Ananda, resounded unceasingly day and night with ten sounds—the
trumpeting of elephants, the neighing of horses, the rattling of chariots, the beating of
drums and tabours, music and song, cheers, the clapping of hands, and cries of "Eat,
drink, and be merry!"
The Buddha then asked all the attendant Bhikshus to clarify any doubts or questions they
had. They had none. According to Buddhist scrptures, he then finally entered Parinirvana.
The Buddha's final words are reported to have been: "All composite things pass away.
Strive for your own liberation with diligence." His body was cremated and the relics were
placed in monuments or stupas, some of which are believed to have survived until the
present. For example, The Temple of the Tooth or "Dalada Maligawa" in Sri Lanka is the
place where what some believe to be the relic of the right tooth of Buddha is kept at
present.
According to the Pāli historical chronicles of Sri Lanka, the Dīpavaṃsa and Mahāvaṃsa,
the coronation of Aśoka (Pāli: Asoka) is 218 years after the death of Buddha. According
to two textual records in Chinese (十八部論 and 部執異論), the coronation of Aśoka is
116 years after the death of Buddha. Therefore, the time of Buddha's passing is either 486
BCE according to Theravāda record or 383 BCE according to Mahayana record.
WT
However, the actual date traditionally accepted as the date of the Buddha's death in
Theravāda countries is 544 or 543 BCE, because the reign of Aśoka was traditionally
reckoned to be about 60 years earlier than current estimates.
At his death, the Buddha is famously believed to have told his disciples to follow no
leader. Mahakasyapa was chosen by the sangha to be the chairman of the First Buddhist
Council, with the two chief disciples Mahamoggallana and Sariputta having died before
the Buddha.
Physical characteristics
WT
Gandhāran depiction of the Buddha from Hadda, Central Asia. Victoria and Albert
Museum, London.
An extensive and colorful physical description of the Buddha has been laid down
in scriptures. A kshatriya by birth, he had military training in his upbringing, and by
Shakyan tradition was required to pass tests to demonstrate his worthiness as a warrior in
order to marry. He had a strong enough body to be noticed by one of the kings and was
asked to join his army as a general. He is also believed by Buddhists to have "the 32
Signs of the Great Man".
The Brahmin Sonadanda described him as "handsome, good-looking, and pleasing to the
eye, with a most beautiful complexion. He has a godlike form and countenance, he is by
no means unattractive."(D,I:115).
"It is wonderful, truly marvellous, how serene is the good Gotama's appearance, how
clear and radiant his complexion, just as the golden jujube in autumn is clear and radiant,
just as a palm-tree fruit just loosened from the stalk is clear and radiant, just as an
adornment of red gold wrought in a crucible by a skilled goldsmith, deftly beaten and laid
on a yellow-cloth shines, blazes and glitters, even so, the good Gotama's senses are
calmed, his complexion is clear and radiant." (A,I:181)
A disciple named Vakkali, who later became an Arahant, was so obsessed by Buddha's
physical presence that the Buddha is said to have felt impelled tell him to desist, and to
have reminded him that he should know the Buddha through the Dhamma and not
through physical appearances.
Although there are no extant representations of the Buddha in human form until around
the 1st century CE, descriptions of the physical characteristics of fully enlightened
buddhas are attributed to the Buddha in the Digha Nikaya's Lakkhaṇa Sutta (D,I:142). In
WT
addition, the Buddha's physical appearance is described by Yasodhara to their son Rahula
upon the Buddha's first post-Enlightenment return to his former princely palace in the
non-canonical Pali devotional hymn, Narasīha Gāthā ("The Lion of Men").
Teachings
Seated Buddha, Gandhāra, 2nd century CE.
Some scholars believe that some portions of the Pali Canon and the Āgamas contain the
actual substance of the historical teachings (and possibly even the words) of the Buddha.
This is not the case for the later Mahāyāna sūtras. The scriptural works of Early Bud-
dhism precede the Mahayana works chronologically, and are treated by many Western
scholars as the main credible source for information regarding the actual historical
teachings of Gautama Buddha. However, some scholars do not think that the texts report
on historical events.
Some of the fundamentals of the teachings attributed to Gautama Buddha are:
• The Four Noble Truths: that suffering is an ingrained part of existence; that the
origin of suffering is craving for sensuality, acquisition of identity, and
annihilation; that suffering can be ended; and that following the Noble Eightfold
Path is the means to accomplish this.
The Noble Eightfold Path: right understanding, right thought, right speech, right
WT
•
action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.
• Dependent origination: the mind creates suffering as a natural product of a
complex process.
• Rejection of the infallibility of accepted scripture: Teachings should not be
accepted unless they are borne out by our experience and are praised by the wise.
• Anicca (Sanskrit: anitya): That all things that come to be have an end.
• Dukkha (Sanskrit: duḥkha): That nothing which comes to be is ultimately
satisfying.
• Anattā (Sanskrit: anātman): That nothing in the realm of experience can really be
said to be "I" or "mine".
• Nibbāna (Sanskrit: Nirvāna): It is possible for sentient beings to realize a
dimension of awareness which is totally unconstructed and peaceful, and end all
suffering due to the mind's interaction with the conditioned world.
However, in some Mahayana schools, these points have come to be regarded as more or
less subsidiary. There is disagreement amongst various schools of Buddhism over more
complex aspects of what the Buddha is believed to have taught, and also over some of the
disciplinary rules for monks.
According to tradition, the Buddha emphasized ethics and correct understanding. He

questioned everyday notions of divinity and salvation. He stated that there is no
intermediary between mankind and the divine; distant gods are subjected to karma
themselves in decaying heavens; and the Buddha is only a guide and teacher for beings
who must tread the path of Nirvāṇa (Pāli: Nibbāna) themselves to attain the spiritual
awakening called bodhi and understand reality. The Buddhist system of insight and
meditation practice is not claimed to have been divinely revealed, but to spring from an
understanding of the true nature of the mind, which must be discovered by treading the
path guided by the Buddha's teachings.
Beyond Buddhism
WT
Buddha depicted as the 9th avatar of god Vishnu in a traditional Hindu representation
Gautama Buddha is also described as a god or Prophet in other Religions. Some Hindu
texts say that the Buddha was an avatar of the god Vishnu, who came to Earth to delude
beings away from the Vedic religion. The Buddha is also regarded as a prophet by the
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and a Manifestation of God in the Bahá'í faith.
Some early Chinese Taoist-Buddhists thought the Buddha to be a reincarnation of Lao

Tzu.
Chapter 3
Karma in Buddhism
Karma means "action" or "doing"; whatever one does, says, or thinks is a karma. In
Buddhism, the term karma is used specifically for those actions which spring from the
intention (Pali: cetana) of an unenlightened being.
WT
These bring about a fruit (Sanskrit, Pali: phala) or result (S., P.: vipāka; the two are often
used together as vipākaphala), either within the present life, or in the context of a future
rebirth. Other Indian religions have different views on karma. Karma is the engine which
drives the wheel of the cycle of uncontrolled rebirth (S., P. saṃsāra) for each being. In
the early texts it is not, however, the only causal mechanism influencing the lives of
sentient beings.
As one scholar states, "the Buddhist theory of action and result (karmaphala) is fun-
damental to much of Buddhist doctrine, because it provides a coherent model of the
functioning of the world and its beings, which in turn forms the doctrinal basis for the
Buddhist explanations of the path of liberation from the world and its result, nirvāṇa."
Karma in the early sutras

In the early sutras, as found in the Pali Canon and the Agamas preserved in Chinese
translation, "there is no single major systematic expostion" on the subject of karma and
"an account has to be put together from the dozens of places where karma is mentioned in
the texts." Nevertheless, the Buddha emphasized his doctrine of karma to the extent that
he was sometimes referred to as kammavada (the holder of the view of karma) or
kiriyavada (the promulgator of the consequence of karma).
In the Nibbedhika Sutta (Anguttara Nikaya 3.415) the Buddha said:
"Intention (P. cetana, S. cetanā), monks, is karma, I say. Having willed, one acts
through body, speech and mind."
In the Upajjhatthana Sutta (AN 5.57), the Buddha states:
"I am the owner of my karma. I inherit my karma. I am born of my karma. I am

related to my karma. I live supported by my karma. Whatever karma I create,
whether good or evil, that I shall inherit."
Intention and the moral quality of actions
According to Buddhist theory, every time a person acts there is some quality of intention
at the base of the mind and it is that quality rather than the outward appearance of the
action that determines the effect. If one appears to be benevolent but acts with greed,
anger or hatred, then the fruit of those actions will bear testimony to the fundamental
intention that lay behind them and will be a cause for future unhappiness. The Buddha
spoke of wholesome actions (P. kusala-kamma, S. kuśala-karma) that result in happiness,
and unwholesome actions (P. akusala-kamma, S. akuśala-karma) that result in
unhappiness. The Buddha also elaborated that it was impossible for virtuous action to
produce unfavorable results, and for nonvirtuous action to produce favorable results.
However, although a good deed may produce merit which ripens into wealth, if that deed
was done too casually or the intention behind it was not quite pure, that wealth so
obtained sometimes cannot be enjoyed (AN.4.392-393). There are two classes of
WT
determined deeds which always produce good or bad results (fixed results, P. niyato-rasi)
respectively, and a class of deeds which may produce either good or bad results (non-
fixed results, P. aniyato-rasi) presumably depending on the context, although the Buddha
does not elaborate (DN 3.217). Good karma is described as generating merit (P. puñña, S.
puñya), whereas bad karma is described as demerit (apuñña/apuñya or pāpa).
Karmic results
The Buddha most often spoke of karma as the determining factor of the realm of one's
subsequent rebirth--for this reason karma is often explained in tandem with rebirth and
cosmology. The Cūlakammavibhanga Sutta ("The Shorter Exposition of Action,"
Majjhima Nikaya 3.203) is devoted to describing the various rebirths that various kinds
of actions produce; negative actions such as killing lead to rebirths in the lower realms
such as hell, and virtuous action such as gracious behavior under duress leads to rebirth in
the human or other higher realms. Further, within human rebirths in particular, virtuous
actions produce desirable qualities and good fortune such as physical beauty, influence,
and so forth, whereas nonvirtuous actions lead to ugliness, poverty, and other
misfortunes. The Mahākammavibhanga Sutta ("The Greater Exposition of Action,"
MN.3.208) is a similar exposition, with the additional stipulation that other rebirths may
intervene between the time of the virtuous or nonvirtuous actions and the rebirth that they
impel.
The Buddha denied one could avoid experiencing the result of a karmic deed once it's
been committed (AN 5.292). In the Anguttara Nikaya, it is stated that karmic results are
experienced either in this life (P. diṭṭadhammika) or in a future lives (P. samparāyika).
The former may involve a readily observable connection between action and karmic
consequence, as when a thief is captured and tortured by the authorities, but the
connection need not necessarily be that obvious and in fact usually is not observable.
Among the results which manifest in future lives, five heinous actions (P. ànantarika-
kamma) provoke a rebirth in hell immediately subsequent to death, according to the
Vinaya: matricide, patricide, killing an arhat, intentional shedding of a Buddha's blood,
and causing a schism in the sangha (Vinaya 5.128).
Karmic action & karmic results vs. general causes & general results
The Buddha makes a basic distinction between past karma (P. purānakamma) which has
already been incurred, and karma being created in the present (P. navakamma). Therefore
in the present one both creates new karma (P. navakamma) and encounters the result of
past karma (P. kammavipāka). Karma in the early canon is also threefold: Mental action
(S. manaḥkarman), bodily action (S. kāyakarman) and vocal action (S. vākkarman).
The Buddha's theory of karmic action and effect did not encompass all causes (S. hetu)
and results (S. vipāka). Any given action may cause all sorts of results, but the karmic
results are only that subset of results which impinge upon the doer of the action as a
consequence of both the moral quality of the action and the intention behind the action. In
the Abhidharma they are referred to by specific names for the sake of clarity, karmic
causes being the "cause of results" (S. vipāka-hetu) and the karmic results being the
WT
"resultant fruit" (S. vipāka-phala). As one scholar outlines, "the consequences envisioned
by the law of karma encompass more (as well as less) than the observed natural or
physical results which follow upon the performance of an action." The law of karma also
applies "specifically to the moral sphere not concerned with the general relation between
actions and their consequences, but rather with the moral quality of actions and their
consequences, such as the pain and pleasure and good or bad experiences for the doer of
the act." The theory of karma is not deterministic, in part because past karma is not
viewed as the only causal mechanism causing the present. In the case of diseases, for
instance, he gives a list of other causes which may result in disease in addition to karma
(AN.5.110).
The Buddha's theory of moral behavior was not strictly deterministic; it was conditional.
His description of the workings of karma is not an all-inclusive one, unlike that of the
Jains. The Buddha instead gave answers to various questions to specific people in
specific contexts, and it is possible to find several causal explanations of behavior in the
early Buddhist texts.
In the Buddhist theory of karma, the karmic effect of a deed is not determined solely by
the deed itself, but also by the nature of the person who commits the deed and by the
circumstances in which it is committed.
A discourse in the Anguttara Nikaya (AN.1.249) indicates this conditionality:
A certain person has not properly cultivated his body, behavior, thought and intelligence,
is inferior and insignificant and his life is short and miserable; of such a person ... even a
trifling evil action done leads him to hell. In the case of a person who has proper culture
of the body, behavior, thought and intelligence, who is superior and not insignificant, and
who is endowed with long life, the consequences of a similar evil action are to be
experienced in this very life, and sometimes may not appear at all.
The Buddha declared that the precise working of how karma comes to fruition was one of
the four incomprehensibles (P. acinteyya or acinnteyyāni) for anyone without the insight
of a Buddha (AN.2.80). The Buddha sees the workings of karma with his "superhuman
eye." Contemporary scholar Bruce Matthews asserts that the Cūlakammavibhanga
Sutta (M.3.203) indicates that karma provokes "tendencies or conditions rather than
consequences as such;" presumably he counts the rebirths resulting from karma described
in the sutta as "tendencies or conditions" rather than "consequences," although he does
not elaborate the point.
In the Lakkhana Sutta (Digha Nikaya 30), the Buddha explains that his thirty-two special
physical characteristics are the fruition of past karma.
Karma & Nirvana
There is a further distinction between worldly, wholesome karma that leads to samsāric
happiness (like birth in higher realms), and path-consciousness which leads to
WT
enlightenment and nirvana. Therefore, there is samsāric good karma, which leads to
worldly happiness, and there is liberating karma—which is supremely good, as it ends
suffering forever. Once one has attained liberation one does not generate any further
karma, and the corresponding states of mind are called in Pali Kiriya. Nonetheless, the
Buddha advocated the practice of wholesome actions: "Refrain from unwholesome
actions/Perform only wholesome ones/Purify the mind/This is the teaching of the
Enlightened Ones" (Dhp v.183).
In Buddhism, the term karma refers only to samsāric actions, the workings of which are
modeled by the twelve nidanas of dependent origination, not actions committed by
Arhats and Buddhas.
Incorrect understandings of karma in the early sutras
In Buddhism, karma is not pre-determinism, fatalism or accidentalism, as all these ideas

lead to inaction and destroy motivation and human effort. These ideas undermine the
important concept that a human being can change for the better no matter what his or her
past was, and they are designated as "wrong views" in Buddhism. The Buddha identified
three:
1. Pubbekatahetuvada: The belief that all happiness and suffering, including all
future happiness and suffering, arise from previous karma, and human beings can
exercise no volition to affect future results (Past-action determinism).
2. Issaranimmanahetuvada: The belief that all happiness and suffering are caused
by the directives of a Supreme Being (Theistic determinism).
3. Ahetu-appaccaya-vaada: The belief that all happiness and suffering are random,
having no cause (Indeterminism or Accidentalism).
Karma is continually ripening, but it is also continually being generated by present

actions, therefore it is possible to exercise free will to shape future karma. P.A. Payutto
writes, "the Buddha asserts effort and motivation as the crucial factors in deciding the
ethical value of these various teachings on kamma."
Systematization of karma theory in the early schools
As the earliest Buddhist philosophical schools developed with the rise of Abhidharma
Buddhism, various interpretations developed regarding more refined points of karma. All
were confronted with a central issue, as one scholar summarizes:
When [the Buddhist] understanding of karma is correlated to the Buddhist doctrine of

universal impermanence and No-Self, a serious problem arises as to where this trace is
stored and what the trace left is. The problem is aggravated when the trace remains latent
over a long period, perhaps over a period of many existences. The crucial problem
presented to all schools of Buddhist philosophy was where the trace is stored and how it
can remain in the ever-changing stream of phenomena which build up the individual and
what the nature of this trace is.
WT
As the Buddha had not offered elaboration in the early sutras that addresses this, the
various schools proposed various similar yet distinct solutions. As one scholar writes, "In
certain cases it is apparent that concern with karma doctrine or vocabulary explanatory
thereof played a distinctly causal role in sectarian evolution. In other cases it is safer to
say that the concern for an intelligible karma vocabulary was one among many complex
factors that helped give decisive shape and substance to already distinct or emerging
sectarian positions."
One scholar summarizes the various orientations as follows:
Different sects gave different names to their theoretical candidates for the "carrier of the
Karma". The following schools are associated with the following entities: Sammitīya—
the avipranāśa or 'indestructible', a dharma of the citta-viprayukta class. Sarvāstivādin/
Vaibhāṣika tradition—prāpti and aprāpti or adhesion and non-adhesion, and the
avijñapti·rūpa or form that does not indicate. Sautrāntika tradition—the bīja or seed, the
ekarasa-skandha or aggregate of unique essence, the mulāntika-skandha or proximate
root aggregate and the paramārtha-pudgala. Yogācāra/Vijñānavādin tradition—the
ālaya-vijñāna or store house' consciousness. Again, the central question that these entities
seem to have been constructed to answer is that of how the karmic force inheres in the
psychophysical stream without thereby coloring or pervading each discrete moment of
that stream. What accounts for the "idling" or non-active aspect of defilement when a
given thought is of a virtuous or morally indeterminate nature?
The Theravādin commentarial tradition
In the Theravāda Abhidhamma and commentarial traditions, karma is taken up at length.

The Abhidhamma Sangaha of Anuruddhācariya offers a treatment of the topic, with an
exhaustive treatment in book five (5.3.7).
Of particular interest is the Kathāvatthu, which "alone of the works of the Pali canon is
directly concerned with conflicting views within the Buddhist community. . . A number
of the controverted points discussed in the Kathāvatthu relate either directly or indirectly
to the notion of kamma." This involved debate with the Pudgalavādin school, which
postulated the provisional existence of the person (S. pudgala, P. puggala) to account for
the ripening of karmic effects over time. The Kathāvatthu also records debate by the
Theravādins with the Andhakas (who may have been Mahāsāṃghikas) regarding whether
or not old age and death are the result (vipāka) of karma. The Theravāda maintained that
they are not—not, apparently because there is no causal relation between the two, but
because they wished to reserve the term vipāka strictly for mental results--"subjective
phenomena arising through the effects of kamma."
The Visuddhimagga states that "the kamma that is the condition for the fruit does not
pass on there (to where the fruit is)."
In the canonical Theravāda view of kamma, "the belief that deeds done or ideas seized at
the moment of death are particularly significant."
WT
As scholar Peter Harvey notes, "one curious feature of the Abhidamma view of the
perceptual process is that the discernments related to the five physical sense organs are
always said to be fruitions of karma." However, in agreement with scholar L.S. Cousins
he agrees that the most "plausible" explanation "is that karma affects discernment by
determining which of the many phenomena in a person's sensory range are actually
noticed in the same room, for example, one person naturally tends to notice certain things
which give rise to pleasure, while another tends to notice things which give rise to some
displeasure."
As karma is not the only causal agent, the Theravādin commentarial tradition classifed
causal mechanisms taught in the early texts in five categories, known as Niyama
Dhammas:
• Kamma Niyama — Consequences of one's actions

• Utu Niyama — Seasonal changes and climate
• Biija Niyama — Laws of heredity
• Citta Niyama — Will of mind
• Dhamma Niyama — Nature's tendency to produce a perfect type
The Theravāda Abhidhamma also categories karma in other ways:
With regard to function
• Reproductive karma (janaka-kamma) - karma which produces the mental and

material aggregates at the moment of conception, conditioning the rebirth-
consciousness (patisandhi vinnana).
• Supportive karma (upatthambhaka kamma) - karma ripening in one's lifetime
which is of the same favorable or unfavorable quality as the reproductive karma
which impelled the rebirth in question. That is to say, in the case of an animal
with an unpleasant life, the karma creating unpleasant conditions would be
considered supportive of the reproductive karma which impelled what is
considered an unfavorable rebirth.
• Obstructive or counteractive karma (upapiḍaka kamma) - the reverse of the
former. In the example of the animal, an animal with a pleasant life would be said
to have obstructive rather than supportive karma in relation to his reproductive
karma.
• Destructive karma (upaghātaka kamma) - karma powerful enough to conteract the
reproductive karma entirely, by ending the life in question.
With regard to potency
• Weighty kamma (garuka kamma) — that which produces its results in this life or
in the next for certain, namely, the five heinous crimes (ānantarika-kamma)
• Proximate kamma (āsanna kamma) — that which one does or remembers
WT
immediately before the dying moment
• Habitual kamma (āciṇṇa kamma) — that which one habitually performs and
recollects and for which one has a great liking
• Reserve kamma (kaṭattā kamma) — refers to all actions that are done once and
soon forgotten
With regard to temporal precedence
• Immediately effective kamma (diţţhadhammavedaniya kamma) - in the present

lifetime
• Subsequently effective kamma (upapajjavedaniya kamma) - in the immediately
following lifetime
• Indefinitely effective kamma (aṗarāpariyavedaniya kamma) - in lifetimes two or
more in the future
• Defunct kamma (ahosi kamma) - kamma whose effects have ripened already
With regard to the realm-setting of the effect
• Unwholesome (akusala) kamma pertaining to the desire realm (kamavacara)

• Wholesome (kusala) kamma pertaining to the desire realm (kamavacara)
• Wholesome kamma pertaining to the form realm (rupavacara)
• Wholesome kamma pertaining to the formless realm (arupavacara)
The Milindapañha and Petavatthu
The Milindapañha, a paracanonical Theravāda text, offers some interpretations of karma

theory at variance with the orthodox position. In particular, Nāgasena allows for the
possibility of the transfer of merit to humans and one of the four classes of petas, perhaps
in deference to folk belief. Nāgasena makes it clear that demerit cannot be transferred.
One asserts that the sharing of merit "can be linked to the Vedic śrāddha, for it was
Buddhist practice not to upset existing traditions when well-established custom was not
antithetic to Buddhist teaching."
The Petavatthu, which is fully canonical, endorses the transfer of merit even more widely,
including the possibility of sharing merit with all petas.
The Vaibhāṣika-Sarvāstivādin school and the Abhidharma-kośa
The Vaibhāśika-Sarvāstivāda, which had by far the most "comprehensive edifice of

doctrinal systematics" of the nikaya schools, was widely influential in India and beyond--
"the understanding of karma in the Sarvāstivāda in turn became normative not only for
Buddhism in India but also for it in other countries."
The Abhidharmahṛdaya by Dharmaśrī was the first systematic exposition of Vaibhāśika-

Sarvāstivāda doctrine, and the third chapter, the Karma-varga, deals with the concept of
karma systematically.
WT
Another important exposition, the Mahāvibhāṣa, gives three definitions of karma: 1)
action, 2) formal vinaya conduct, and 3) human action as the agent of various effects. For
the first usage, karma is supplanted in the text by the synonyms kriya or karitra, both of
which mean "activity." The third usage, karma as that which links certain actions with
certain effects, is the primary concern of the exposition.
The 4th century philosopher Vasubandhu compiled the Abhidharma-kośa, an extensive

compendium which elaborated the positions of the Vaibhāṣika-Sarvāstivādin school on a
wide range of issues raised by the early sutras. Chapter four the Kośa is devoted to a
study of karma, and chapters two and five contain formulation as to the mechanism of
fruition and retribution. This became the main source of understanding of the perspective
of early Buddhism for later Mahāyāna philosophers.
The notion of avijñapti—an unseen latent power that is nonetheless momentary—is

significant to the Vaibhāṣika-Sarvāstivādin accounting of how karmic action precipitates
karmic results.
Vasubhandu elaborates on the causes (S. hetu, Tib. rgyu) and conditions (S. pratyaya,
Tib. rkyen, Pāli: paccaya) involved in the production of results (S. vipākaphalam, Tib.
rnam-smin-gyi 'bras-bu), karma being one source of causes and results, the "ripening
cause" and "ripened result."} Generally speaking, the conditions can be thought of as
auxiliary causes. Vasubhandhu draws from the earlier Sarvāstivādin Abhidharma treatises
to establish an elaborate Buddhist etiology with the following primary components:
Six Causes:
• Acting causes (S. kāraṇahetu, T. byed-rgyu) – all phenomena, other than the
result itself, which do not impede the production of the result. This includes (a)
potent acting causes, such as a seed for a sprout, and (b) impotent acting causes,
such as the space that allows a sprout to grow and the mother or the clothes of the
farmer who planted the seed.
• Simultaneously arising causes (S. sahabhuhetu, T. lhan-cig 'byung-ba'i rgyu) –
causes that arise simultaneously with their results. This would include, for
instance, characteristics together with whatever it is that possesses the
characteristics.
• Congruent causes (Skt. saṃmprayuktahetu, T. mtshungs-ldan-gyi rgyu) – a

subcategory of simultaneously arising causes, it includes causes share the same
focal object, mental aspect, cognitive sensor, time, and slant with their causes—
primarily referring to the primary consciousness and its congruent mental factors.
• Equal status cause (S. sabhagahetu, T. skal-mnyam-gyi rgyu) – causes for which
the results are later moments in the same category of phenomena. For example,
one moment of patience can be considered the cause of the next moment of
patience.
WT
• Driving causes (S. sarvatragohetu, T. kun groi rgyu) – disturbing emotions and
attitudes that generate other subsequent disturbing emotions and attitudes in the
same plane of existence, though the two need not be of the same ethical status.
• Ripening cause (Skt. vipākahetu, T. rnam-smin-gyi rgyu) - the karmic cause or

efficacy.
Four Conditions:
• Causal conditions (S. hetupratyaya, T. rgyu-rkyen) - corresponds to five of the

six causes, excepting the kāraṇahetu, which corresponds to the three conditions
below
• Immediately preceding conditions (S. samanantarapratyaya, T. dema thag
rkyen) - a consciousness which precedes a sense or mental consciousness without
any intervening consciousness and which produces the subsequent consciousness
into an experience-ready entity
• Focal condition (S. alambanapratyaya, T. dmigs-rkyen) - or "object condition" -
an object which directly generates the consciousness apprehending it into having
its aspect, e.g. the object blue causes an eye consciousness to be generated into
having the aspect of blue
• Dominating condition (S. adhipatipratyaya, T. bdag-rkyen) -
Five Types of Results:
• Ripened results (S. vipakaphalam, T. rnam smin gyi 'bras-bu) - karmic results.
• Results that correspond to their cause (S. niṣyandaphalam, T. rgyu-mthun gyi
'bras-bu) - causally concordant effects
• Dominating results (S. adhipatiphalam, bdag poi bras bu) - the result of
predominance. All conditioned dharmas are the adhipatiphala of other conditioned
dharmas.
• Man-made results (S. puruṣakāraphalam, T. skyes bu byed-pa'i 'bras-bu) - a
result due to the activity of another dharma
• Results that are states of being parted (S. visamyogaphalam, T. bral 'bras) - not
actually a result at all, but refers to the cessation that arises from insight.
The Dārṣṭāntika-Sautrāntika view
The Dārṣṭāntika-Sautrāntika school pioneered the idea of karmic seeds (S. bija) and "the
special modification of the psycho-physical series" (S. saṃtatipaṇāmaviśeṣa) to explain
the workings of karma.
The Pudgalavāda view
Although the views of the Pudgalavāda were considered somewhat heretical by other
WT
Indian Buddhist schools, they were in all likelihood the most populous non-Mahayanist
sect in India, estimated at between a quarter of all non-Mahayana monks up to double the
number of the next largest sect. According to scholar Joseph Walser,
The Pudgalavādins argued that karma was a composite entity consisting of several
temporal components and one atemporal one. Following the Buddhists sūtras, they
claimed that mental saṃskāras (mental formations corresponding to karma) were of the
nature of volition. Vocal and bodily karma, however, consisted only of the motion (gati)
that could be observed. The motion itself is conditioned and therefore impermanent. The
Pudgalavādins were, however, aware that the Buddha also taught the persistence of
karma. In this the Pudgalavādins appealed to a text that was also considered authoritative
by the Sarvāstivādins: “[Karma] does not perish, even after hundreds of millions of
cosmic eras. When the complex [of conditions] and [favorable] times come together, they
ripen for their author.” One particular subsect of Pudgalavādins—-the Saṃitīyas—-took
the imperishability of karma to be one thing and the causes and conditions of karma to be
another. They posited the existence of an entity called, appropriately enough, the
“indestructible” (avipraṇāśa), separate from the karma itself. This “indestructible” acts
like a blank sheet of paper on which the actions (karma) are written.
. . .The Pudgalavādin Abhidharma puts a definite spin on the sūtra tradition in their
claims that karma persisted because of avipraṇāśa (in the case of the Saṃitīyas) and in
claiming that pudgala was neither saṃsṛkta nor asaṃsṛkta (in the case of all
Pudgalavādins). Yet the payoff for these maneuvers was sufficient to warrant such a
move.. . in positing an avipraṇāśa, the Saṃitīyas could appeal to the words of the
Buddha saying that karma was indestructible. By claiming that the pudgala was existent,
they could meaningfully talk about the owner of karma while at the same time be able to
explain how this owner could move from saṃsāra to nirvaṇā."
Karma theory in Mahāyāna schools
Thanissaro Bhikkhu, a Theravādin monk, speculates that the development of the karma
doctrine in the direction of determinism necessitated the development of the Mahāyāna
concepts of Buddha-nature and savior Buddhas:
[I]n later centuries, when the principle of freedom was forgotten ... Past bad kamma was
seen as so totally deterministic that there seemed no way around it unless you assumed
either an innate Buddha in the mind that could overpower it, or an external Buddha who
would save you from it.
The transfer or dedication of merit
The Mahāyāna evolved a theory that one being may "dedicate his merit" and thereby
WT
share it with others, which was arguably somewhat discordant with prior understandings
of karma theory. Scholar Heinz Bechert dates the Buddhist doctrine of transfer of merit
(Sanskrit: puṇyapariṇāmanā) in its fully developed form to the period between the 5th
and 7th centuries CE.
As scholar D. Seyfort Ruegg notes,
An idea that has posed a number of thorny questions and conceptual difficulties for
Buddhist thought and the history of the Mahāyāna is that often referred to as 'transfer of
merit' (puṇyapariṇāmanā). The process of pariṇāmanā (Tib. yons su bsno ba) in fact
constitutes a most important feature in Mahāyāna, where it denotes what might perhaps
best be termed the dedication of good (puṇya, śubha, kuśala[mula]; Tib. bsod nams, dge
ba['i rtsa ba]) by an exercitant in view of the attainment by another karmically related
person (such as a deceased parent or teacher) of a higher end. Yet such dedication
appears, prima facie, to run counter to the karmic principle of the fruition or retribution
of deeds (karmavipāka). Generally accepted in Buddhism, both Mahāyānist and non-
Mahāyānist, this principle stipulates that a karmic fruit or result (karmaphala) is 'reaped',
i.e. experienced, solely by the person - or more precisely by the conscious series
(saṃtāna) - that has sown the seed of future karmic fruition when deliberately (cetayitva)
accomplishing an action (karman).
The related idea of acquisition/possession (of 'merit', Pali patti, Skt. prāpti), of assenting
to and rejoicing in it (pattānumodanā), and even of its gift (pattidāna) are known to
sections of the Theravāda tradition; and this concept - absent in the oldest canonical texts
in Pali, but found in later Pali tradition (Petavatthu, Buddhāpadāna) - has been explained
by some writers as being due to Mahāyānist influence, and by reference to Nalinaksha
Dutt's category of 'semi-Mahāyāna.'
Scholar Tommi Lehtonen notes that (fellow scholar) "Wolfgang Schumann says that that
"the Mahāyāna teaching of the transfer of merit `breaks the strict causality of the
Hinayānic law of karman (P. kamma) according to which everybody wanting better
rebirth can reach it solely by his own efforts’. Yet, Schumann claims that on this point
Mahāyāna and Hinayāna differ only in the texts, for the religious practice in South East
Asia acknowledges the transference of karmic merit (P. pattidāna) in Theravāda as well."
Karma theory in Indian Yogācāra philosophy
In the Yogācāra philosophical tradition, one of the two principal Mahāyāna schools, the
principle of karma was extended considerably. In the Yogācāra formulation, all
experience without exception is said to result from the ripening of karma. Karmic seeds
(S. bija) are said to be stored in the "storehouse consciousness" (S. ālayavijñāna) until
such time as they ripen into experience. The term vāsāna ("perfuming") is also used, and
Yogācārins debated whether vāsāna and bija were essentially the same, the seeds were
the effect of the perfuming, or whether the perfuming simply affected the seeds. The
seemingly external world is merely a "by-product" (adhipati-phala) of karma. The
conditioning of the mind resulting from karma is called saṃskāra.
WT
The Treatise on Action (Karmasiddhiprakaraṇa), also by Vasubandhu, treats the subject
of karma in detail from the Yogācāra perspective. According to scholar Dan Lusthaus,
"Vasubandhu's Viṃśatikā (Twenty Verses) repeatedly emphasizes in a variety of ways
that karma is intersubjective and that the course of each and every stream of
consciousness (vijñāna-santāna, i.e., the changing individual) is profoundly influenced
by its relations with other consciousness streams."
As one scholar argues, whereas in earlier systems it "was not clear how a series of
completely mental events (the deed and its traces) could give rise to non-mental, material
effects," with the (purported) idealism of the Yogācāra system this is not an issue.
The Mahayana Diamond Sutra (Vajracchedika-sutra) also is perhaps suggestive of the

Mahāyāna tendency to attribute all happiness and suffering to karmic ripening:
The happiness and suffering of all beings,

are due to karma, the Sage taught;
Karma arises from diverse acts,
which in turn create the diverse classes of beings
In Mahāyāna traditions, karma is not the sole basis of rebirth. The rebirths of bodhisattvas
after the seventh stage (S. bhūmi) are said to be consciously directed for the benefit of
others still trapped in saṃsāra. Thus, theirs are not uncontrolled rebirths.
Karma theory in Indo-Tibetan Mādhyamaka philosophy
Nāgārjuna articulated the difficulty in forming a karma theory in his most prominent
work, the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā (Fundamental Verses on the Middle Way): If (the act)
lasted till the time of ripening, (the act) would be eternal. If (the act) were terminated,
how could the terminated produce a fruit? The Mūlamadhyamakavṛtty-Akutobhayā, also
generally attributed to Nāgārjuna, concludes that it is impossible both for the act to
persist somehow and also for it to perish immediately and still have efficacy at a later
time.
Mādhyamaka schools deriving from Nāgārjuna subsequently took one of two approaches
to the problem. The Svātantrika-Mādhyamaka generally borrowed the philosophy of
karma from the Yogācāra. The Prāsaṅgika-Mādhyamaka refuted every concept of a
support for ongoing karmic efficacy, while nevertheless postulating that a potential (T.
nus pa) is formed which substantiates whenever the situation is ripe. Candrakīrti, the
definitive exponent of Prāsaṅgika, argued that because this potential is not a thing, that is,
not an "inherently real phenomenon," it does not need to be supported in any way. One
scholar argues that "in India, the Prāsaṅgikas' various viewpoints of karma were never
organized into a coherent and convincing system."
In Tibet
WT
Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, argued that the
Prāsaṅgika position allowed for the postulation of something called an "act's cessation"
(las zhig pal) which persists and is in fact a substance (rdzas or dngos po, S. vastu), and
which explains the connection between cause and result. Gorampa, an important
philosopher of the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism, accused Tsongkhapa of a doctrinal
innovation not legitimately grounded in Candrakīrti's work, and one which amounted to
little more than a revival of the Vaibhāṣika concept of avijñapti with an intentionally
misleading new name. Gelugpa scholars offered defenses of the idea.
Karma theory in East Asian Buddhism
Zen and karma
Dōgen Kigen argued in his Shobogenzo that karmic latencies are emphatically not empty,
going so far as to claim that belief in the emptiness of karma should be characterized as
"non-Buddhist," although he also states that the “law of karman has no concrete
existence.”
Tendai
The Japanese Tendai/Pure Land teacher Genshin taught that Amida Buddha has the
power to destroy the karma that would otherwise bind one in saṃsāra.
Karma in Vajrayana
In the Vajrayana tradition, it is believed that the effects of negative past karma can be
"purified" through such practices as meditation on Vajrasattva.. The performer of the
action, after having purified the karma, does not experience the negative results he or she
otherwise would have.
The Karma Buddha family in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism
The dhyani Buddhas, also called Five Wisdom Buddhas, are built on five Buddha
families (Kullas, Buddhakula). One of them is named the Karma family presided by
Buddha Amoghasiddhi. The symbol/emblem of that family is the double vajra.
Modern interpretations and controversies
Karma theory & social justice
Since the exposure of the West to Buddhism, some western commentators and Buddhists
have taken exception to aspects of karma theory, and have proposed revisions of various
kinds. These proposals fall under the rubric of Buddhist modernism. As one scholar
writes, "Some modern Buddhist thinkers appear largely to have abandoned traditional
WT
views of karma and rebirth in light of the contemporary transformation of the conception
of interdependence," preferring instead to align karma purely with contemporary ideas of
causality. One scholar writes, "it is perhaps possible to say that both Buddhism and
Buddhist ethics may be better off without the karmic-rebirth factor to deal with." Often
these critical writers have backgrounds in Zen and/or Engaged Buddhism.
The "primary critique" of the Buddhist doctrine of karma is that some feel "karma may be
socially and politically disempowering in its cultural effect, that without intending to do
this, karma may in fact support social passivity or acquiescence in the face of oppression
of various kinds." Dale S. Wright, a scholar specializing in Zen Buddhism, has proposed
that the doctrine be reformulated for modern people, "separated from elements of
supernatural thinking," so that karma is asserted to condition only personal qualities and
dispositions rather than rebirth and external occurrences.
One scholar and Zen practitioner, David Loy, echoes these remarks. He writes, "what are
we going to do about karma? There's no point in pretending that karma hasn't become a
problem for contemporary Buddhism. Buddhism can fit quite nicely into modern ways of
understanding. But not traditional views of karma." Loy argues that the traditional view
of karma is "fundamentalism" which Buddhism must "outgrow."
Loy argues that the idea of accumulating merit too easily becomes "spirtitual
materialism," a view echoed by other Buddhist modernists, and further that
Karma has been used to rationalize racism, caste, economic oppression, birth handicaps
and everything else. Taken literally, karma justifies the authority of political elites, who
therefore must deserve their wealth and power, and the subordination of those who have
neither. It provides the perfect theodicy: if there is an infallible cause-and-effect
relationship between one's actions and one's fate, there is no need to work toward social
justice, because it's already built into the moral fabric of the universe. In fact, if there is
no undeserved suffering, there is really no evil that we need to struggle against. It will all
balance out in the end.
While some strands of later Buddhist thought did attribute all experience to past karma,
the early texts explicitly did not, and in particular state that caste is not determined by
karma.
Loy goes on to argue that the view that suffering such as that undergone by Holocaust
victims could be attributed in part to the karmic ripenings of those victims is
"fundamentalism, which blames the victims and rationalizes their horrific fate," and that
this is "something no longer to be tolerated quietly. It is time for modern Buddhists and
modern Buddhism to outgrow it" by revising or discarding the teachings on karma.
The question of the Holocaust also occurs in the Jew in the Lotus: A Poet's Re-Discovery
of Jewish Identity in Buddhist India, which describes a group of Jewish religious leaders
who meet with the Dalai Lama. They ask one of the Dalai Lama's party, a Buddhist
scholar named Geshe Sonam Rinchen, if the Holocaust would be attributed to past karma
in the traditional Buddhist view, and he affirms that it would. The author is "shocked and
WT
a little outraged," because, like Loy, he felt it "sounded like blaming the victim."
Many modern Buddhists such as Thich Naht Hanh prefer to suggest the "dispersion of
karmic responsibility into the social system," such that "moral responsibility is
decentered from the solitary individual and spread throughout the entire social system,"
reflecting the left-wing politics of Engaged Buddhism.
Is there collective or national karma?
Other modern Buddhists have sought to formulate theories of group, collective and
national karma which are not found in traditional Buddhist thinking. The earliest
recorded instance of this occurred in 1925, when a member of the Maha Bodhi named
Sheo Narain published an article entitled "Karmic Law" in which he invited Buddhist
scholars to explore the question of whether an individual is "responsible not only for his
individual actions in his past life but also for past communal deeds."
As one scholar writes, "a systematic concept of group karma was in no sense operative in
early Theravada" or other schools based on the early sutras. "Instead," he writes, "the
repeated emphasis in the canonical discussions of karma is on the individual as heir to his
own deeds. It is only in this century, then, that one finds a conscious effort to split with
this tradition."
Buddhism does not deny that the actions taken by one generation of the citizens of a
given country will have effects on later generations, for example. However, as noted
above, all effects of actions are not karmic effects. Karmic effects impinge only on the
mindstreams of those sentient beings who perform the actions. As Nyanatiloka
Mahathera writes, individuals
should be responsible for the deeds formerly done by this so-called 'same' people. In
reality, however, this present people may not consist at all of the karmic heirs of the same
individuals who did these bad deeds. According to Buddhism it is of course quite true
that anybody who suffers bodily, suffers for his past or present bad deeds. Thus also each
of those individuals born within that suffering nation, must, if actually suffering bodily,
have done evil somewhere, here or in one of the innunmerable spheres of existence; but
he may not have had anything to do with the bad deeds of the so-called nation. We might
say that through his evil Karma he was attracted to the miserable condition befitting to
him. In short, the term Karma applies, in each instance, only to wholesome and
unwholesome volitional activity of the single individual.
Thus, in the traditional view the effects of the actions of other beings—such as the leader
of one's country, or prior generations of its citizens—might well serve as causes of
suffering for an individual on one level, but not they would not be the karmic causes of
the suffering of that individual—those causes would function in congruence with the
karmic causes. There is, therefore, no "national karma" in traditional Buddhism. One
"scholar of engaged Buddhism" wrote an article asserting that the "collective karma" of
the United States deriving from the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse would
WT
potentially "play out for generations," a view that is not supported by traditional Buddhist
views of karma. The effects may well be felt by Americans for generations, but they
would not constitute "collective karma."
"Collective karma" could be spoken of only in certain limited senses in the canonical
tradition. In Vasubandu's Karmasiddhiprakarana, among other places, it is asserted that a
group of individuals who collaborate and share the same intention for a planned action
will all incur karmic merit or demerit based on that action, regardless of which individual
actually carries out the action. The fruition of their merit or demerit, however, will not
necessarily be experienced by each of the individuals together, and/or at the same time.
Likewise, "family karma" is possible only when it refers to karmic dispositions which are
similar in each individual family member. One scholar points out, "statements concerning
group karma . . .are subject to conceptual confusion. It is important to distinguish group
karma from what might be termed conjunctive karma, that is, the karmic residues which
we experience as a result of the actions of everyone or everything operating casually in
the situation, but which are justified by our own accumulated karma. . . the actions of
many persons . . .mediate our karma to us. But this is not group karma, for the effect
which we experience is justified by our own particular acts or pool of karma, and not by
the karmic acts or pool of the group, even though it is mediated by the actions of others."
Is karma just "social conditioning?"
Buddhist modernists also often prefer to equate karma with social conditioning, in
contradistinction with, as one scholar puts it, "early texts [which] give us little reason to
interpret 'conditioning' as the infusion into the psyche of external social norms, or of
awakening as simply transcending all psychological conditioning and social roles.
Karmic conditioning drifts semantically toward 'cultural conditioning' under the influence
of western discourses that elevate the individual over the social, cultural, and
institutional. The traditional import of the karmic conditioning process, however, is
primarily ethical and soteriological—actions condition circumstances in this and future
lives."
Essentially, this understanding limits the scope of the traditional understanding of karmic
effects so that it encompasses only saṃskāras—habits, dispositions and tendencies—and
not external effects, while at the same time expanding the scope to include social
conditioning that does not particularly involve volitional action.
WT
Chapter 4
Rebirth
Rebirth in Buddhism is the doctrine that the evolving consciousness (Pali: samvattanika-
viññana) or stream of consciousness (Pali: viññana-sotam, Sanskrit: vijñāna-srotām,
vijñāna-santāna, or citta-santāna) upon death (or "the dissolution of the aggregates" (P.
WT
khandhas, S. skandhas)), becomes one of the contributing causes for the arising of a new
aggregation. The consciousness in the new person is neither identical to nor entirely
different from that in the deceased but the two form a causal continuum or stream.
In traditional Buddhist cosmology these lives can be in any of a large number of states of
being including the human, any kind of animal and several types of supernatural being.
Rebirth is conditioned by the karmas (actions of body, speech and mind) of previous
lives; good karmas will yield a happier rebirth, bad karmas will produce one which is
more unhappy. The basic cause for this is the abiding of consciousness in ignorance (Pali:
avijja, Sanskrit: avidya): when ignorance is uprooted, rebirth ceases. One of the analogies
used to describe what happens then is that of a ray of light that never lands.
Buddhist terminology and doctrine

There is no word corresponding exactly to the English terms "rebirth", "mete-
mpsychosis", "transmigration" or "reincarnation" in the traditional Buddhist languages of
Pāli and Sanskrit: the entire process of change from one life to the next is called
punarbhava (Sanskrit) or punabbhava (Pāli), literally "becoming again", or more briefly
bhava, "becoming", while the state one is born into, the individual process of being born
or coming into the world in any way, is referred to simply as "birth" (jāti). The entire
universal process that gives rise to this is called saṃsāra.
Within one life and across multiple lives, the empirical, changing self not only
objectively affects its surrounding external world, but also generates (consciously and
unconsciously) its own subjective image of this world, which it then lives in as 'reality'. It
lives in a world of its own making in various ways. It "tunes in" to a particular level of
consciousness (by meditation or the rebirth it attains through its karma) which has a
particular range of objects - a world - available to it. It furthermore selectively notices
from among such objects, and then processes what has been sensed to form a distorted
interpretive model of reality: a model in which the 'I am' conceit is a crucial reference
point. When nibbana is experienced, though, all such models are transcended: the world
stops 'in this fathom-long carcase'.
Historical context
The Buddha lived at a time of great philosophical creativity in India when many
conceptions of the nature of life and death were proposed. Some were materialist, holding
that there was no existence that the self is annihilated upon death. Others believed in a
form of cyclic existence, where a being is born, lives, dies and then is re-born, but in the
context of a type of determinism or fatalism in which karma played no role. Others were
"eternalists", postulating an eternally existent self or soul comparable to that in
Christianity: the ātman survives death and reincarnates as another living being, based on
its karmic inheritance. This is the idea that has become dominant (with certain
modifications) in modern Hinduism.
The Buddha's concept was distinct, consistent with the common notion of a sequence of
lives over a very long time but constrained by two core concepts: that there is no
WT
irreducible self tying these lives together (anattā) and that all compounded things are
subject to dissolution, including all the components of the human person and personality
(anicca). The story of the Buddha's life presented in the early texts does not allude to the
idea of rebirth prior to his enlightenment, leading some to suggest that he discovered it
for himself. The Buddha's detailed conception of the connections between action (karma),
rebirth and causality is set out in the twelve links of dependent origination.
Ideas of rebirth
Supra-mundane stages, fetters and rebirths
(according to the Sutta Piṭaka)
st a g e 's ab an d o ned re b i rt h ( s)
"f ru i t " f et t er s until suffering's end
stream-enterer up to seven more times as

1. identity view a human or in a heaven
2. doubt
lower
once-returner 3. ritual attachment once more as
fetters a human
4. sensual desire once more in
non-returner
5. ill will a pure abode
6. material-rebirth lust
7. immaterial-rebirth lust
higher
arahant 8. conceit none
fetters
9. restlessness
10. ignorance
There are many references to rebirth in the early Buddhist scriptures. These are some of
the more important; Mahakammavibhanga Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya 136); Upali Sutta
(Majjhima Nikaya 56); Kukkuravatika Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya 57); Moliyasivaka Sutta
(Samyutta Nikaya 36.21); Sankha Sutta (Samyutta Nikaya 42.8).
Some English-speaking Buddhists prefer the term "rebirth" or "re-becoming" (Sanskrit:

punarbhava; Pali: punabbhava) to "reincarnation" as they take the latter to imply a fixed
entity that is reborn. It is said to be the "evolving consciousness" (Pali: samvattanika
viññana, M.1.256) or "stream of consciousness" (Pali: viññana sotam, D.3.105). that
reincarnates. The early Buddhist texts make it clear that there is no permanent
consciousness that moves from life to life. The lack of a fixed self does not mean lack of
continuity. In the same way that a flame is transferred from one candle to another, there is
a conditioned relationship between one life and the next: they are neither identical nor
completely distinct.
While all Buddhist traditions seem to accept some notion of rebirth, there is no unified
view about precisely how events unfold after the moment of death. The medieval Pali
WT
scholar Buddhaghosa labeled the consciousness that constitutes the condition for a new
birth as described in the early texts "rebirth-linking consciousness" (patisandhi). Some
schools conclude that karma continued to exist and adhere to the person until it had
worked out its consequences. For the Sautrantika school each act "perfumed" the
individual and led to the planting of a "seed" that would later germinate as a good or bad
karmic result. Theravada Buddhism generally asserts that rebirth is immediate while the
Tibetan schools hold to the notion of a bardo (intermediate state) that can last up to forty-
nine days. This has led to the development of a unique 'science' of death and rebirth, a
good deal of which is set down in what is popularly known as The Tibetan Book of the
Dead.
Theravada Buddhism generally denies there is an intermediate state, though some

early Buddhist texts seem to support it. One school that adopted this view was the
Sarvastivada, who believed that between death and rebirth there is a sort of limbo in
which beings do not yet reap the consequences of their previous actions but may still
influence their rebirth. The death process and this intermediate state were believed to
offer a uniquely favourable opportunity for spiritual awakening.
Rebirth as cycle of consciousness
Another view of rebirth describes the cycle of death and birth in the context of con-
sciousness rather than the birth and death of the body. In this view, remaining impure
aggregates, skandhas, reform consciousness.
Buddhist meditation teachers suggest that observation reveals consciousness as a

sequence of conscious moments rather than a continuum of awareness. Each moment is
an experience of an individual mind-state such as a thought, a memory, a feeling or a
perception. A mind-state arises, exists and, being impermanent, ceases, following which
the next mind-state arises. Thus the consciousness of a sentient being can be seen as a
continuous series of birth and death of these mind-states. Rebirth is the persistence of this
process.
In the practice of Vipassana meditation, the meditator uses "bare attention" to observe the
endless round of mind-states without interfering, owning or judging. This limits the
power of desire which, according to the second noble truth of Buddhism, is the cause of
suffering (dukkha) and leads to Nirvana (nibbana, vanishing (of the self-idea)).
WT
Chapter 5
Saṃsāra
Translations of
saṃsāra
WT
English: continuous movement
Pali: saṃsāra
Sanskrit: संसार (sangsara)
生死, 輪迴, 流轉
Chinese:
(pinyin: shēngsǐ, lúnhuí, liúzhuǎn)
Japanese: 輪廻
Thai: วัฏสงสาร
Vietnamese: Luân hồi
Saṃsāra or Sangsara, a Sanskrit and Pāli term which translates as "continuous

movement" or "continuous flowing", which, in Buddhism, refers to the concept of a cycle
of birth (jāti), and consequent decay and death (jarāmaraṇa), in which all beings in the
universe participate, and which can only be escaped through enlightenment. Saṃsāra is
associated with suffering (or dukkha) and is generally considered the antithesis of
Nirvāṇa (Sanskrit) or nibbāna (Pali). Mongolian: orchilong.
Buddha's view of Saṃsāra
According to the Buddha, the beginning point of Saṃsāra is not evident, just as there is
no beginning point to a circle. All beings have been suffering in Saṃsāra for an
unimaginable period, and they continue to do so until the attainment of Nirvana. The
Assu Sutta of the Pali Canon provides an explanation of our existence in Saṃsāra:
At Savatthi. There the buddha said: "From an inconstruable (sic) beginning comes
transmigration. A beginning point is not evident, though beings hindered by ignorance
and fettered by craving are transmigrating & wandering on. What do you think, monks:
Which is greater, the tears you have shed while transmigrating & wandering this long,
long time — crying & weeping from being joined with what is displeasing, being
separated from what is pleasing — or the water in the four great oceans?"
"As we understand the Dhamma taught to us by the Blessed One, this is the greater: the
tears we have shed while transmigrating & wandering this long, long time — crying &
weeping from being joined with what is displeasing, being separated from what is
pleasing — not the water in the four great oceans."
"Excellent, monks. Excellent. It is excellent that you thus understand the Dhamma taught
by me.
"This is the greater: the tears you have shed while transmigrating & wandering this long,
long time — crying & weeping from being joined with what is displeasing, being
separated from what is pleasing — not the water in the four great oceans.
WT
"Long have you (repeatedly) experienced the death of a mother. The tears you have shed
over the death of a mother while transmigrating & wandering this long, long time —
crying & weeping from being joined with what is displeasing, being separated from what
is pleasing — are greater than the water in the four great oceans.
"Long have you (repeatedly) experienced the death of a father... the death of a brother...
the death of a sister... the death of a son... the death of a daughter... loss with regard to
relatives... loss with regard to wealth... loss with regard to disease. The tears you have
shed over loss with regard to disease while transmigrating & wandering this long, long
time — crying & weeping from being joined with what is displeasing, being separated
from what is pleasing — are greater than the water in the four great oceans. "Why is
that? From an inconstruable beginning. A beginning point is not evident, though beings
hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving are transmigrating & wandering on. Long
have you thus experienced stress, experienced pain, experienced loss, swelling the
cemeteries — enough to become disenchanted with all fabricated things, enough to
become dispassionate, enough to be released."
Saṃsāra in Nikāya Buddhism

Whereas in other Indian philosophies, some being (ātman, jīva, etc.) is regarded as being
subject to Saṃsāra, in Buddhism the rejection of such metaphysical theories is
fundamental. Buddhism accounts for the process of rebirth/reincarnation by appeal to
phenomenological or psychological constituents. The basic idea that there is a cycle of
birth and rebirth is, however, not questioned in early Buddhism and its successors, and
neither is, generally, the concept that saṃsāra is a negative condition to be abated through
religious practice concluding in the achievement of final nirvāṇa.
Saṃsāra in Mahāyāna Buddhism

The elimination of samsāra is the main goal of Buddhism. The Buddha himself was
concerned with samsāra and the nature of suffering. He offered an understanding of the
cyclic nature of suffering. ”Ignorance (avijja) is defined in terms of the four Noble
Truths, as ’ignorance concerning suffering, the origin of suffering, the cessation of
suffering, and the path leading to the cessation of suffering’” (Waldron, quoting the
Nidāna-Samyutta. 2003:14). Ignorance leads to suffering and forms Karma (sańskāra).
Kárma creates formations, which condition the arising of consciousness or cognitive
awarness, the so called viññāna (Waldron. 2003:14). Viññāna is also considered to be a
rebirth consciousness. This appears to be a direct explanation of how Kárma is
transferred from one life to another. Waldron describes viññāna as a rebirth
consciousness which descends into, ”takes up,” and thereafter animates the newly
forming fetus (Waldron. 2003:14). He quotes the following dialogue with the Buddha: ’I
have said that consciousness conditions name-and-form. … Were, Ananda, consciousness
not to descend into the mother’s womb, would name and form coagulate there?’ ’No,
Lord.’ ’Were consciousness, having descended into the mother’s womb, to depart, would
name-and-form come to birth in this life?’ ’No, Lord.’ (Waldron. 2003:14) It appears that
the Buddha is emphasising the point that consciousness descending and remaining in the
WT
mother’s womb is crucial for the rebirth of samsāra into a new life. Therefore, it would be
natural to say that viññāna occurs throughout one’s life. Waldron says: ”It occurs
uninterruptedly throughout all of one’s worldly lifetimes. It ’descends’ into the mother’s
womb at the beginning of each life and ’departs’ at its end. And it only comes to a
complete cessation with the end of samsaric existence itself, that is, with Nirvana”
(Waldron. 2003:21). Interestingly, viññāna is not only linked to the growth of kármic
formations: it is also connected to the „four sustenances”. As Waldron explains: ”First, as
one of the four sustenances – along with edible food, sensation, and mental intention –
consciousness ”sustains” each single life as well as one’s stream of lives” (Waldron.
2003:21). Viññāna thus can be viewed as one of the four sustenances of life. It appears
that the cycle of samsāra is hard to break and needs a concerted effort. The destruction of
viññāna is essential for this path to liberation. Waldron explains: ”While the process of
vinnana grow and increase, thereby sustaining samsaric life, they can also be calmed,
pacified, and brought to an end, marking the end of the cycle of birth and death. Indeed,
the destruction of vinnana (along with the other four aggregates) is virtually equated with
liberation” (Waldron. 2003:22). The end of suffering can be attained by Buddhist
practice. To put this into simpler terms: through various practices Buddhists attempt to
counteract grasping and begin to reverse the samsāric cycle. As Waldron describes it: ”As
a result of such practice, vinnana is no longer increased by grasping; on the contrary, a
monk ’who is without grasping (or appropriation, anupadana) attains Nibbana’”
(Waldron. 2003:22). It would appear that with insight into the nature of suffering
Buddhists have found a way to end it. Samsāra, or suffering, which may have lasted
countless lifetimes, can end or be radically changed. As Waldron describes it: ”Upon
realising Nirvana at the end of the process of karmacally driven rebirth, vinnana, the
stream of worldly consciousness which persists throughout one’s countless lifetimes, also
comes to an end, or at least is radically transformed” (Waldron. 2003:22). How do these
processes encourage the growth of consciousness, and perpetuate the cycle of rebirth?
According to Waldron, the Buddha used a series of simple vegetative metaphors to
describe this. He quotes the following dialogue: 'If these five kinds of seeds are
unbroken, unspoiled, undamaged by wind and sun, fertile, securely planted, and there is
earth and water, would the five kinds of seeds come to growth, increase, and expansion?'
'Yes, venerable sir.' 'Monks, four stations (thitiya) of consciousness should be seen as
like the earth element. Delight and lust should be seen as like the water element.
Consciousness together with its nutriment should be seen as like the five kinds of seeds'
(Waldron. 2003:26). These metaphors demonstrate the interconnectedness between
consciousness, Kármic deeds, desire and craving, in the cycle of Kárma. Viññāna appears
to be the only quality which leaves one’s body at death and enters another at conception.
Viññāna therefore can be seen as a link between one life and the next - collecting Kárma
and then transmitting it over many lifetimes.
Reference: Waldron. S. William. 2003. The Buddhist Unconscious. The ālaya-viñjāna in

the context of Indian Buddhist thought. London and New York: RoutledgeCurzon.
According to several strands of the Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition, the division of saṃsāra
and nirvāṇa is attacked using an argument that extends some of the basic premises of
WT
anātman and of Buddha's attack on contemporary orthodox accounts of existence. This is
found poetically in the "Perfection of Wisdom" literature, and more analytically in the
philosophy of Nāgārjuna and later writers. It is not entirely clear which aspects of this
theoretical move were developed first in the sutras, and which in the philosophical
tradition.
Saṃsāra in Tibetan Buddhism
Saṃsāra is uncontrollably recurring rebirth, filled with suffering and problems (according
to Kālacakra tantra as explained by Dr. A. Berzin). In this sense, Samsara may be
translated "Wheel of Suffering."
The term Samsara has been translated many ways which include but are not limited to
endless suffering, cyclic existence, perpetual wandering, and transmigration. There are
six realms that one can go to through this cycle of Samsara. Many believe that when one
goes through the process of rebirth that they are the exact same person when they are
reborn. This however, is not true. They bear many similarities with their former selves
but they are not the same person. This is why many use the term reborn instead of
reincarnation. The term reincarnation implies that there is a transfer of conscience or
one’s soul to the new life and this is not the case in Samsara. buddha101.com gives a
good example that shows an easy way to better understand the transfer of consciousness
“Like a billiard ball hitting another billiard ball. While nothing physical transfers, the
speed and direction of the second ball relate directly to the first." This means the previous
life has just as much impact on the new life.
There are also some who believe that Samsara is not the question but the answer to what
we are doing here. They consider it to be a process to why we are here. They believe that
one creates their own worlds on their way to enlightenment. Meaning when their world is
starting to collapse due to their death they will create a new world and move into it. Some
also believe that while they are continuing to go from world to world they encounter
others who are on the same path that they are on. It is also believed that all of these
different worlds impact the worlds of those who are in a similar place/path that you are
on.
Buddha was the first person to grasp the belief of Samsara and figure out how to end it.
He taught that the only way for one to end their journey through Samsara was
enlightenment. The only person who could stop one’s cycle of Samsara was the one who
was traveling through their path. Some thought that Samsara is a place and thought that it
was selfish for them to be able to stop it and leave the others behind. Most believe that
Samsara is a process. In this process people are being born into new lives and since it
happens to everyone and everyone has the ability to escape it, it is not selfish. Being said
the process of Samsara may take a long time to complete and even with no time limit
there may be some who can never actually escape this endless suffering.
WT
Chapter 6
Four Noble Truth & Noble Eightfold Path
Four Noble Truths
WT
Translations of
Four Noble Truths

Pali: cattāri ariyasaccāni
चत्वा�र आयर्सत्या�न
Sanskrit:
(catvāri āryasatyāni)
四聖諦(T) / 四圣谛(S)
Chinese:
(pinyin: sìshèngdì)
四諦
Japanese:
(rōmaji: shitai)
사성제
Korean:
(sa-seong-je)
อริยสัจสี่
Thai:
(ariyasaj sii)
Vietnamese: Tứ Diệu Đế
The Four Noble Truths (Sanskrit: catvāri āryasatyāni) are an important principle in
Buddhism, and were classically taught by the Buddha in the Dharmacakra Pravartana
Sūtra. These four truths are best understood, not as beliefs, but as categories of
experience.
Basic teaching
According to the Saṃyukta Āgama of the Sarvāstivāda school, the basic teaching of the
Four Noble Truths is:
1. Thus is the Noble Truth of Suffering

2. Thus is the Noble Truth of the Accumulation of Suffering
3. Thus is the Noble Truth of the Elimination of Suffering
4. Thus is the Noble Truth of the Path that Leads Away from Suffering
The Sanskrit and Pali words satya and sacca, respectively, mean both "truth" and "real"
or "actual thing." With that in mind, one scholar argues that the four noble truths are not
asserted as propositional truths or creeds, but as "true things" or "realities" that the
Buddha experienced. The original Tibetan Lotsawas (Sanskrit: locchāwa; Tibetan: lo ts'a
ba), who studied Sanskrit grammar thoroughly, used the Tibetan term bden pa, which
reflects this understanding.
Four Noble Truth definitions

Some versions of the Dharmacakra Pravartana Sutra contain definitions of the Four
Noble Truths while others do not. For example, the Sarvastivadin versions portrays the
WT
truths as principles to be contemplated in various methods, and no definitions are given.
In the Theravada version and the version translated by An Shigao, the Four Noble Truths
are given definitions:
1. The Nature of Suffering (or Dukkha):

"This is the noble truth of suffering: birth is suffering, aging is suffering, illness is
suffering, death is suffering; sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair are
suffering; union with what is displeasing is suffering; separation from what is
pleasing is suffering; not to get what one wants is suffering; in brief, the five
aggregates subject to clinging are suffering."
2. Suffering's Origin (Dukkha Samudaya):
"This is the noble truth of the origin of suffering: it is this craving which leads to
renewed existence, accompanied by delight and lust, seeking delight here and
there, that is, craving for sensual pleasures, craving for existence, craving for
extermination."
3. Suffering's Cessation (Dukkha Nirodha):
"This is the noble truth of the cessation of suffering: it is the remainderless fading
away and cessation of that same craving, the giving up and relinquishing of it,
freedom from it, nonreliance on it."
4. The Path (Dukkha Nirodha Gamini Patipada Magga) Leading to the Cessation of
Suffering:
"This is the noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering: it is the
Noble Eightfold Path; that is, right view, right intention, right speech, right action,
right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration."
Relation to the Eightfold Noble Path
In the version of the Dharmacakra Pravartana Sūtra contained in the extant Saṃyukta
Āgama, there is no mention of the Noble Eightfold Path. Instead, contemplation of the
Four Noble Truths is taken to be the path itself.
The Four Noble Truths and the Lotus Sutra
The Lotus Sutra's text views the Four Noble Truths as the first teaching of the Buddha,
but not the final teaching. In Chapter 3, Similes and Parables, the Sutra introduces what it
calls "the most wonderful / the unsurpassed great Law":
In the past at Varanasi/ you turned the wheel of the Law of the Four Noble Truths/,
making distinctions/ preaching that all things are born and become extinct,/ being made
up of the five components/ Now you turn the wheel of the most wonderful/ the
unsurpassed great Law/.This Law is very profound and abstruse;/ there are few who can
believe it/ Since times past often we have heard/ the World-Honored One's preaching,/
but we have never heard/ this kind of profound, wonderful and superior Law./ Since the
World-Honored One preaches this Law,/ we all welcome it with joy.
WT
Nichiren, whose teachings were based on the Lotus Sutra, stated in his letter "Com-
parison of the Lotus and Other Sutras" that the doctrine of the Four Noble Truths was
expounded especially for the Voice-Hearers or Sravaka disciples, while the Lotus Sūtra
was taught equally for all.
Noble Eightfold Path
The Dharma wheel, often used to represent the Noble Eightfold Path
Translations of
Noble Eightfold Path

Pali: ariyo aṭṭhaṅgiko maggo
Sanskrit: āryāṣṭāṅgamārga
八正道
Chinese:
(pinyin: Bāzhèngdào)
八正道
Japanese:
(rōmaji: Hasshōdō)
팔정도
Korean:
(RR: Paljeongdo)
Mongolian: qutuγtan-u naiman gesigün-ü mör
WT
Thai: อริยมรรคแปด
The Noble Eightfold Path (Sanskrit: āryāṣṭāṅgamārga), is one of the principal

teachings of the Buddha, who described it as the way leading to the cessation of suffering
(dukkha) and the achievement of self-awakening. It is used to develop insight into the
true nature of phenomena (or reality) and to eradicate greed, hatred, and delusion. The
Noble Eightfold Path is the fourth of the Buddha's Four Noble Truths; the first element of
the Noble Eightfold Path is, in turn, an understanding of the Four Noble Truths. It is also
known as the Middle Path or Middle Way.
All eight elements of the Path begin with the word "right", which translates the word
samyañc (in Sanskrit) or sammā (in Pāli). These denote completion, togetherness, and
coherence, and can also suggest the senses of "perfect" or "ideal".
In Buddhist symbolism, the Noble Eightfold Path is often represented by means of the
dharma wheel (dharmacakra), whose eight spokes represent the eight elements of the
path.
Origin
According to discourses found in both the Theravada school's Pali canon, and some of the
Āgamas in the Chinese Buddhist canon, the Noble Eightfold Path was rediscovered by
Gautama Buddha during his quest for enlightenment. The scriptures describe an ancient
path which has been followed and practiced by all the previous Buddhas. The Noble
Eightfold Path is a practice said to lead its practitioner toward self-awakening and
liberation. The path was taught by the Buddha to his disciples so that they, too, could
follow it.
In the same way I saw an ancient path, an ancient road, traveled by the Rightly Self-
awakened Ones of former times. And what is that ancient path, that ancient road, traveled
by the Rightly Self-awakened Ones of former times? Just this noble eightfold path: right
view, right aspiration, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right
mindfulness, right concentration...I followed that path. Following it, I came to direct
knowledge of aging & death, direct knowledge of the origination of aging & death, direct
knowledge of the cessation of aging & death, direct knowledge of the path leading to the
cessation of aging & death...Knowing that directly, I have revealed it to monks, nuns,
male lay followers & female lay followers...
—Nagara Sutta
The practice of the Noble Eightfold Path varies from one Buddhist school to another.
Depending on the school, it may be practiced as a whole, only in part, or it may have
been modified. Each Buddhist lineage claims the ability to implement the path in the
manner most conducive to the development of its students.
Additionally, some sources give alternate definitions for the Noble Eightfold Path. The
WT
Ekottara Āgama in particular contains variant teachings of basic doctrines such as the
Noble Eightfold Path, which are different from those found in the Pali Canon.
The threefold division of the path

The Noble Eightfold Path is sometimes divided into three basic divisions, as follows:
Eightfold Path
Division Acquired factors
factors
9. Superior right
1. Right view
knowledge
Wisdom (Sanskrit: prajñā, Pāli: paññā)
10. Superior right
2. Right intention
liberation
3. Right speech
Ethical conduct (Sanskrit: śīla, Pāli:
4. Right action
sīla)
5. Right livelihood
6. Right effort
Concentration (Sanskrit and Pāli: 7. Right mindfulness
samādhi) 8. Right
concentration
This presentation is called the "Three Higher Trainings" in Mahāyāna Buddhism: higher
moral discipline, higher concentration and higher wisdom. "Higher" here refers to the fact
that these trainings that lead to liberation and enlightenment are engaged in with the
motivation of renunciation or bodhicitta.
The practice
According to the bhikkhu (monk) and scholar Walpola Rahula, the divisions of the noble
eightfold path "are to be developed more or less simultaneously, as far as possible
according to the capacity of each individual. They are all linked together and each helps
the cultivation of the others." Bhikkhu Bodhi explains that "with a certain degree of
progress all eight factors can be present simultaneously, each supporting the others.
However, until that point is reached, some sequence in the unfolding of the path is
inevitable".
According to the discourses in the Pali and Chinese canons, right view, right resolve,
right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, and right mindfulness are used as
the support and requisite conditions for the practice of right concentration. Understanding
of the right view is the preliminary role, and is also the forerunner of the entire Noble
WT
Eightfold Path. The practitioner should first try to understand the concepts of right view.
Once right view has been understood, it will inspire and encourage the arising of right
intention within the practitioner. Right intention will lead to the arising of right speech.
Right speech will lead to the arising of right action. Right action will lead to the arising of
right livelihood. Right livelihood will lead to the arising of right effort. Right effort will
lead to the arising of right mindfulness. The practitioner must make the right effort to
abandon the wrong view and to enter into the right view. Right mindfulness is used to
constantly remain in the right view. This will help the practitioner restrain greed, hatred
and delusion.
Once these support and requisite conditions have been established, a practitioner can then
practice right concentration more easily. During the practice of right concentration, one
will need to use right effort and right mindfulness to aid concentration practice. In the
state of concentration, one will need to investigate and verify his or her understanding of
right view. This will then result in the arising of right knowledge, which will eliminate
greed, hatred and delusion. The last and final factor to arise is right liberation.
Wisdom (Prajñā • Paññā)

"Wisdom", sometimes translated as "discernment" at its preparatory role, provides the
sense of direction with its conceptual understanding of reality. It is designed to awaken
the faculty of penetrative understanding to see things as they really are. At a later stage,
when the mind has been refined by training in moral discipline and concentration, and
with the gradual arising of right knowledge, it will arrive at a superior right view and
right intention.
Right view
Right view (samyag-dṛṣṭi • sammā-diṭṭhi) can also be translated as "right pers-

pectiveness", "right vision" or "right understanding". It is the right way of looking at life,
nature, and the world as they really are. It is to understand how reality works. It acts as
the reasoning for someone to start practicing the path. It explains the reasons for human
existence, suffering, sickness, aging, death, the existence of greed, hatred, and delusion. It
gives direction and efficacy to the other seven path factors. Right view begins with
concepts and propositional knowledge, but through the practice of right concentration, it
gradually becomes transmuted into wisdom, which can eradicate the fetters of the mind.
Understanding of right view will inspire the person to lead a virtuous life in line with
right view. In the Pali and Chinese canons, it is explained thus:
And what is right view? Knowledge with reference to suffering, knowledge with
reference to the origination of suffering, knowledge with reference to the cessation of
suffering, knowledge with reference to the way of practice leading to the cessation of
suffering: This is called right view.
There are two types of right view:
1. View with taints: this view is mundane. Having this type of view will bring merit
WT
and will support the favourable existence of the sentient being in the realm of
samsara.
2. View without taints: this view is supramundane. It is a factor of the path and will
lead the holder of this view toward self-awakening and liberation from the realm
of samsara.
Right view has many facets; its elementary form is suitable for lay followers, while the
other form, which requires deeper understanding, is suitable for monastics. Usually, it
involves understanding the following reality:
1. Moral law of karma: Every action (by way of body, speech, and mind) will have
karmic results (a.k.a. reaction). Wholesome and unwholesome actions will
produce results and effects that correspond with the nature of that action. It is the
right view about the moral process of the world.
2. The three characteristics: everything that arises will cease (impermanence).
Mental and body phenomena are impermanent, source of suffering and not-self.
3. Suffering: Birth, aging, sickness, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, distress,
and despair are suffering. Not being able to obtain what one wants is also
suffering. The arising of craving is the proximate cause of the arising of suffering
and the cessation of craving is the proximate cause of the cessation of the
suffering. The quality of ignorance is the root cause of the arising of suffering,
and the elimination of this quality is the root cause of the cessation of suffering.
The way leading to the cessation of suffering is the noble eightfold path. This type
of right view is explained in terms of Four Noble Truths.
Right view for monastics is explained in detail in the Sammādiṭṭhi Sutta ("Right View
Discourse"), in which Ven. Sariputta instructs that right view can alternately be attained
by the thorough understanding of the unwholesome and the wholesome, the four
nutriments, the twelve nidanas or the three taints. "Wrong view" arising from ignorance
(avijja), is the precondition for wrong intention, wrong speech, wrong action, wrong
livelihood, wrong effort, wrong mindfulness and wrong concentration. The practitioner
should use right effort to abandon the wrong view and to enter into right view. Right
mindfulness is used to constantly remain in right view.
The purpose of right view is to clear one's path of the majority of confusion, mis-
understanding, and deluded thinking. It is a means to gain right understanding of reality.
Right view should be held with a flexible, open mind, without clinging to that view as a
dogmatic position. In this way, right view becomes a route to liberation rather than an
obstacle.
Right intention
Right intention (samyak-saṃkalpa • sammā sankappa) can also be known as "right

thought", "right resolve", "right conception", "right aspiration" or "the exertion of our
own will to change". In this factor, the practitioner should constantly aspire to
WT
rid themselves of whatever qualities they know to be wrong and immoral. Correct
understanding of right view will help the practitioner to discern the differences between
right intention and wrong intention. In the Chinese and Pali Canon, it is explained thus:
And what is right resolve? Being resolved on renunciation, on freedom from ill will, on
harmlessness: This is called right resolve.
It means the renunciation of the worldly things and an accordant greater commitment to
the spiritual path; good will; and a commitment to non-violence, or harmlessness,
towards other living beings.
Ethical conduct (Śīla • Sīla)

For the mind to be unified in concentration, it is necessary to refrain from unwholesome
deeds of body and speech to prevent the faculties of bodily action and speech from
becoming tools of the defilements. Ethical conduct is used primarily to facilitate mental
purification.
Right speech
Right speech (samyag-vāc • sammā-vācā), deals with the way in which a Buddhist
practitioner would best make use of their words. In the Pali Canon, it is explained thus:
And what is right speech? Abstaining from lying, from divisive speech, from abusive
speech, and from idle chatter: This is called right speech.
The Samaññaphala Sutta, Kevatta Sutta and Cunda Kammaraputta Sutta elaborate:
Abandoning false speech...He speaks the truth, holds to the truth, is firm, reliable, no
deceiver of the world...
Abandoning divisive speech...What he has heard here he does not tell there to break those
people apart from these people here...Thus reconciling those who have broken apart or
cementing those who are united, he loves concord, delights in concord, enjoys concord,
speaks things that create concord...
Abandoning abusive speech...He speaks words that are soothing to the ear, that are
affectionate, that go to the heart, that are polite, appealing and pleasing to people at
large...
Abandoning idle chatter...He speaks in season, speaks what is factual, what is in

accordance with the goal, the Dhamma, and the Vinaya. He speaks words worth
treasuring, seasonable, reasonable, circumscribed, connected with the goal...
The Abhaya Sutta elaborates:
WT
In the case of words that the Tathagata knows to be unfactual, untrue, unbeneficial (or:
not connected with the goal), unendearing and disagreeable to others, he does not say
them.
In the case of words that the Tathagata knows to be factual, true, unbeneficial,
unendearing and disagreeable to others, he does not say them.
In the case of words that the Tathagata knows to be factual, true, beneficial, but
unendearing and disagreeable to others, he has a sense of the proper time for saying them.
In the case of words that the Tathagata knows to be unfactual, untrue, unbeneficial, but
endearing and agreeable to others, he does not say them.
In the case of words that the Tathagata knows to be factual, true, unbeneficial, but
endearing and agreeable to others, he does not say them.
In the case of words that the Tathagata knows to be factual, true, beneficial, and
endearing and agreeable to others, he has a sense of the proper time for saying them. Why
is that? Because the Tathagata has sympathy for living beings.
Right action
Right action (samyak-karmānta • sammā-kammanta) can also be translated as "right

conduct". As such, the practitioner should train oneself to be morally upright in one's
activities, not acting in ways that would be corrupt or bring harm to oneself or to others.
In the Chinese and Pali Canon, it is explained as:
And what is right action? Abstaining from taking life, from stealing, and from illicit sex
[or sexual misconduct]. This is called right action.
—Saccavibhanga Sutta
And what, monks, is right action? Abstaining from taking life, abstaining from stealing,
abstaining from unchastity: This, monks, is called right action.
—Magga-vibhanga Sutta
For the lay follower, the Cunda Kammaraputta Sutta elaborates:
And how is one made pure in three ways by bodily action? There is the case where a
certain person, abandoning the taking of life, abstains from the taking of life. He dwells
with his...knife laid down, scrupulous, merciful, compassionate for the welfare of all
living beings. Abandoning the taking of what is not given, he abstains from taking what
is not given. He does not take, in the manner of a thief, things in a village or a wilderness
that belong to others and have not been given by them. Abandoning sensual misconduct,
he abstains from sensual misconduct. He does not get sexually involved with those who
are protected by their mothers, their fathers, their brothers, their sisters, their relatives, or
their Dhamma; those with husbands, those who entail punishments, or even those
WT
crowned with flowers by another man. This is how one is made pure in three ways by
bodily action.
For the monastic, the Samaññaphala Sutta adds:
Abandoning uncelibacy, he lives a celibate life, aloof, refraining from the sexual act that
is the villager's way.
Right livelihood
Right livelihood (samyag-ājīva • sammā-ājīva). This means that practitioners ought not
to engage in trades or occupations which, either directly or indirectly, result in harm for
other living beings. In the Chinese and Pali Canon, it is explained thus:
And what is right livelihood? There is the case where a disciple of the noble ones, having
abandoned dishonest livelihood, keeps his life going with right livelihood: This is called
right livelihood.
The five types of businesses that are harmful to undertake are:
1. Business in weapons: trading in all kinds of weapons and instruments for killing.
2. Business in human beings: slave trading, prostitution, or the buying and selling
of children or adults.
3. Business in meat: "meat" refers to the bodies of beings after they are killed. This
includes breeding animals for slaughter.
4. Business in intoxicants: manufacturing or selling intoxicating drinks or addictive
drugs.
5. Business in poison: producing or trading in any kind of toxic product designed to
kill.
Samādhi: mental discipline, concentration, meditation
Samadhi is literally translated as "concentration", it is achieved through training in the
higher consciousness, which brings the calm and collectedness needed to develop true
wisdom by direct experience.
Right effort
Right effort (samyag-vyāyāma • sammā-vāyāma) can also be translated as "right

endeavor". In this factor, the practitioners should make a persisting effort to abandon all
the wrong and harmful thoughts, words, and deeds. The practitioner should instead be
persisting in giving rise to what would be good and useful to themselves and others in
their thoughts, words, and deeds, without a thought for the difficulty or weariness
involved. In the Chinese and Pali Canon, it is explained thus:
WT
And what, monks, is right effort?
(i) There is the case where a monk generates desire, endeavors, activates persistence,
upholds and exerts his intent for the sake of the non-arising of evil, unskillful qualities
that have not yet arisen.
(ii) He generates desire, endeavors, activates persistence, upholds and exerts his intent for
the sake of the abandonment of evil, unskillful qualities that have arisen.
(iii) He generates desire, endeavors, activates persistence, upholds and exerts his intent
for the sake of the arising of skillful qualities that have not yet arisen.
(iv) He generates desire, endeavors, activates persistence, upholds and exerts his intent
for the maintenance, non-confusion, increase, plenitude, development, and culmination of
skillful qualities that have arisen:
This, monks, is called right effort.
Although the above instruction is given to the male monastic order, it is also meant for
the female monastic order and can be practiced by lay followers of both genders.
The above four phases of right effort mean to:
1. Prevent the unwholesome that has not yet arisen in oneself.

2. Let go of the unwholesome that has arisen in oneself.
3. Bring up the wholesome that has not yet arisen in oneself.
4. Maintain the wholesome that has arisen in oneself.
Right mindfulness
Right mindfulness (samyak-smṛti • sammā-sati), also translated as "right memory", "right

awareness" or "right attention". Here, practitioners should constantly keep their minds
alert to phenomena that affect the body and mind. They should be mindful and deliberate,
making sure not to act or speak due to inattention or forgetfulness. In the Pali Canon, it is
explained thus:
And what, monks, is right mindfulness?
(i) There is the case where a monk remains focused on the body in and of itself—ardent,
aware, and mindful—putting away greed and distress with reference to the world.
(ii) He remains focused on feelings in and of themselves—ardent, aware, and mindful—
WT
putting away greed and distress with reference to the world.
(iii) He remains focused on the mind in and of itself—ardent, aware, and mindful—
putting away greed and distress with reference to the world.
(iv) He remains focused on mental qualities in and of themselves—ardent, aware, and

mindful—putting away greed and distress with reference to the world.
This, monks, is called right mindfulness.
Although the above instruction is given to the male monastic order, it is also meant for
the female monastic order and can be practiced by lay followers from both genders.
Bhikkhu Bodhi, a monk of the Theravada tradition, further explains the concept of
mindfulness as follows:
The mind is deliberately kept at the level of bare attention, a detached observation of
what is happening within us and around us in the present moment. In the practice of right
mindfulness the mind is trained to remain in the present, open, quiet, and alert,
contemplating the present event. All judgments and interpretations have to be suspended,
or if they occur, just registered and dropped.
The Maha Satipatthana Sutta also teaches that by mindfully observing these phenomena,
we begin to discern its arising and subsiding and the Three Characteristics of Dharma in
direct experience, which leads to the arising of insight and the qualities of dispassion,
non-clinging, and release
Right concentration
Right concentration (samyak-samādhi • sammā-samādhi), as its Pali and Sanskrit names

indicate, is the practice of concentration (samadhi). As such, the practitioner concentrates
on an object of attention until reaching full concentration and a state of meditative
absorption (jhana). Traditionally, the practice of samadhi can be developed through
mindfulness of breathing (anapanasati), through visual objects (kasina), and through
repetition of phrases (mantra). Samadhi is used to suppress the five hindrances in order to
enter into jhana. Jhana is an instrument used for developing wisdom by cultivating insight
and using it to examine true nature of phenomena with direct cognition. This leads to
cutting off the defilements, realizing the dhamma and, finally, self-awakening. During the
practice of right concentration, the practitioner will need to investigate and verify their
right view. In the process right knowledge will arise, followed by right liberation. In the
Pali Canon, it is explained thus:
And what is right concentration?
(i) Herein a monk aloof from sense desires, aloof from unwholesome thoughts, attains to
and abides in the first meditative absorption [jhana], which is detachment-born and
accompanied by applied thought, sustained thought, joy, and bliss.
WT
(ii) By allaying applied and sustained thought he attains to, and abides in the second
jhana, which is inner tranquillity, which is unification (of the mind), devoid of applied
and sustained thought, and which has joy and bliss.
(iii) By detachment from joy he dwells in equanimity, mindful, and with clear
comprehension and enjoys bliss in body, and attains to and abides in the third jhana,
which the noble ones [ariyas] call "dwelling in equanimity, mindfulness, and bliss".
(iv) By giving up of bliss and suffering, by the disappearance already of joy and sorrow,
he attains to, and abides in the fourth jhana, which is neither suffering nor bliss, and
which is the purity of equanimity — mindfulness.
This is called right concentration.
Although this instruction is given to the male monastic order, it is also meant for the
female monastic order and can be practiced by lay followers from both genders.
According to the Pali and Chinese canon, right concentration is dependent on the
development of preceding path factors:
The Blessed One said: "Now what, monks, is noble right concentration with its supports
and requisite conditions? Any singleness of mind equipped with these seven factors —
right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, and right
mindfulness — is called noble right concentration with its supports and requisite
conditions.
—Maha-cattarisaka Sutta
The acquired factors
In the Mahācattārīsaka Sutta which appears in the Chinese and Pali canons, the Buddha
explains that cultivation of the noble eightfold path leads to the development of two
further factors, which are right knowledge, or insight (sammā-ñāṇa), and right liberation,
or release (sammā-vimutti). These two factors fall under the category of wisdom (paññā).
Right knowledge and right liberation
Right knowledge is seeing things as they really are by direct experience, not as they
appear to be, nor as the practitioner wants them to be, but as they truly are. A result of
Right Knowledge is the tenth factor - Right liberation
These two factors are the end result of correctly practicing the noble eightfold
WT
path, which arise during the practice of right concentration. The first to arise is right
knowledge: this is where deep insight into the ultimate reality arises. The last to arise is
right liberation: this is where self-awakening occurs and the practitioner has reached the
pinnacle of their practice.
The noble eightfold path and cognitive psychology

In the essay "Buddhism Meets Western Science", Gay Watson explains:
Buddhism has always been concerned with feelings, emotions, sensations, and cognition.
The Buddha points both to cognitive and emotional causes of suffering. The emotional
cause is desire and its negative opposite, aversion. The cognitive cause is ignorance of the
way things truly occur, or of three marks of existence: that all things are unsatisfactory,
impermanent, and without essential self.
The noble eightfold path is, from this psychological viewpoint, an attempt to change
patterns of thought and behavior. It is for this reason that the first element of the path is
right understanding (sammā-diṭṭhi), which is how one's mind views the world. Under the
wisdom (paññā) subdivision of the noble eightfold path, this worldview is intimately
connected with the second element, right thought (sammā-saṅkappa), which concerns the
patterns of thought and intention that controls one's actions. These elements can be seen
at work, for example, in the opening verses of the Dhammapada: The noble eightfold
path is also the fourth noble truth.
All experience is preceded by mind,

Led by mind,
Made by mind.
Speak or act with a corrupted mind,
And suffering follows
As the wagon wheel follows the hoof of the ox.
All experience is preceded by mind,
Led by mind,
Made by mind.
Speak or act with a peaceful mind,
And happiness follows
Like a never-departing shadow.
Audio / Audio Source
Thus, by altering one's distorted worldview, bringing out "tranquil perception" in the
place of "perception polluted", one is able to ease suffering. Watson points this out from
a psychological standpoint:
Research has shown that repeated action, learning, and memory can actually change the
nervous system physically, altering both synaptic strength and connections. Such changes
WT
may be brought about by cultivated change in emotion and action; they will, in turn,
change subsequent experience.
Chapter 7
Introduction to Jainism
Jainism is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living
beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul
towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner
WT
enemies and achieved the state of supreme being is called Jina (Conqueror or Victor).
Jainism is also referred to as Shraman (self-reliant) Dharma or the religion of Nirgantha
(who does not have attachments and aversions) by ancient texts. Jainism is commonly
referred to as Jain Dharma in Hindi and Samanam in Tamil.
Jainism, which its followers consider to have always existed, has prehistoric origins
dating before 3000 BC, and before the beginning of Indo-Aryan culture. Organized
Jainism is believed by historians to have arisen between the ninth and the sixth centuries
BCE. Some have speculated that the religion may have its roots in much earlier times,
reflecting native spirituality prior to the Indo-Aryan migration into India. In the modern
world, it is a small but influential religious minority with as many as 4.2 million
followers in India, and successful growing immigrant communities in North America,
Western Europe, the Far East, Australia and elsewhere.
Jains have successfully sustained this longstanding religion to the present day and have
significantly influenced and contributed to ethical, political and economic spheres in
India. Jains have an ancient tradition of scholarship and have the highest degree of
literacy in India; Jain libraries are the oldest in the country. Tamil Jains and Kannada
Jains who are native to their regions, residing in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka respectively
early since 1st century BCE, are distinguishable in some of their routines and practices
from North Indian Jains, but the core philosophies and belief systems are the same for
both cultures.
Core beliefs
WT
Lord Mahavir
• Every living being has a soul.

• Every soul is potentially divine, with innate qualities of infinite knowledge,
perception, power, and bliss (masked by its karmas).
• Regard every living being as you do yourself, harming no one and being kind to
all living beings.
• Every soul is born as a heavenly being, human, sub-human or hellish being
according to its own karmas.
• Every soul is the architect of its own life, here or hereafter.
• When a soul is freed from karmas, it becomes free and attains divine cons-
ciousness, experiencing infinite knowledge, perception, power, and bliss.
• Right Faith (right vision), Right Knowledge and Right Conduct (triple gems of
Jainism) provide the way to this realization. There is no supreme divine creator,
owner, preserver or destroyer. The universe is self-regulated and every soul has
the potential to achieve divine consciousness (siddha) through its own efforts.
• Navakar Mantra is the fundamental prayer in Jainism and can be recited at any
time of the day. Praying by reciting this mantra, the devotee bows in respect to
liberated souls still in human form (Arihantas), fully liberated souls (Siddhas),
spiritual leaders (Acharyas), teachers (Upadyayas) and all the monks (sarva
sadhus). By saluting them saying "namo namaha", Jains receive inspiration from
them to follow their path to achieve true bliss and total freedom from the karmas
binding their souls. In this main prayer, Jains do not ask for any favours or
material benefits. This mantra serves as a simple gesture of deep respect towards
beings who are more spiritually advanced. The mantra also reminds followers of
the ultimate goal of reaching nirvana or moksha.
Non-violence (to be in soul consciousness rather than body consciousness) is the
WT
•
foundation of right view, the condition of right knowledge and the kernel of right
conduct. It leads to a state of being unattached to worldly things and being
nonjudgmental and non-violent; this includes compassion and forgiveness in
thoughts, words and actions toward all living beings and respecting views of
others (non-absolutism).
• Jainism stresses on the importance of controlling the senses including the mind, as
they can drag one far away from true nature of the soul.
• Limit possessions and lead a life that is useful to yourself and others. Owning an
object by itself is not possessiveness; however attachment to an object is. Non-
possessiveness is the balancing of needs and desires while staying detached from
our possessions.
• Enjoy the company of the holy and better qualified, be merciful to afflicted souls
and tolerate the perversely inclined.
• Four things are difficult for a soul to attain: 1. human birth, 2. knowledge of the
laws governing the souls, 3. absolute conviction in the philosophy of non-violence
and 4. practicing it in every day life activities.
• It is therefore important not to waste human life in evil ways. Rather, strive to rise
on the ladder of spiritual evolution.
• The goal of Jainism is liberation of the soul from the negative effects of
unenlightened thoughts, speech and action. This goal is achieved through
clearance of karmic obstructions by following the triple gems of Jainism.
• Jains worship the icons of Jinas, Arihants and Tirthankars, who have conquered
the inner passions and attained divine consciousness, and study the scriptures of
these liberated beings.
• Jainism acknowledges the existence of powerful heavenly souls (Yaksha and
Yakshini) that look after the well beings of Tirthankarars. Usually, they are found
in pair around the icons of Jinas as male (yaksha) and female (yakshini) guardian
deities. Even though they have supernatural powers, these deities are also souls
wandering through the cycles of births and deaths just like most other souls. Over
time, people started worshiping these deities as well.
Principles and other beliefs
WT Five Mahavratas of Jain ascetics
Jainism encourages spiritual development through cultivation of one's own personal

wisdom and reliance on self-control (by means of, vrata= vow). Right perception, Right
knowledge and Right conduct (triple gems of Jainism) provide the path for attaining
liberation (moksha) from the cycles of birth and death (samsara). When the soul sheds its
karmic bonds completely, it attains divine consciousness. The goal of Jainism is to realize
this soul's true nature. Jainism prescribes a path of non-violence to progress the soul to
this ultimate goal. Those who have attained moksha are called siddha (liberated souls),
and those who are attached to the world through their karma are called samsarin
(mundane souls). Every soul has to follow the path, as explained by the jinas (victors)
and revived by Tirthankaras, to attain the complete liberation.
Jains believe that to attain enlightenment and ultimately liberation, one must practice the
following ethical principles (major vows) in thought, speech and action. The degree to
which these principles are practiced is different for householders and monks. They are:
• Non-violence (Ahimsa) – to cause no harm to living beings. This is the
fundamental vow from which all other vows stem. It involves minimizing
intentional and unintentional harm to any other living creature. "Non-violence", is
sometimes interpreted as not killing, but the concept goes far beyond that. It
includes not harming or insulting other living beings, either directly, or indirectly
through others. There can be even no room for thought to injure others, and no
speech that influences others to inflict harm. It also includes respecting the views
of others (non-absolutism and acceptance of multiple views).
• Truthfulness (Satya) – to always speak the truth in a harmless manner. A person
who speaks the truth becomes trustworthy like a mother, venerable like a
preceptor and dear to everyone like a kinsman. Given that non-violence has
priority, all other principles yield to it, whenever there is a conflict. For example,
if speaking truth will lead to violence, it is perfectly ethical to be silent.
• Non-stealing (Asteya) – to not take anything that is not willingly given. Asteya,
"non-stealing", is the strict adherence to one's own possessions, without desire to
WT
take another's. One should remain satisfied by whatever is earned through honest
labour. Any attempt to squeeze material wealth from others and/or exploit the
weak is considered theft. Some of the guidelines for this principle are:
(1) Always give people fair value for labor or product.

(2) Never take things which are not offered.
(3) Never take things that are placed, dropped or forgotten by others
(4) Never purchase cheaper things if the price is the result of improper method (e.g.
pyramid scheme, illegal business, stolen goods, etc.)
• Celibacy (Brahmacharya) – to control the senses including mind from

indulgence. The basic intent of this vow is to conquer passion and to prevent the
waste of energy. In this vow, the house holder must not have a sensual
relationship with anybody other than one's own spouse. Jain monks and nuns
should practice complete abstinence from sex.
• Non-possession or Non-materialism (Aparigraha) – to detach from people,
places, and material things. Ownership of an object itself is not possessiveness;
however attachment to an object is possessiveness. For householders, non-
possession is owning without attachment, because the notion of possession is
illusory. The reality of life is that change is constant; thus, objects owned by
someone today will be property of someone else in future. The householder is
encouraged to discharge his or her duties to related people and objects as a
trustee, without excessive attachment or aversion. For monks and nuns, non-
possession is complete renunciation of property and relations including home and
family.
Jains hold that our universe and its laws of nature are eternal, without beginning or end.
However, it constantly undergoes cyclical changes. Our universe is occupied by both
living beings ("Jīva") and non-living objects ("Ajīva"). The samsarin (worldly or
mundane) soul incarnates in various life forms during its journey over time. Human, sub-
human (animal, insect, plant, etc.), super-human (heavenly being), and hell-being are the
four macro forms of the samsari souls. A living being's thoughts, expressions and actions
executed with intents of attachments and aversions, give rise to accumulation of karma.
And these influxes of karma in turn contribute to determine our future circumstances that
are both rewarding and punishing. Jain scholars have explained in depth on methods and
techniques that will clear the past karmas accumulated as well as stopping the flow of
fresh karmas.
A major characteristic of Jain belief is the emphasis on the consequences of not only
physical but also mental behaviours. One's unconquered mind with anger, pride (ego),
deceit, greed and uncontrolled sense organs are the powerful enemies of humans. Anger
spoils good relations, pride destroys humility, deceit destroys peace and greed destroys
everything. Jainism recommends conquering anger by forgiveness, pride (ego) by
humility, deceit by straight-forwardness and greed by contentment.
The principle of non-violence seeks to minimize karmas which limit the capabilities of
WT
the soul. Jainism views every soul as worthy of respect because it has the potential to
become Siddha (Param-atma – "highest soul"). Because all living beings possess a soul,
great care and awareness is essential in one's actions. Jainism emphasizes the equality of
all life, advocating harmlessness towards all, whether the creatures are great or small.
This policy extends even to microscopic organisms. Jainism acknowledges that every
person has different capabilities and capacities to practice and therefore accepts different
levels of compliance for ascetics and householders. The "great vows" (mahavrata) are
prescribed for monks and "limited vows" (anuvrata) are prescribed for householders. In
other words, the house-holders are encouraged to practice the five cardinal principles of
non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing, celibacy and non-possessiveness with their
current practical limitations while the monks have to observe them very strictly. With
consistent practice, it will be possible to overcome the limitations gradually, accelerating
the spiritual progress.
Emphasis on non-violence in thought and practice

Jains hold the above five major vows at the center of their lives. These vows cannot be
fully implemented without the acceptance of a philosophy of non-absolutism.
Anekantavada (multiple points of view), is a foundation of Jain philosophy. This
philosophy allows the Jains to accept the truth in other philosophies from their
perspective and thus inculcating a tolerance for other viewpoints. Jain scholars have
devised methods to view both physical objects and abstract ideas from different
perspectives systematically. This is the application of non-violence in the sphere of
thought. It is a Jain philosophical standpoint just as there is the Advaitic standpoint of
Sankara and the standpoint of the Middle Path of the Buddhists. This search to view
things from different angles, leads to understanding and toleration of different and even
conflicting views. When this happens prejudices subside and a tendency to accommodate
increases. The theory of Anekanta is therefore a unique experiment of non-violence at the
root.
A derivation of this principle is the doctrine of Syadvada that highlights every model
relative to its view point. It is a matter of our daily experience that the same object which
gives pleasure to us under certain circumstances becomes boring under different
situations. Nonetheless relative truth is undoubtedly useful as it is a stepping stone to the
ultimate realization and understanding of reality. The theory of Syadvada is based on the
premise that every proposition is only relatively true. It all depends on the particular
aspect from which we approach that proposition. Jains therefore developed logic that
encompasses sevenfold predication so as to assist in the construction of proper judgment
about any proposition.
Syadvada provides Jains with a systematic methodology to explore the real nature of
reality and consider the problem in a non-violent way from different perspectives. This
process ensures that each statement is expressed from seven different conditional and
relative viewpoints or propositions, and thus it is known as theory of conditioned
predication. These seven propositions are described as follows:
WT
• 1.Syād-asti — "in some ways it is"
• 2.Syād-nāsti — "in some ways it is not"
• 3.Syād-asti-nāsti — "in some ways it is and it is not"
• 4.Syād-asti-avaktavya — "in some ways it is and it is indescribable"
• 5.Syād-nāsti-avaktavya — "in some ways it is not and it is indescribable"
• 6.Syād-asti-nāsti-avaktavya — "in some ways it is, it is not and it is
indescribable"
• 7.Syād-avaktavya — "in some ways it is indescribable"
For example, a tree could be stationary with respect to an observer on earth; however it
will be viewed as moving along with planet Earth for an observer in space.
Jains are usually very welcoming and friendly toward other faiths and often help with
interfaith functions. Several non-Jain temples in India are administered by Jains. A
palpable presence in Indian culture, Jains have contributed to Indian philosophy, art,
architecture, science, and to Mohandas Gandhi's politics, which led to the mainly non-
violent movement for Indian independence. Though Mohandas Gandhi stated clearly in
his Autobiography that his mother was a Vaishnava, Jain monks visited his home
regularly. He spent considerable time under the tutelage of Jain monks, learning the
philosophies of non-violence and doing good always.
Karma theory
Karma in Jainism conveys a totally different meaning than commonly understood in the
Hindu philosophy and western civilization. It is not the so called inaccessible force that
controls the fate of living beings in inexplicable ways. It does not simply mean "deed",
"work", nor mystical force (adrsta), but a complex of very fine matter, imperceptible to
the senses, which interacts with the soul in intensity and quantity proportional to the
thoughts, speech and physical actions carried out with attachments and aversions, causing
further bondages. Karma in Jainism is something material (karmapaudgalam), which
produces certain conditions, like a medical pill has many effects. The effects of karma in
Jainism is therefore a system of natural laws rather than moral laws. When one holds an
apple in one's hand and then let go of the apple, the apple will fall due to gravitational
force. In this example, there is no moral judgment involved, since this is a mechanical
consequence of a physical action. The concept of Karma in Jainism is basically a reaction
due to the attachment or aversion with which an activity (both positive and negative) is
executed in thought, verbal and physical sense. Extending on the example outlined, the
same apple dropped within a zero gravity environment such as a spacecraft circling
around earth, will float in its place. Similarly, when one acts without attachment and
aversion there will be no further karmic bonding to the soul.
Karmas are grouped as Destructive Karmas, that obstruct the true nature of the soul and
Non-Destructive Karmas that only affect the body in which the soul resides. As long as
there are Destructive Karmas, the soul is caged in some body and will have to experience
pain and suffering in many different forms. Jainism has extensive sub-classification and
WT
detailed explanation of each of these major categories and explain ways to stop the influx
as well as get rid of the accumulated karmas.
Shedding of Past Karmas (Nirjara)
Jainism prescribes mainly two methods for shedding karmas (Nirjara), accumulated by
the soul.
• Passive Method – By allowing past karmas to ripen in due course of time and
experiencing the results, both good and bad with equanimity. If the fruits of the
past karmas are not received without attachment or agitation then the soul earns
fresh karmic bondages. It is also not possible for the soul to know before-hand
when and which karma will start to produce results and therefore require good
discipline in practicing equanimity under all circumstances.
• Active Method – By practicing internal and external austerities (penances or tapas)
so as to accelerate the ripening process as well as reducing the effects produced.
This is the recommended approach as it prepares and conditions the soul and
reminds it to be vigilant.
The internal austerities are
1. Atonement of sinful acts

2. Practice politeness and humility - in spite of having comparatively more wealth,
wisdom, social status, power, etc.
3. Service to others, especially monks, nuns, elders and the weaker souls without
any expectations in return
4. Scriptural study, questioning and expanding the spiritual knowledge
5. Abandonment of passions – especially anger, ego, deceit and greed
6. Meditation
The external austerities are meant to discipline the sensual cravings. They are
1. Fasting
2. Eating less than one's normal diet
3. Abstention from tasty and stimulating food
4. Practicing humility and thankfulness – by seeking help without egoistic
tendencies
5. Practicing solitude and introspection
6. Mastering over demands of body
Meditation
Jain scriptures offer extensive guidance on meditation techniques to achieve full
knowledge and awareness. It offers tremendous physical and mental benefits. Jain
WT
meditation techniques are designed to assist the practitioner to remain apart from
clinging and hatred thereby liberating from karmic bondages through Right perception,
Right knowledge and Right conduct. Meditation in Jainism aims at taking the soul to
status of complete freedom from bondages.
Meditation assists greatly in managing and balancing one's passion. Great emphasis is
placed on the control of internal thoughts, as they influence the behaviour, actions and
goals. It prescribes twelve mindful reflections or contemplations to help in this process.
They are called Bhavanas or Anuprekshas that assist one to remain on the right course of
life, and not stray away. Please note that Jains apply the sevenfold predicate methodology
of Syadvada, which includes the consideration of different views on each of these topics
including the opposite view. They are:
1. Impermanence - Everything in this world is subject to change and transformation.

Spiritual values are therefore worth striving for as they alone offer the soul, its
ultimate freedom and stability.
2. Protection - Under this reflection, one thinks about how helpless one is against old
age, disease and death. The soul is its own saviour and to achieve total freedom
need to follow the non-violent path of Arithants, Siddhas and practicing saints.
Leaders with their powerful armies, scientists with their latest advances in
technology cannot provide the protection from the eventual decay and death. The
refuge to things other than the non-violent path are due to delusion, is unfortunate,
and must be avoided.
3. Worldly Existence - The soul transmigrates from one life form to another and is
full of pain and miseries. There are no permanent relationship as soul moves from
one body form to another and can only exit this illusion through liberation from
the cycles of birth, growth, decay and death.
4. Solitude of the Soul - The soul has to bear the consequences of the positive and
negative karmas alone. Such thoughts will stimulate to get rid of the existing
karmas by one's own efforts and lead a peaceful life of co-existence.
5. Separateness of Soul - Under this reflection, one thinks that the soul is separate
from other objects or living beings. One should think even the current body is not
owned by the soul. It is however an important vehicle to lead a useful life to
progress the soul further. The soul therefore should not develop attachment or
aversion to any worldly objects.
6. Impureness of the body - Under this section of thought, one is urged to think
about constituent elements of one's body so as to compare and contrast it with the
purity of soul. This kind of concentration assists in detaching emotionally from
one's body.
7. Influx of Karma - Every time the soul enjoys or suffers through the five senses
(touch, taste, smell, sight and hear) with attachment, aversion or ignorance, it
attracts new karma. Practising this reflection, reminds the soul to be more careful.
8. Stoppage of influx of Karma - In this reflection, one thinks about stopping evil
thoughts and cultivates development of right knowledge that assists to control the
wandering mind.
9. Karma shedding - Under this reflection, one thinks about practising external and
internal austerities to shed the previously accumulated karma. This assists in
WT
development of right discipline a matter of routine habit.
10. Universe - Universe consists of Souls, Matter, Medium of motion, Medium of
Rest, Space and Time. To think of the nature and structure of universe helps one
understand the complex dynamics of eternal modifications and work towards the
goal of freeing the soul from the seemingly never ending changes.
11. Difficulties in developing triple gems of Jainism - It is very difficult for the
transmigrating soul in this world to develop the Right View, Right Knowledge
and Right Conduct. Just like one cannot aspire to become a doctor or lawyer or
engineer without going through the development process starting from the very
basic skill set developments in primary and secondary schooling, spirtiutal
development also needs to go through several stages or steps. Depending on one's
current spiritual progress and situation, the challenges faced will differ. Working
through the difficulties and applying practical solutions will assist one to
continuously make improvements, thereby moving the soul to its goal of ultimate
liberation.
12. Difficulties in practising Jain Dharma - Jain Dharma is characterised by the
following;
Forbearance and Forgiveness

Humility
Straightforwardness
Purity
Truth
Self-restraint, control of senses and mind
External Penance
Renunciation
Neither attach nor averse
Celibacy
In this reflection, the practitioner thinks about the difficulties to practice all of
these in the practical world and work through the challenges depending on one's
current capabilities and circumstances.
Jains are encouraged to reflect on these thoughts with the following four virtues or value
systems clearly in force. They are:
1. Peace, love and friendship to all.

2. Appreciation, respect and delight for the achievements of others.
3. Compassion to souls who are suffering.
4. Equanimity and tolerance in dealing with other's thoughts, words and actions.
Tirthankaras
WT
Sculpture representing two founders of Jainism: left, Rishabha first of the 24 tirthankara;
right Mahavir, the last of those 24, who consolidated and reformed the religious and
philosophical system.
WT
Bhaktamara Stotra and 10th couplet in Thirukural: A Tirthankara is a shelter from ocean
of rebirths.
The purpose of life is to undo the negative effects of karma through mental and physical
purification. This process leads to liberation accompanied by a great natural inner peace.
A soul is called a 'victor' (in Sanskrit/Pali language, Jina) because one has achieved
liberation by one's own efforts. A Jain is a follower of Jinas ("conquerors"). Jinas are
spiritually advanced human beings who rediscovered the dharma, become fully liberated
from the bondages of karma by conquering attachments and aversions, and teach the
spiritual path to benefit all living beings. Jains follow the teachings of 24 special jinas
who are known as Tirthankars ("those who have shown the way to salvation from the
river of births and deaths"). Jains believe that knowledge of the true living (Jain dharma)
has declined and revived cyclically throughout history. Those who rediscover and preach
Jain dharma are called Tirthankara. The literal meaning of Tirthankar is 'ford-builder'.
Jains compare the process of becoming a pure soul to crossing a swift river, an endeavour
requiring patience and care. A ford-builder has already crossed the river and can therefore
guide others.
Jaina tradition identifies Rishabh (also known as Adhinath) as the First Tirthankar of this
declining (avasarpini) time cycle (kalachakra). The 24th, and last Tirthankar is Mahavir,
lived from 599 to 527 BC. The 23rd Tirthankar, Parsva, lived from 872 to 772 BC. The
last two Tirthankaras: Parsva and Mahavira are historical figures whose existence is
recorded
The 24 Tirthankaras in chronological order are: Adinath (Rishabhnath), Ajitnath,
Sambhavanath, Abhinandan Swami, Sumatinath, Padmaprabhu, Suparshvanath, Chand-
raprabhu, Pushpadanta (Suvidhinath), Sheetalnath, Shreyansanath, Vasupujya Swami,
Vimalnath, Anantnath, Dharmanath, Shantinath, Kunthunath, Aranath, Mallinath,
Munisuvrata Swami, Nami Natha, Neminath, Parshvanath and Mahavir (Vardhamana).
Identified as divine, these individuals are called by title in Hindi bhagavan (e.g.,
Bhagavan Rishabha, Bhagavan Parshva, etc.). Tirthankar are not regarded as deities in
the pantheistic or polytheistic sense, but rather as pure souls that have awakened the
divine spiritual qualities which lie dormant within each of us.
Only a few souls that reach Arihant status become Thirthankars who take a leadership
role in assisting the other souls to move up on the spiritual path. Apart from Thirthankars,
Jains worship special Arihants such as Gommateshwara or Bahubali. According to Jain
Scriptures, Bahubali (also known as Gommateshvara) was the second of the one hundred
sons of the first Tirthankara, Lord Rishabha and king of Podanpur. A statue of Lord
Bahubali is located at Shravanabelagola in the Hassan district of Karnataka State.
Shravanabelagola is a sacred place of pilgrimage for Jains with a splendid statue of
monolithic stone on top of a hill. When standing at the statue's feet looking up, one sees
the inspiring vision of the saint against the vastness of the sky. The figure is lofty like the
sky, and the serenity of the face is unique and incomparable in its beauty. This statue of
Gommateshwara Bahubali is carved from a single large stone which is fifty-seven feet
high. The giant image was carved in 981 A.D., by order of Chavundaraya, the minister of
WT
the Ganga King Rachamalla. Bahubali is another name for Gommateshwara.
Structure of Jain Universe and Time Cycles
Structure of Universe as per the Jain Scriptures
Depiction of Siddha Shila as per Jain cosmology which is abode of infinite Siddhas
WT
According to Jain beliefs, the universe was never created, nor will it ever cease to exist.
Therefore, it is shaswat (eternal) from that point of view. It has no beginning or end, but
time is cyclical with progressive and regressive spirituality phases. In other words, within
the universe itself there will be constant changes, movements and modifications in line
with the macro phases of the time cycles.
The universe consists of infinite amount of Jiva (life force or souls), and infinite amount
of Ajiva (lifeless objects). The shape of the Universe as described in Jainism is shown
alongside. On the very top end of the universe is the residence of the liberated souls that
reached the siddha status. This supreme abode is above a crescent like boundary. Below
this arch is the Deva Loka (Heaven), where all devas, powerful souls enjoying the
positive karmic effects reside. According to Jainism, there are totally thirty heavens. The
enjoyment in heaven is time limited and eventually the soul has to be reborn after the
effect of its positive karmic effect is exhausted. Similarly, beneath the "waist" like area
are the Narka Loka (Hells). There are seven hells, each for a varying degree of suffering a
soul has to go through as consequences of its negative karmic effects. From the first to
the seventh hell, the degree of suffering increases and light reaching it decreases (with no
light in the seventh hell). The ray of hope is that the suffering in hell is also time limited
and the soul will be reborn somewhere else in the universe after its negative karmic
effects are exhausted. Human, animal, insect, plant and microscopic life forms reside on
the middle part of the universe. Ultimate liberation is possible only from this layer of the
universe.
Jainism divide time into Utsarpinis (Progressive Time Cycle) and Avsarpinis (Regressive
Time Cycle). An Utsarpini and an Avsarpini constitute one Time Cycle (Kalchakra).
Every Utsarpini and Avsarpini is divided into six unequal periods known as Aras. During
the Utsarpini half cycle, humanity develops from its worst to its best: ethics, progress,
happiness, strength, health, and religion each start the cycle at their worst, before
eventually completing the cycle at their best and starting the process again. During the
Avsarpini half-cycle, these notions deteriorate from the best to the worst. Jains believe we
are currently in the fifth Ara of the Avsarpini phase.
During the first and last two Aras, the knowledge and practice of dharma lapse among
humanity and then reappear through the teachings of enlightened humans, those who
have reached liberation from their karma, during the third and fourth Aras. Traditionally,
in our universe and in this time cycle, Rishabh is regarded as the first to realize the truth.
Mahavira (Vardhamana) was the last (24th) Tirthankara to attain enlightenment (599–527
BC).
Jain Festivities
Jain festivals are characterised by both internal and external celebrations. The internal
celebration is through praying and expressing devotion to Jinas, practicing meditation,
spiritual studies, and renunciation.
• Paryushan is an important festival among the Jain festivals. It happens during late
WT
August / September commencing on the twelfth day of the fortnight of the waning
moon cycle and ending in the fourteenth of the fortnight of the waxing moon
cycle. This is generally a rainy season in Northern parts of India. During this 18
day period Jain scholars and monks visit temples and explain the Jain philosophy.
Jains during this period practice external austerities such as fasting, limiting their
normal activities so as to reduce the harm to worms and insects that thrive during
this season. At the conclusion of the festivities, a lookback is encouraged, and
Pratikraman is done for repentance of faults and forgiveness is given and asked
for from all.
• Mahavir Jayanti, The birthday of Mahavir, the last Thirthankar is celebrated on
the thirteenth day of the fortnight of the waxing moon, in the month of Chaitra.
This day occurs in late March or early April on the Gregorian calendar. Lectures
are held to preach the path of virtue. People meditate and offer prayers.
• Diwali (Deepavali or festival of lights) is celebrated on the new moon day of
Kartik, usually in late October or early November on the Gregorian calendar.
On the night of that day, Mahavir, the last Thirthankar attained Nirvana or
deliverance and attained liberation from the bondage of all karmas. During the
night of Diwali, holy hymns are recited and meditation is done on Mahavir. And
on the very second day of Diwali they celebrate their New Year.
• Ashadh Chaturdasi, The sacred commencement of Chaturmas takes place on the
14th day of the fortnight of the waxing moon of Ashad. The Jain monks and nuns
remain where they happen to be for four months until the 14th day of Kartik
Shukla. During these four months the monks give daily discourses, undertake
religious ceremonies, etc.
• Shrutha panchami or Gyan Panchami is on the fifth day of the fortnight of the
waxing moon of Kartik (the fifth day after Diwali). This day is devoted for pure
knowledge. On this day books preserved in the religious libraries are cleaned and
studied.
• Apart from Mahavir Jayanti and Diwali, South Indian Tamil Jains of Digambara
sect also celebrate Tamil New Year, Pongal (harvest festival), Avani Avittam
(renewal of sacred thread called 'poonool') similar to most Tamils.
Customs and practices
Jains are strict vegetarians. They avoid eating root vegetables in general, as doing so
would invariably kill the plant. Followers of Jain dharma eat before the night falls. They
filter water regularly so as to remove any small insects that may be present and boil (and
may cool) the water prior to consumption, as heated water will not be the suitable base
for micro organisms to develop immediately.
Jain monks and nuns practice strict asceticism and strive to make their current birth their
last, thus ending their cycle of transmigration. The lay men and women also pursue
the same five major vows to the limited extent depending on their capability and
circumstances. Following the primary non-violence vow, the laity usually choose
professions that revere and protect life and totally avoid violent livelihoods.
WT
Jain monks and nuns walk barefoot and sweep the ground in front of them to avoid
killing insects or other tiny beings.
Even though all life is considered sacred by the Jains, human life is deemed the highest
form of life. For this reason, it is considered vital never to harm or upset any person.
Along with the Five Vows, Jains avoid harboring ill will and practice forgiveness. They
believe that atma (soul) can lead one to becoming parmatma (liberated soul) and this
must come from one's inner self. Jains refrain from all violence (Ahimsa) and
recommend that sinful activities be avoided.
Pratikraman (Turning back from Transgression) is a practice of confession and

repentance. This is a process of looking back at the bad thoughts and actions carried out
during daily activities and learn from this process so as to resolve not to commit those
mistakes again. Forgiving others for their faults, extending friendship and asking
forgiveness for their own wrongful acts without reservation is part of this process. This
enables Jains to get away from the tendency of finding fault in others, criticizing others
and to develop habit of self-analysis, self-improvement and introspection.
Jains practice Samayika, which is a Sanskrit word meaning equanimity. During this
practice, they remain calm and undisturbed. This helps in recollecting the teachings of
Thirthankars and discarding sinful activities for a minimum of 48 minutes.
WT Jain sadhvis meditating
Mahatma Gandhi was deeply influenced (particularly through the guidance of Shrimad
Rajchandra) by Jain tenets such as peaceful, protective living and honesty, and made
them an integral part of his own philosophy.
Jainism has several different traditions. Even though there are some little differences in
customs and practices among them, they are inconsequential. Each tradition brings a
unique perspective and completes the picture in the true sense of Non-Absolutism
(Anekantvad). For this reason Jains are encouraged to keep their tradition, and at the
same time respect other practices so as to complete the Jain view. All traditions
unanimously accept and believe in the Jain philosophy including the major vows of Non-
violence, Truthfulness, Non-stealing, Celibacy and Non-possession.
Jainism is mainly divided into two major sects, namely Shvetambar and Digambar.
Jainism has a distinct idea underlying Tirthankar worship. The physical form is not
worshipped, but their characteristics (virtues, qualities) are praised and emulated.
Tirthankaras remain role-models, and sects such as the Sthanakavasi, Terapanth
stringently reject idol worship. However Murtipujak and Digamabar sects allow praying
before idol so as to assist in stimulating and focusing thoughts while praying.
Digambar
In Digambar tradition idols of Thirthankars are worshipped. However they are not
decorated with ornaments. The Digambar monks who have reached the highest stages of
spiritual state do not wear any clothes. They carry in their hands a special kind of pot and
a broom made of fallen peacock's feathers. They eat food once a day with both their
palms folded in a shape of a bowl (without using plate).
Shvetambar- Murtipujak (Idol worshippers)
The monks and nuns of this sect wear white dress. Worship and spiritual endeavors are
equal for both men and women. They worship and decorate the images of Tirthankars.
Shvetambar – Sthanakvasi
WT
This sect emphasizes on the study of scriptures (Agam) and following of Jain path to soul
purification. They do not worship images and therefore do not have temples. However,
they build prayer halls (sthanaks) where they carry on their religious fasts, festivals,
practices, prayers and discourses, etc. Further, the ascetics of Sthanakvasis cover their
mouth with strips of cloth.
Shvetambar – Terapanth
Shvetambar Terapanth sect arose from Sthanakvasis ascetic sect and was founded in 1760
A.D by Acharya Bhikshu. Terapanthis also do not worship idols and the ascetics use a
piece of white cloth to cover their mouth. Ascetics of all Shvetambar sects use wooden
pots for seeking alms.
Jain worship and rituals
WT Jains praying at the feet of a statue of Lord Bahubali
WT Om Hrim Siddhi Chakra used by Jains in dravya puja
Every day most Jains bow and say their universal prayer, the "Namokara Mantra", also
known variously as Navkar Mantra, Parmesthi Mantra, Panch Namaskar Mantra. The
purpose of jain worship or prayer is to break the barriers of the worldly attachments and
desires, so as to assist in the liberation of the soul. Jain rituals in general include:
• Panch-kalyanak Pratishtha, Installation with five auspicious events.

• Pratikramana, Repentance of sins.
• Samayika, Meditation
• Guru Vandana, Chaitya Vandana, and other sutras to honor ascetics.
Over time, some sections of Jains also pray deities, which are yakshas and yakshinis.
There are basically two types of prayers:
• Dravya Puja (with symbolic offerings of material objects)

• Bhav Puja (with deep feeling and meditation)
The material offerings made during the prayer are merely symbolic and are for the benefit
of the offerer. The action and ritual of offering keeps the mind in meditative state. The
symbolism of prayer is so strong it assists the devotee to concentrate on the virtues of
Arihantas and Thirthankaras. Above all, prayer is not performed with a desire for any
material goal. Jains are clear that the Jinas reside in moksha and are completely detached
from the world. Jains have built temples where idols of tirthankaras are revered. Rituals
include offering of symbolic objects and praising Tirthankaras in song. There are some
traditions within Jainism which have no prayer at all, and are focused on meditation
through scripture reading and philosophical discussions.
WT
Preparation for Prayer
• Body Cleansing: A bath should be taken before the prayer. A clean body
prepares and assists the mind to be in spiritual mode. This is also symbolic of
washing one's dirt or karmas. In order to assist in the meditative process place
saffron paste or sandal paste on ring finger and anoint the forehead. This may be
applied to earlobes, neck and other acupressure parts of the body.
• Clothes: Simple, clean washed clothes are worn. White clothing is preferred.
Traditionally, men wear non-stitched cloths (dhotis and khes).
Ashta Prakari Puja (Eight Symbolic Offering Prayer)
• Jala Puja (Water)
Water Symbolizes the life's ocean of birth, struggle and death. Every living being conti-
nuously travels through the cycles of birth, life, death and misery. This prayer reminds
the devotee to live with honesty, truth, love and compassion toward all living beings.
• Chandan Puja (Sandal-wood)
Sandal wood paste symbolizes Right Knowledge. The devotee reflects on Right
Knowledge with clear, proper understanding of reality from different perspectives.
• Pushpa Puja (Flower)
Flowers symbolize Right Conduct. The devotee remembers that conduct should be like a
flower which provides fragrance and beauty to all living beings without discrimination.
• Dhup Puja (Incense)
The incense stick symbolizes renunciation. While burning itself, it provides fragrance to
others. This reminds the devotee to live life for the benefit of others, which ultimately
leads to liberation.
• Deepak Puja (Oil Lamp)
The flame of the oil lamp represents pure consciousness or a soul without any karmic
bondage. The devotee is reminded to follow the five major vows so as to attain liberation.
• Akshat Puja (Rice)
One cannot grow rice plants by seeding with household rice. Symbolically it means that
rice is the last birth. With this prayer, the devotee strives to make all effort in this life to
get liberation.
WT
• Naivedya Puja (Tasty food)
With this prayer, the devotee strives to reduce or eliminate attachment.
• Fal Puja (Fruit)
Fruit symbolizes moksha or liberation. The devotee is reminded to perform duties

without any expectation and have love and compassion for all living beings so as to attain
the ultimate fruit,moksha.
Dev Shastra Guru Puja (Prayer for Arihants/Siddhas, Scriptures, and Teachers)
Invocation begins with Namokar Mantra and Chattari Mangalam. In this prayer the
devotee bows to Siddhas, scriptures and monks who are on the path of Right View,
Knowledge and Conduct. This prayer is done by taking three full cloves and holding one
clove at a time between two ring fingers while keeping the clove head pointed forward
while offering and reciting. First Clove: The devotees think of the Arihants/
Siddhas/Thirthankaras, Scriptures and Teachers, so that they come into their thoughts.
Second Clove: The devotees take the next step of retaining the above three in their
thoughts.
Third Clove: The devotees take the last step of physically requesting them to be near
them so as to guide them through on the right path.
The offerings here are similar to the Ashta Prakari Puja with flowers replaced with
yellow rice, tasty food with white coconut, fruit with almond in its shell.
Barah Bhavana (12 reflections of mind) is sung as a song. After that prayer of peace for
all living beings recited followed by Namokar Mantra.
At the conclusion, Visarjan (closing) prayer is recited, which means knowingly or
unknowingly if any mistakes are committed during the prayer please forgive.
Jain cuisine
All living beings require food for their survival. Jains practice strict vegetarianism. The
practice of vegetarianism is instrumental for the practice of non-violence and peaceful co-
operative co-existence. They do not consume root vegetables such as potatoes, garlic,
onions, carrots, radishes, cassava, sweet potatoes, turnips, etc., as the plant needed to be
killed in the process of accessing these prior to their end of life cycle. In addition, the root
vegetables interact with soil and therefore contain far more micro-organisms than other
vegetables. However, they consume rhizomes such as dried turmeric and dried ginger.
Brinjals are also not consumed by some Jains owing to the large number of seeds in the
vegetable, as a seed is a form of life. Strict Jains do not consume food which has been left
overnight, such as yogurt because it contains large amounts of bacteria. Most Jain recipes
substitute potato with Plantain.
WT
Jain fasting
Fasting is one of the main tools for practicing external austerity. It helps the demands of
the body under check and assists in the focus on the upliftment of the soul. Depending on
the capacity of an individual, there are several types of fasting:
• Complete fasting: giving up food and water completely for a period

• Partial fasting: eating less than you need to avoid hunger
• Vruti Sankshepa: limiting the number of items of food eaten
• Rasa Parityaga: giving up favourite foods
During fasting one immerses oneself in religious activities (worshiping, serving the saints
& be in their proximity, reading scriptures, meditating, and donating to the right
candidates). However, before starting the fast Jains take a small vow known as pachkaan.
A person taking the vow is bound to it and breaking it is considered to be a bad practice.
Most Jains fast at special times, such as during festivals (known as Parva. Paryushana
and Ashthanhika are the main Parvas which occurs 3 times in a year) and on holy days
(eighth & fourteenth days of the moon cycle). Paryushana is the most prominent festival
(lasting eight days for Svetambara Jains and ten days for Digambars) during the
monsoon. The monsoon is considered the best time of fasting due to lenient weather.
However, a Jain may fast at any time, especially if he/she feels some mistake (negative
karma generally known as paap) has been committed. Variations in fasts encourage Jains
to do whatever they can to maintain self-control.
A unique ritual in this religion involves a holy fasting until death called sallekhana.
Through this one achieves a death with dignity and dispassion as well as no more
negative karma. When a person is aware of approaching death, and feels that s/he has
completed all duties, s/he willingly ceases to eat or drink gradually. This form of dying is
also called Santhara / Samaadhi. It can be as long as 12 years with gradual reduction in
food intake. Considered extremely spiritual and creditable, with all awareness of the
transitory nature of human experience, it has recently led to a controversy. In Rajasthan, a
lawyer petitioned the High Court of Rajasthan to declare santhara illegal. Jains see
santhara as spiritual detachment, a declaration that a person has finished with this world
and now chooses to leave. This choice however requires a great deal of spiritual
accomplishment and maturity as a pre-requisite.
Types of Fasting
Aathai: A person practising this form of fasting will not eat anything for eight days.
During this period, they live only by drinking previously boiled water (8 hours ago at the
maximum). They drink water after going to temple or after prayer that is done after 11'o
clock and before sunset. Normally on 8th day of fasting, the success is celebrated by the
community by organising a procession to the temple. On the 9th day, the person will stop
fasting. The relatives and friends will come and help the person to break the fast.
Masskhaman: A person practising this form of fasting will not eat any thing for thirty
WT
days. During this period, they live by drinking previously boiled water. Normally on 30th
day of fasting their successful completion is celebrated.
Aorie: In this practice, for 9 days food taken without any one of important additive that
provide taste such as Ghee (clarified butter), Spices, Salt, etc.
Varshitap: This is a difficult form of fasting and demands a high level of skill and
discipline. Lord Rishabh did not eat or drink water for 400 days. It is possible for people
to try a variation of Varshitap by eating every alternate days, in general. They can eat
only twice in every alternate days, but in between during some special calendar events,
they may have to fast longer periods.
History
Parshvanatha, the twenty-third Tirthankar, is the earliest Jain leader who can be reliably
dated. As noted, however, Jain mythology asserts that the line of Tirthankars in the
present era began with Rushabhdeva; moreover, Jains themselves believe that Jainism has
no single founder, and that it has always existed and will always exist, although it is
occasionally forgotten by humans.
According to scholars, Parshvanatha probably lived in the 9th Century BC. In the sixth
century BC, Vardhamana Mahavira became one of the most influential Jainism teachers.
He built up a large group of disciples that learned from his teachings and followed him as
he taught an ascetic doctrine in order to achieve enlightenment. The disciples referred to
him as Jina, which means "the conqueror" and later his followers would use this title to
refer to themselves.
It is generally accepted that Jainism started spreading in south India from the third
century BC. i.e. since the time when Badrabahu, a preacher of this religion and the head
of the monks' community, came to Karnataka from Bihar.
Kalinga (modern Orissa and Osiaji) was home to many Jains in the past. Rishabhnath, the
first Tirthankar, was revered and worshipped in the ancient city Pithunda. This was
destroyed by Mahapadma Nanda when he conquered Kalinga and brought the statue of
Rushabhanatha to his capital in Magadh. Rushabhanatha is revered as the Kalinga Jina.
Ashoka's invasion and his Buddhist policy also subjugated Jains greatly in Kalinga.
However, in the 1st century BC Emperor Kharvela conquered Magadha and brought
Rushabhnath's statue back and installed it in Udaygiri, near his capital, Shishupalgadh.
The Khandagiri and Udaygiri caves near Bhubaneswar are the only surviving stone Jain
monuments in Orissa. Earlier buildings were made of wood and were destroyed.
Deciphering of the Brahmi script by James Prinsep in 1788 enabled the reading of ancient
inscriptions in India and established the antiquity of Jainism. The discovery of Jain
manuscripts has added significantly to retracing Jain history. Archaeologists have
encountered Jain remains and artifacts at Maurya, Sunga, Kishan, Gupta, Kalachuries,
Rashtrakut, Chalukya, Chandel and Rajput as well as later sites. Several western and
Indian scholars have contributed to the reconstruction of Jain history. Western historians
like Bühler, Jacobi, and Indian scholars like Iravatham Mahadevan, worked on Tamil
Brahmi inscriptions.
WT
Geographical spread and influence
Jain temple in Ranakpur
This pervasive influence of Jain culture and philosophy in ancient Bihar may have given
rise to Buddhism. The Buddhists have always maintained that during the time of Buddha
and Mahavira (who, according to the Pali canon, were contemporaries), Jainism was
already an ancient, deeply entrenched faith and culture there. Over several thousand
years, Jain influence on Hindu philosophy and religion has been considerable, while
Hindu influence on Jain rituals may be observed in certain Jain sects. Certain Vedic
Hindu holy books contain beautiful narrations about various Jain Tirthankaras (e.g., Lord
Rushabdev). There have been no wars fought in the name of Jainism.
With 10 to 12 million followers, Jainism is among the smallest of the major world
religions, but in India its influence is much greater than these numbers would suggest.
Jains live throughout India. Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Gujarat have the largest Jain
populations among Indian states. Karnataka, Bundelkhand and Madhya Pradesh have
relatively large Jain populations. There is a large following in Punjab, especially in
Ludhiana and Patiala, and there used to be many Jains in Lahore (Punjab's historic
capital) and other cities before the Partition of 1947, after which many fled to India.
There are many Jain communities in different parts of India and around the world. They
may speak local languages or follow different rituals but essentially follow the same
principles.
WT
Jain temple in Antwerp, Belgium
Jains has a significance presence in the Southern Indian State of Karnataka from a long
time. The holy Moodabidre,famously renouned as 'Southern Kashi' has 1000 pillar
temple. Shravanabelagola has world famous monolithic statue of Lord Bahubali. Similar
Monolithic statues of Lord Bahubali can be also seen in Venur, Dharmasthala, Karkala
and Mysore as well. In all of the above mentioned places, holy festival of Maha-
mastakabhisheka will be held every 12 years once where in the statue of the lord will be
worshiped and bathed in Holy water, Milk, Turmeric and other natural herbs which has
its own significant importance.
Outside India, the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and East Africa (Kenya,
Tanzania and Uganda) have large Jain communities. The first Jain temple to be built
outside India was constructed and consecrated in the 1960s in Mombasa, Kenya, by the
local Gujarati community, although Jainism in the West mostly came about after the
Oshwal and Jain diaspora spread to the West in the late 1970s and 1980s. Jainism is
presently a strong faith in the United States and several dozen Jain temples have been
WT
built there, primarily by the Gujarati community. American Jainism accommodates all
the sects. Smaller Jain communities exist in Nepal, South Africa, Japan, Singapore,
Malaysia, Australia, Fiji, and Suriname. In Belgium the very successful Indian diamond
community, almost all of whom are Jain, are also establishing a temple to strengthen Jain
values in and across Western Europe.
Denominations
Timeline of various splits in Jainism
Jain sangha is divided into two major sects, Digambar and Svetambar. The differences
between the two sects are minor and relatively obscure. Digambar Jain monks do not
wear clothes because they believe clothes, like other possessions, increase dependency
and desire for material things, and desire for anything ultimately leads to sorrow.
Svetambar Jain monks, on the other hand, wear white, seamless clothes for practical
reasons, and believe there is nothing in Jain scripture that condemns wearing clothes.
Sadhvis (nuns) of both sects wear white. In Sanskrit, ambar refers to a covering
generally, or a garment in particular. Dig, an older form of disha, refers to the cardinal
directions. Digambar therefore means "covered by the four directions", or "sky-clad".
Svet means white and Svetambars wear white garments.
Digambars believe that women cannot attain moksha in the same birth, while Svetambars
believe that women may attain liberation and that Mallinath, a Tirthankar, was female.
The earliest record of this Digambar belief is contained in the Prakrit Suttapahuda of the
Digambara mendicant Kundakunda (c. second century A.D.).
Digambars believe that Mahavir remained unmarried, whereas Svetambars believe

Mahavir did marry a woman who bore him a daughter. The two sects also differ on the
origin of Mata Trishala, Mahavira's mother. Digambars believe that only the first five
lines are formally part of the Namokara Mantra (the main Jain prayer), whereas
Svetambaras believe all nine form the mantra. Other differences are minor and not based
on major points of doctrine.
WT
Excavations at Mathura revealed many Jain statues from the Kushana period.
Tirthankaras, represented without clothes, and monks with cloth wrapped around the left
arm are identified as Ardhaphalaka and mentioned in some texts. The Yapaniya sect,
believed to have originated from the Ardhaphalaka, follows Digambara nudity, along
with several Svetambara beliefs.
Svetambaras are further divided into sub-sects, such as Sthanakavasi, Terapanthi and
Deravasi. Some are murtipujak (revering statues) while non-Murtipujak Jains refuse
statues or images. Svetambar follow the 12 agam literature (voice of omniscient).
Most simply call themselves Jains and follow general traditions rather than specific
sectarian practices. In 1974 a committee with representatives from every sect compiled a
new text called the Samana Suttam.
Jain symbolism
The swastika is among the holiest of Jain symbols. Worshippers use rice grains to create
a swastika around the temple altar.
•
•
•
•
•
WT
The hand with a wheel on the palm symbolizes the Jain Vow of Ahimsa, meaning non-
violence. The word in the middle is "Ahimsa". The wheel represents the dharmacakra, to
halt the cycle of reincarnation through the pursuit of truth.
The holiest symbol is a simple swastika. A Jain swastika is normally associated with the
three dots on the top accompanied with a crest and a dot. Another important symbol
incorporates a wheel on the palm of a hand, symbolizing Ahimsa. Other major Jain
symbols include:
24 Lanchhanas (symbols) of the Tirthankaras

Triratna (three umbrellas, signifying triple gems of Jainism) and Shrivatsa
symbols
A Tirthankar's or Chakravarti's mother dreams
Dharmacakra and Siddha-chakra
Eight auspicious symbols (The Asta Mangalas). Their names are (in series of
pictures)
1. Swastika -Signifies peace and well-being

2. Shrivatsa -A mark manifested on the centre of the Jina's chest, signifying a pure
soul.
3. Nandyavartya -Large swastika with nine corners
4. Vardhamanaka -A shallow earthen dish used for lamps, suggests an increase in
wealth, fame and merit due to a Jina's grace.
5. Bhadrasana -Throne, considered auspicious because it is sanctified by the blessed
Jina's feet.
6. Kalasha -Pot filled with pure water signifying wisdom and completeness
7. Minayugala -A fish couple. It signifies Cupid's banners coming to worship the
Jina after defeating the God of Love
8. Darpana -The mirror reflects one's true self because of its clarity
Culture
Jain contributions to Indian culture
WT A Jain temple in Kochi, Kerala, India
While Jains represent less than 1% of the Indian population, their contributions to culture
and society in India are significant. Jainism had a major influence in developing a system
of philosophy and ethics that had a great impact on all aspects of Indian culture.
Scholarly research and evidences have shown that philosophical concepts considered
typically Indian – Karma, Ahimsa, Moksa, reincarnation and like – either originate in the
sramana school of thought or were propagated and developed by Jaina and Buddhist
teachers.
Jains have also contributed to the culture and language of the Indian states Tamil Nadu,
Karnataka, Gujarat and Rajasthan. Great ancient Tamil books titled Silapathigaram,
Seevaka Sinthamani, Manimegalai, Naaladiyar, etc. were written by Jain scholars. In the
beginning of the medieval period, between the 9th and 13th centuries, Kannada writers
were predominantly of the Jain and Veerashaiva faiths. Jains were the earliest known
cultivators of Kannada literature, which they dominated until the 12th century. Jain
authors wrote about Jain Tirthankars and other aspects of the Jain religion. Pampa also
known as Adikavi Pampa is one of the greatest Kannada poets of all time and was the
court poet of Chalukya King Arikesari, a Rashtrakuta feudatory. The works of Jain
writers Adikavi Pampa, Sri Ponna and Ranna, collectively called the "three gems of
Kannada literature", heralded the age of classical Kannada in the 10th century. The
earliest known Gujarati text, Bharat-Bahubali Ras, was written by a Jain monk. Some
important people in Gujarat's Jain history were Acharya Hemacandra Suri and his pupil,
the Chalukya ruler Kumarapala.
WT
Doorway detail of a Dilwara Temple
Jains are among the wealthiest Indians. They run numerous schools, colleges and
hospitals and are important patrons of the Somapuras, the traditional temple architects in
Gujarat. Jains have greatly influenced Gujarati cuisine. Gujarat is predominantly vege-
tarian, and its food is mild as onions and garlic are omitted. Though the Jains form only
0.42% of the population of India, their contribution to the exchequer by way of income
tax is an astounding 24% of the total tax collected.
Jains encourage their monks to do research and obtain higher education. Jain monks and
nuns, particularly in Rajasthan, have published numerous research monographs. This is
unique among Indian religious groups and parallels Christian clergy. The 2001 census
states that Jains are India's most literate community and that India's oldest libraries at
Patan and Jaisalmer are preserved by Jain institutions.
Jain literature
•
WT
Sanskrit manuscript about dreams of Mahaviras' mother Trishala
Jains have contributed to India's classical and popular literature. For example, almost all
early Kannada literature and many Tamil works were written by Jains.
• Some of the oldest known books in Hindi and Gujarati were written by Jain
scholars. The first autobiography in Hindi, Ardha-Kathanaka was written by a
Jain, Banarasidasa, an ardent follower of Acarya Kundakunda who lived in Agra.
Many Tamil classics are written by Jains or with Jain beliefs and values as the
core subject.
Practically all the known texts in the Apabhramsha language are Jain works.
The oldest Jain literature is in Shauraseni and Ardha-Magadhi Prakrit (Agamas, Agama-
Tulya, Siddhanta texts, etc.). Many classical texts are in Sanskrit (Tatvartha Sutra,
Puranas, Kosh, Sravakacara, mathematics, Nighantus etc.). "Abhidhana Rajendra Kosha"
written by Acharya Rajendrasuri, is only one available Jain encyclopedia or Jain
dictionary to understand the Jain Prakrit, Sanskrit, and Ardha-Magadhi and other Jain
languages, words, their use and references with in oldest Jain literature. Later
Jain literature was written in Apabhramsha (Kahas, rasas, and grammars), Hindi
(Chhahadhala, Mokshamarga Prakashaka, and others), Tamil (Jivakacintamani, Valaya-
pathi, Naaladiyaar and others), and Kannada (Vaddaradhane and various other texts). Jain
versions of Ramayana and Mahabharata are found in Sanskrit, Prakrit, Apabhramsha and
Kannada.
Jainism and other religions
Jains are not a part of the Vedic Religion (Hinduism). Ancient India had two philo-
sophical streams of thought: The Shramana philosophical schools, represented by Jainism
movement, and the Brahmana/Vedic/Puranic schools represented by Vedanta, Vaishnava
and other movements. Both streams have existed side by side for few thousands of years,
influencing each other.
The Hindu scholar, Lokmanya Tilak credited Jainism with influencing Hinduism and thus
leading to the cessation of animal sacrifice in Vedic rituals. Bal Gangadhar Tilak has
described Jainism as the originator of Ahimsa and wrote in a letter printed in Bombay
Samachar, Mumbai:10 December 1904: "In ancient times, innumerable animals were
butchered in sacrifices. Evidence in support of this is found in various poetic
compositions such as the Meghaduta.
WT
Swami Vivekananda also credited Jainism as influencing force behind the Indian culture
and said:
"What could have saved Indian society from the ponderous burden of omnifarious
ritualistic ceremonialism, with its animal and other sacrifices, which all but crushed the
very life of it, except the Jain revolution which took its strong stand exclusively on chaste
morals and philosophical truths? Jains were the first great ascetics and they did some
great work. "Don't injure any and do good to all that you can, and that is all the morality
and ethics, and that is all the work there is, and the rest is all nonsense." And then they
went to work and elaborated this one principle all through, and it is a most wonderful
ideal: how all that we call ethics they simply bring out from that one great principle of
non-injury and doing good."
• Relationship between Jainism and Hinduism – According to the Encyclopædia

Britannica Article on Hinduism,"...With Jainism which always remained an
independent Indian religion. Hinduism has some common concepts and practices,
that nowadays some Hindus tend to consider Jainism as Hindu sect.
• Independent Religion – From the Encyclopædia Britannica Article on Jainism:
"...Along with Hinduism and Buddhism, it is one of the three most ancient Indian
religious traditions still in existence. ...While often employing concepts shared
with Hinduism and Buddhism, the result of a common cultural and linguistic
background, the Jain tradition must be regarded as an independent phenomenon.
It is an integral part of South Asian religious belief and practice, but it is not a
Hindu sect or Buddhist heresy, as earlier scholars believed." The author Koenraad
Elst in his book, Who is a Hindu?, summarises on the similarities between Jains
and the mainstream Hindu society.
• Monier Williams, in his article of Jainism, mentions that Jains outdo every other
Indian sect in carrying the prohibition of violence to the most extent.
Jain monasticism
WT Palitana Tirtha
WT
Mulnayak Shri Adinath Bhagwan, Bibrod Jain Temple, Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh, India
In India there are several Jain Monks, in categories like Acharya, Upadhyaya and Muni.
Trainee ascetics are known as Ailaka and Ksullaka in the Digambar tradition.
There are two categories of ascetics, Sadhu (monk) and Sadhvi (nun). They practice the
five Mahavratas, three Guptis and five Samitis:
Five major vows (Mahavrata)
• Non-violence (Ahimsa): Non-violence in thought, word and deed so as not to

cause harm to any living beings
• Truthfulness (Satya): Truth which is (hita) beneficial, (mita) succinct and (priya)
pleasing. In other words, to speak the harmless truth
• Non-stealing (Astey): Not to take anything that has not been given to them
willingly by the owner
• Chastity (Brahmacarya): Absolute purity of mind and body without indulging in
sensual pleasure
• Non-possession (Aparigraha): Exercise no attachment or aversion to all people,
places and material objects around.
Three Restraints (Gupti)
• Control of the mind (Managupti)

• Control of speech (Vacanagupti)
• Control of body (Kayagupti)
Five Carefulness (Samiti)
• Carefulness while walking (Irya Samiti)

• Carefulness while communicating (Bhasha Samiti)
• Carefulness while eating (Eshana Samiti)
• Carefulness while handling their fly-whisks, water gourds, etc. (Adana
Nikshepana Samiti)
• Carefulness while disposing of bodily waste matter (Pratishthapana Samiti)
WT
Male Digambara monks do not wear any clothes and are nude. They practice non-
attachment to the body and hence, wear no clothes. Shvetambara monks and nuns wear
white clothes. Shvetambaras believe that monks and nuns may wear simple un-stitched
white clothes as long as they are not attached to them. Jain monks and nuns travel on
foot. They do not use mechanical transport.
Digambar followers take up to eleven Pratimaye (oath). The Male Digambar monk eat
standing at one place in their palms without using any utensil. They eat only once a day.
Languages used in Jain literature

Jains literature exists mainly in Prakrit, Sanskrit, Tamil, Rajasthani, Hindi, Gujarati,
Kannada, Malayalam, Tulu, Dhundhari (Old Marwari), and more recently in English.
Constitutional status of Jainism in India

In 2005 the Supreme Court of India declined to issue a writ of Mandamus towards
granting Jains the status of a religious minority throughout India. The Court noted that
Jains have been declared a minority in five states already, and left it to the rest of the
States to decide on the minority status of Jain religion.
In 2006 the Supreme Court in a judgement pertaining to an Indian state, opined that "Jain
Religion is indisputably not a part of the Hindu Religion". (para 25, Committee of
Management Kanya Junior High School Bal Vidya Mandir, Etah, Uttar Pradesh v.
Sachiv, U.P. Basic Shiksha Parishad, Allahabad, U.P. and Ors., Per Dalveer Bhandari J.,
Civil Appeal No. 9595 of 2003, decided On: 21.08.2006, Supreme Court of India)
Chapter 8
Anekantavada
Anekāntavāda (Devanagari: अनेकान्तवाद) is one of the most important and fundamental

doctrines of Jainism. It refers to the principles of pluralism and multiplicity of
viewpoints, the notion that truth and reality are perceived differently from diverse points
WT
of view, and that no single point of view is the complete truth.
Jains contrast all attempts to proclaim absolute truth with adhgajanyāyah, which can be
illustrated through the parable of the "blind men and an elephant". In this story, each
blind man felt a different part of an elephant (trunk, leg, ear, etc.). All the men claimed to
understand and explain the true appearance of the elephant, but could only partly
succeed, due to their limited perspectives. This principle is more formally stated by
observing that objects are infinite in their qualities and modes of existence, so they
cannot be completely grasped in all aspects and manifestations by finite human
perception. According to the Jains, only the Kevalins—the omniscient beings—can
comprehend objects in all aspects and manifestations; others are only capable of partial
knowledge. Consequently, no single, specific, human view can claim to represent
absolute truth.
The origins of anekāntavāda can be traced back to the teachings of Māhavīra (599–527
BCE), the 24th Jain Tīrthaṇkara. The dialectical concepts of syādvāda (conditioned
viewpoints) and nayavāda (partial viewpoints) arose from anekāntavāda, providing it
with more detailed logical structure and expression. The Sanskrit compound an-eka-anta-
vāda literally means "doctrine of non-exclusivity or multiple viewpoints(an-'which
is not', eka-' one', vada- 'viewpoint')"; it is roughly translated into English as "non-
absolutism". An-ekānta "uncertainty, non-exclusivity" is the opposite of ekānta
(eka+anta) "exclusiveness, absoluteness, necessity" (or also "monotheistic doctrine").
Anekāntavāda encourages its adherents to consider the views and beliefs of their rivals
and opposing parties. Proponents of anekāntavāda apply this principle to religion and
philosophy, reminding themselves that any religion or philosophy—even Jainism—which
clings too dogmatically to its own tenets, is committing an error based on its limited point
of view. The principle of anekāntavāda also influenced Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
to adopt principles of religious tolerance, ahiṃsā and satyagraha.
Philosophical overview
The etymological root of anekāntavāda lies in the compound of two Sanskrit words:
anekānta ("manifoldness") and vāda ("school of thought"). The word anekānta is a
compound of the Sanskrit negative prefix an, eka ("one"), and anta ("attribute"). Hence,
anekānta means "not of solitary attribute". The Jain doctrine lays a strong emphasis on
samyaktva, that is, rationality and logic. According to Jains, the ultimate principle should
always be logical and no principle can be devoid of logic or reason. Thus, the Jain texts
contain deliberative exhortations on every subject, whether they are constructive or
obstructive, inferential or analytical, enlightening or destructive.
Jain doctrines of relativity
Anekāntavāda is one of the three Jain doctrines of relativity used for logic and reasoning.
WT
The other two are:
• syādvāda—the theory of conditioned predication and;

• nayavāda—the theory of partial standpoints.
These Jain philosophical concepts made important contributions to ancient Indian

philosophy, especially in the areas of skepticism and relativity.
Syādvāda
Syādvāda is the theory of conditioned predication, which provides an expression to

anekānta by recommending that the epithet Syād be prefixed to every phrase or
expression. Syādvāda is not only an extension of anekānta ontology, but a separate
system of logic capable of standing on its own. The Sanskrit etymological root of the
term syād is "perhaps" or "maybe", but in the context of syādvāda, it means "in some
ways" or "from a perspective". As reality is complex, no single proposition can express
the nature of reality fully. Thus the term "syāt" should be prefixed before each
proposition giving it a conditional point of view and thus removing any dogmatism in the
statement. Since it ensures that each statement is expressed from seven different
conditional and relative viewpoints or propositions, syādvāda is known as saptibha-
ṅgīnāya or the theory of seven conditioned predications. These seven propositions, also
known as saptibhaṅgī, are:
1. syād-asti—in some ways, it is,

2. syād-nāsti—in some ways, it is not,
3. syād-asti-nāsti—in some ways, it is, and it is not,
4. syād-asti-avaktavyaḥ—in some ways, it is, and it is indescribable,
5. syād-nāsti-avaktavyaḥ—in some ways, it is not, and it is indescribable,
6. syād-asti-nāsti-avaktavyaḥ—in some ways, it is, it is not, and it is indescribable,
7. syād-avaktavyaḥ—in some ways, it is indescribable.
Each of these seven propositions examines the complex and multifaceted nature of
reality from a relative point of view of time, space, substance and mode. To ignore the
complexity of reality is to commit the fallacy of dogmatism.
Nayavāda
Nayavāda is the theory of partial standpoints or viewpoints. Nayavāda is a compound of

two Sanskrit words—naya ("partial viewpoint") and vāda ("school of thought or
debate"). It is used to arrive at a certain inference from a point of view. An object has
infinite aspects to it, but when we describe an object in practice, we speak of only
relevant aspects and ignore irrelevant ones. This does not deny the other attributes,
qualities, modes and other aspects; they are just irrelevant from a particular perspective.
Authors like Natubhai Shah explain nayavāda with the example of a car; for instance,
when we talk of a "blue BMW" we are simply considering the color and make of the car.
However, our statement does not imply that the car is devoid of other attributes like
WT
engine type, cylinders, speed, price and the like. This particular viewpoint is called a
naya or a partial viewpoint. As a type of critical philosophy, nayavāda holds that all
philosophical disputes arise out of confusion of standpoints, and the standpoints we adopt
are, although we may not realize it, "the outcome of purposes that we may pursue". While
operating within the limits of language and seeing the complex nature of reality,
Māhavīra used the language of nayas. Naya, being a partial expression of truth, enables
us to comprehend reality part by part.
Syncretisation of changing and unchanging reality
WT
Māhavīra employed anekānta extensively to explain the Jain philosophical concepts.
(c.1900 Painting from Rajasthan)
The age of Māhavīra and Buddha was an age of intense intellectual debates, especially on
the nature of reality and self. Upanishadic thought postulated the absolute unchanging
reality of Brahman and atman and claimed that change was mere illusion. The theory
advanced by Buddhists denied the reality of permanence of conditioned phenomena,
asserting only interdependence and impermanence. According to the Vedānta (Upanis-
hadic) conceptual scheme, the Buddhists were wrong in denying permanence and
absolutism, and within the Buddhist conceptual scheme, the vedāntins were wrong in
denying the reality of impermanence. The two positions were contradictory and mutually
exclusive from each others' point of view. The Jains managed a synthesis of the two
uncompromising positions with anekāntavāda. From the perspective of a higher,
inclusive level made possible by the ontology and epistemology of anekāntavāda and
syādvāda, Jains do not see such claims as contradictory or mutually exclusive; instead,
they are seen as ekantika or only partially true. The Jain breadth of vision embraces the
perspectives of both Vedānta which, according to Jainism, "recognizes substances but not
process", and Buddhism, which "recognizes process but not substance". Jainism, on the
other hand, pays equal attention to both substance (dravya) and process (paryaya).
Māhavīra's responses to various questions asked by his disciples and recorded in the Jain
canon Bhagvatisūtra demonstrate recognition that there are complex and multiple aspects
to truth and reality and a mutually exclusive approach cannot be taken to explain such
reality:
Gautama: Lord! Is the soul permanent or impermanent?
WT
Māhavīra: The soul is permanent as well as impermanent. From the point of view of the
substance it is eternal. From the point of view of its modes it undergoes birth, decay and
destruction and hence impermanent.
—Bhagvatisūtra, 7:58–59
Jayanti: Lord! Of the states of slumber or awakening, which one is better?
Māhavīra: For some souls the state of slumber is better, for some souls the states of
awakening. Slumber is better for those who are engaged in sinful activities and
awakening for those who are engaged in meritorious deeds.
—Bhagvatisūtra, 12:53–54
Thousands of questions were asked and Māhavīra’s responses suggested a complex and
multifaceted reality with each answer qualified from a viewpoint. According to Jainism,
even a Tīrthaṇkara, who possesses and perceives infinite knowledge, cannot express
reality completely because of the limitations of language, which is of human creation.
This philosophical syncretisation of paradox of change through anekānta has been

acknowledged by modern scholars such as Arvind Sharma, who wrote:
Our experience of the world presents a profound paradox which we can ignore
existentially, but not philosophically. This paradox is the paradox of change. Something –
A changes and therefore it cannot be permanent. On the other hand, if A is not
permanent, then what changes? In this debate between the 'permanence' and 'change',
Hinduism seems more inclined to grasp the first horn of the dilemma and Buddhism the
second. It is Jainism that has the philosophical courage to grasp both horns fearlessly and
simultaneously, and the philosophical skill not to be gored by either.
However, anekāntavāda is simply not about syncretisation or compromise between
competing ideas, as it is about finding the hidden elements of shared truth between such
ideas. Anekāntavāda is not about denying the truth; rather truth is acknowledged as an
ultimate spiritual goal. For ordinary humans, it is an elusive goal, but they are still
obliged to work towards its attainment. Anekāntavāda also does not mean compromising
or diluting ones own values and principles. On the contrary, it allows us to understand
and be tolerant of conflicting and opposing views, while respectfully maintaining the
validity of ones own view-point. Hence, John Koller calls anekāntavāda as –
“epistemological respect for view of others”. Anekāntavāda, thus, did not prevent the Jain
thinkers from defending the truth and validity of their own doctrine while simultaneously
respecting and understanding the rival doctrines. Anne Vallely notes that the
epistemological respect for other view-points was put to practice when she was invited by
Ācārya Tulsi, the head of Jain Terāpanthī order, to teach their Jain nuns, the tenets of
Christianity. Commenting on their adherence to ahiṃsā and anekāntavāda, she says:
WT
The Jain samaṇīs of Ladnun uncompromisingly maintain ahiṃsā to be an eternal and
unchangeable moral law. Other views and beliefs that contradict this belief would
certainly be challenged, and ultimately rejected. But what is significant, is that both the
rejection and retention of views is tempered by the belief that our perception conveys
only a partial reality, that reality itself is manifold, and that to assume one particular
viewpoint is final, is to hold a limited picture of reality.
Anekāntavāda is also different from moral relativism. It does not mean conceding that all
arguments and all views are equal, but rather logic and evidence determine which views
are true, in what respect and to what extent. While employing anekāntavāda, the 17th
century philosopher monk, Yaśovijaya Gaṇi also cautions against anābhigrahika
(indiscriminate attachment to all views as being true), which is effectively a kind of
misconceived relativism. Jains thus consider anekāntavāda as a positive concept
corresponding to religious pluralism that transcends monism and dualism, implying a
sophisticated conception of a complex reality. It does not merely involve rejection of
partisanship, but reflects a positive spirit of reconciliation of opposite views. However, it
is argued that pluralism often degenerates to some form of moral relativism or religious
exclusivism. According to Anne Vallely, anekānta is a way out of this epistemological
quagmire, as it makes a genuinely pluralistic view possible without lapsing into extreme
moral relativism or exclusivity.
Parable of the blind men and elephant
WT
"Blind monks examining an elephant", an 1888 ukiyo-e print by Hanabusa Itchō
The ancient Jain texts often explain the concepts of anekāntvāda and syādvāda with the
parable of the blind men and an elephant (Andhgajanyāyah), which addresses the
manifold nature of truth.
A group of blind men heard that a strange animal, called an elephant, had been brought to
the town, but none of them were aware of its shape and form. Out of curiosity, they said:
"We must inspect and know it by touch, of which we are capable". So, they sought it out,
and when they found it they groped about it. In the case of the first person, whose hand
landed on the trunk, said "This being is like a drain pipe". For another one whose hand
reached its ear, it seemed like a kind of fan. As for another person, whose hand was upon
its leg, said, "I perceive the shape of the elephant to be like a pillar". And in the case of
the one who placed his hand upon its back said, "Indeed, this elephant is like a throne".
Now, each of these presented a true aspect when he related what he had gained from
experiencing the elephant. None of them had strayed from the true description of the
elephant. Yet they fell short of fathoming the true appearance of the elephant.
Two of the many references to this parable are found in Tattvarthaslokavatika of

Vidyanandi (9th century) and Syādvādamanjari of Ācārya Mallisena (13th century).
Mallisena uses the parable to argue that immature people deny various aspects of truth;
deluded by the aspects they do understand, they deny the aspects they don't understand.
"Due to extreme delusion produced on account of a partial viewpoint, the immature deny
one aspect and try to establish another. This is the maxim of the blind (men) and the
elephant." Mallisena also cites the parable when noting the importance of considering all
viewpoints in obtaining a full picture of reality. "It is impossible to properly understand
an entity consisting of infinite properties without the method of modal description
consisting of all viewpoints, since it will otherwise lead to a situation of seizing mere
sprouts (i.e., a superficial, inadequate cognition), on the maxim of the blind (men) and the
elephant."
History and development

The principle of anekāntavāda is the foundation of many Jain philosophical concepts.
The development of anekāntavāda also encouraged the development of the dialectics of
WT
syādvāda (conditioned viewpoints), saptibhaṅgī (the seven conditioned predication), and
nayavāda (partial viewpoints).
Origins
The origins of anekāntavāda lie in the teachings of Māhavīra, who used it effectively to
show the relativity of truth and reality. Taking a relativistic viewpoint, Māhavīra is said
to have explained the nature of the soul as both permanent, from the point of view
of underlying substance, and temporary, from the point of view of its modes and
modification. The importance and antiquity of anekāntavāda are also demonstrated by
the fact that it formed the subject matter of Astinasti Pravāda, the fourth part of the lost
Purva that contained teachings of the Tīrthaṇkaras prior to Māhavīra. German Indologist
Hermann Jacobi believes Māhavīra effectively employed the dialectics of anekāntavāda
to refute the agnosticism of Sañjaya Belaṭṭhaputta. Sutrakritanga, the second oldest
canon of Jainism, contains the first references to syādvāda and saptibhaṅgī. According to
Sūtrakritanga, Māhavīra advised his disciples to use syādvāda to preach his teachings:
A monk living single should not ridicule heretical doctrines, and should avoid hard words
though they be true; he should not be vain, nor brag, but he should without embarr-
assment and passion preach the Law. A monk should be modest, though he be of a
fearless mind; he should expound the syādvāda, he should use the two permitted kinds of
speech, living among virtuous men, impartial and wise.
—Sūtrakritānga, 14:21–22
Early history
Sutrakritanga contains references to Vibhagyavāda, which, according to Jacobi, is the

same as syādvāda and saptibhaṅgī. The early Jain canons and teachings contained
multitudes of references to anekāntavāda and syādvāda in rudimentary form without
giving it proper structure or establishing it as a separate doctrine. Bhagvatisūtra mentions
only three primary predications of the saptibhaṅgīnaya. After Māhavīra, Kundakunda
(1st century CE) was the first author–saint to expound on the doctrine of syādvāda and
saptibhaṅgī and give it a proper structure in his famous works Pravacanasāra and
Pancastikayasāra. Kundakunda also used nayas to discuss the essence of the self in
Samayasāra. Proper classification of the nayas was provided by the philosopher monk,
Umāsvāti (2nd century CE) in Tattvārthasūtra. Samantabhadra (2nd century CE) and
Siddhasena Divākara (3rd century CE) further fine-tuned Jain epistemology and logic by
expounding on the concepts of anekāntavāda in proper form and structure.
Ācārya Siddhasena Divākara expounded on the nature of truth in the court of King
Vikramāditya:
Vikramāditya: What is 'truth'? That which is said repeatedly, that which is said loudly,
that which is said with authority or that which is agreed by the majority?
WT
Divākara: None of the above. Every one has his own definition of 'truth' and that it is
conditional.
Vikramāditya: How about traditions? They have been established by our ancestors and
have passed the test of time?
Divākara: Would the system established by ancestors hold true on examination? In case
it does not, I am not here to justify it for the sake of saving the traditional grace of the
dead, irrespective of the wrath I may have to face.
—Ācārya Siddhasena Divākara, Vardhamana Dvātrimṣikā, 6/2
In Sanmatitarka, Divākara further adds: "All doctrines are right in their own respective
spheres—but if they encroach upon the province of other doctrines and try to refute their
view, they are wrong. A man who holds the view of the cumulative character of truth
never says that a particular view is right or that a particular view is wrong."
Age of logic
The period beginning with the start of common era, up to the modern period is often
referred to as the age of logic in the history of Jain philosophy. By the time of Akalanka
(5th century CE), whose works are a landmark in Jain logic, anekāntavāda was firmly
entrenched in Jain texts, as is evident from the various teachings of the Jain scriptures.
Ācārya Haribhadra (8th century CE) was one of the leading proponents of anekāntavāda.
He was the first classical author to write a doxography, a compendium of a variety of
intellectual views. This attempted to contextualise Jain thoughts within the broad
framework, rather than espouse narrow partisan views. It interacted with the many
possible intellectual orientations available to Indian thinkers around the 8th century.
Ācārya Amrtacandra starts his famous 10th century CE work Purusathasiddhiupaya with
strong praise for anekāntavāda: "I bow down to the principle of anekānta, the source and
foundation of the highest scriptures, the dispeller of wrong one-sided notions, that which
takes into account all aspects of truth, reconciling diverse and even contradictory traits of
all objects or entity."
Ācārya Vidyānandi (11th century CE) provides the analogy of the ocean to explain the
nature of truth in Tattvarthaslokavārtikka, 116: "Water from the ocean contained in a pot
can neither be called an ocean nor a non-ocean, but simply a part of ocean. Similarly, a
doctrine, though arising from absolute truth can neither be called a whole truth nor a non-
truth."
Yaśovijaya Gaṇi, a 17th century Jain monk, went beyond anekāntavāda by advocating
madhāyastha, meaning "standing in the middle" or "equidistance". This position allowed
him to praise qualities in others even though the people were non-Jain and belonged to
other faiths. There was a period of stagnation after Yasovijayaji, as there were no new
WT
contributions to the development of Jain philosophy.
Role in ensuring the survival of Jainism
Anekāntavāda played a pivotal role in the growth as well as the survival of Jainism in
ancient India, especially against onslaughts from Śaivas, Vaiṣṇavas, Buddhists, Muslims,
and Christians at various times. According to Hermann Jacobi, Māhavīra used such
concepts as syādvāda and saptbhangi to silence some of his opponents. The discussions
of the agnostics led by Sañjaya Belaṭṭhaputta had probably influenced many of their
contemporaries and consequently syādvāda may have seemed to them a way out of
ajñānavāda. Jacobi further speculates that many of their followers would have gone over
to Māhavīra's creed, convinced of the truth of the saptbhanginaya. According to
Professor Christopher Key Chapple, anekāntavāda allowed Jains to survive during the
most hostile and unfavourable moments in history. According to John Koller, professor
of Asian studies, anekāntavāda allowed Jain thinkers to maintain the validity of their
doctrine, while at the same time respectfully criticizing the views of their opponents.
Anekāntavāda was often used by Jain monks to obtain royal patronage from Hindu
Kings. Ācārya Hemacandra used anekāntavāda to gain the confidence and respect of the
Cālukya Emperor Jayasimha Siddharaja. According to the Jain text Prabandh-
acantamani, Emperor Siddharaja desired enlightenment and liberation and he questioned
teachers from various traditions. He remained in a quandary when he discovered that they
all promoted their own teachings while disparaging other teachings. Among the teachers
he questioned was Hemacandra, who, rather than promote Jainism, told him a story with
a different message. According to his story, a sick man was cured of his disease after
eating all the herbs available, as he was not aware which herb was medicinal. The moral
of the tale, according to Hemacandra, was that just as the man was restored by the herb,
even though no one knew which particular herb did the trick, so in the kaliyuga ("age of
vice") the wise should obtain salvation by supporting all religious traditions, even though
no-one can say with absolute certainty which tradition it is that provides that salvation.
Influence
Jain religious tolerance fits well with the ecumenical disposition typical of Indian
religions. It can be traced to the analogous Jain principles of anekāntavāda and ahiṃsā.
The epistemology of anekāntavāda and syādvāda also had a profound impact on the
development of ancient Indian logic and philosophy. In recent times, Jainism influenced
Gandhi, who advocated ahiṃsā and satyagraha.
Intellectual ahimsā and religious tolerance
The concepts of anekāntavāda and syādvāda allow Jains to accept the truth in other
philosophies from their own perspective and thus inculcate tolerance for other
viewpoints. Anekāntavāda is non-absolutist and stands firmly against all dogmatisms,
including any assertion that Jainism is the only correct religious path. It is thus an
WT
intellectual ahiṃsā, or ahiṃsā of the mind. Burch writes, "Jain logic is intellectual
ahiṃsā. Just as a right-acting person respects the life of all beings, so a right-thinking
person acknowledges the validity of all judgments. This means recognizing all aspects of
reality, not merely one or some aspects, as is done in non-Jain philosophies."
Māhavīra encouraged his followers to study and understand rival traditions in his
Acaranga Sutra: "Comprehend one philosophical view through the comprehensive study
of another one."
In anekāntavāda, there is no "battle of ideas", because this is considered to be a form of

intellectual himsa or violence, leading quite logically to physical violence and war. In
today's world, the limitations of the adversarial, "either with us or against us" form of
argument are increasingly apparent by the fact that the argument leads to political,
religious and social conflicts. Sūtrakrtānga, the second oldest canon of Jainism, provides
a solution by stating: "Those who praise their own doctrines and ideology and disparage
the doctrine of others distort the truth and will be confined to the cycle of birth and
death."
This ecumenical and irenical attitude, engendered by anekāntavāda, allowed modern Jain
monks such as Vijayadharmasuri to declare: "I am neither a Jain nor a Buddhist, a
Vaisnava nor a Saivite, a Hindu nor a Muslim, but a traveler on the path of peace shown
by the supreme soul, the God who is free from passion."
Contemporary role and influence
Some modern authors believe that Jain philosophy in general and anekāntavāda in
particular can provide a solution to many problems facing the world. They claim that
even the mounting ecological crisis is linked to adversarialism, because it arises from a
false division between humanity and "the rest" of nature. Modern judicial systems,
democracy, freedom of speech, and secularism all implicitly reflect an attitude of
anekāntavāda. Many authors, such as Kamla Jain, have claimed that the Jain tradition,
with its emphasis on ahimsā and anekāntavāda, is capable of solving religious
intolerance, terrorism, wars, the depletion of natural resources, environmental deg-
radation and many other problems. Referring to the 9/11 tragedy, John Koller believes
that violence in society mainly exists due to faulty epistemology and metaphysics as well
as faulty ethics. A failure to respect the life and views of others, rooted in dogmatic and
mistaken knowledge and refusal to acknowledge the legitimate claims of different
perspectives, leads to violent and destructive behavior. Koller suggests that anekāntavāda
has a larger role to play in the world peace. According to Koller, because anekāntavāda
is designed to avoid one-sided errors, reconcile contradictory viewpoints, and accept the
multiplicity and relativity of truth, the Jain philosophy is in a unique position to support
dialogue and negotiations amongst various nations and peoples.
Some Indologists like Professor John Cort have cautioned against giving undue
importance to "intellectual ahiṃsā" as the basis of anekāntavāda. He points out that Jain
monks have also used anekāntavāda and syādvāda as debating weapons to silence their
WT
critics and prove the validity of the Jain doctrine over others. According to Dundas, in
Jain hands, this method of analysis became a fearsome weapon of philosophical polemic
with which the doctrines of Hinduism and Buddhism could be pared down to their
ideological bases of simple permanence and impermanence, respectively, and thus could
be shown to be one-pointed and inadequate as the overall interpretations of reality they
purported to be. On the other hand, the many-sided approach was claimed by the Jains to
be immune from criticism since it did not present itself as a philosophical or dogmatic
view.
Influence on Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
WT
Gandhi was deeply influenced by Jainism
Since childhood, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was exposed to the actual practice of
non-violence, non-possession and anekāntavāda by his mother. According to biographers
like Uma Majumdar, Rajmohan Gandhi, and Stephen Hay, these early childhood imp-
ressions and experiences contributed to the formation of Gandhi's character and his
further moral and spiritual development. In his writings, Mahatma Gandhi attributed his
seemingly contradictory positions over a period of time to the learning process,
experiments with truth and his belief in anekāntavāda. He proclaimed that the duty of
every individual is to determine what is personally true and act on that relative perception
of truth. According to Gandhi, a satyagrahi is duty bound to act according to his relative
truth, but at the same time, he is also equally bound to learn from truth held by his
opponent. In response to a friend's query on religious tolerance, he responded in the
journal "Young India - 21 Jan 1926":
I am an Advaitist and yet I can support Dvaitism (dualism). The world is changing every
moment, and is therefore unreal, it has no permanent existence. But though it is
constantly changing, it has a something about it which persists and it is therefore to that
extent real. I have therefore no objection to calling it real and unreal, and thus being
called an Anekāntavadi or a Syādvadi. But my Syādvāda is not the Syādvāda of the
learned, it is peculiarly my own. I cannot engage in a debate with them. It has been my
experience that I am always true from my point of view, and am often wrong from the
point of view of my honest critics. I know that we are both right from our respective
points of view. And this knowledge saves me from attributing motives to my opponents
or critics. The seven blind men who gave seven different descriptions of the elephant
were all right from their respective points of view, and wrong from the point of view of
WT
one another, and right and wrong from the point of view of the man who knew the
elephant. I very much like this doctrine of the manyness (sic) of reality. It is this doctrine
that has taught me to judge a Musulman (sic) from his standpoint and a Christian from
his. Formerly I used to resent the ignorance of my opponents. Today I can love them
because I am gifted with the eye to see myself as others see me and vice versa. I want to
take the whole world in the embrace of my love. My Anekāntavāda is the result of the
twin doctrine of Satyagraha and ahiṃsā.
Criticism
The doctrines of anekāntavāda and syādavāda are often criticised on the grounds that
they engender a degree of hesitancy and uncertainty, and may compound problems rather
than solve them. It is also pointed out that Jain epistemology asserts its own doctrines,
but at the cost of being unable to deny contradictory doctrines. Furthermore, it is also
argued that this doctrine could be self-defeating. It is argued that if reality is so complex
that no single doctrine can describe it adequately, then anekāntavāda itself, being a single
doctrine, must be inadequate. This criticism seems to have been anticipated by Ācārya
Samantabhadra who said: "From the point of view of pramana (means of knowledge) it
is anekānta (multi-sided), but from a point of view of naya (partial view) it is ekanta
(one-sided)."
In defense of the doctrine, Jains point out that anekāntavāda seeks to reconcile apparently
opposing viewpoints rather than refuting them.
WT
Icon of Adi Sankarācārya, the Advaita philosopher, who criticised the doctrine of
anekāntavāda.
Anekāntavāda received much criticism from the Vedantists, notably Adi Sankarācārya
(9th century C.E.). Sankara argued against some tenets of Jainism in his bhasya on
Brahmasutra (2:2:33–36). His main arguments centre on anekāntavāda:
It is impossible that contradictory attributes such as being and non-being should at the
same time belong to one and the same thing; just as observation teaches us that a thing
cannot be hot and cold at the same moment. The third alternative expressed in the words
— they either are such or not such — results in cognition of indefinite nature, which is no
more a source of true knowledge than doubt is. Thus the means of knowledge, the object
of knowledge, the knowing subject, and the act of knowledge become all alike indefinite.
How can his followers act on a doctrine, the matter of which is altogether indeterminate?
The result of your efforts is perfect knowledge and is not perfect knowledge. Observation
shows that, only when a course of action is known to have a definite result, people set
about it without hesitation. Hence a man who proclaims a doctrine of altogether indefinite
contents does not deserve to be listened anymore than a drunken or a mad man.
—Adi Sankarācārya, Brahmasutra, 2.2:33–36
However, many believe that Sankara fails to address genuine anekāntavāda. By

identifying syādavāda with sansayavāda, he instead addresses "agnosticism", which was
argued by Sañjaya Belaṭṭhaputta. Many authors like Pandya believe that Sankara
overlooked that, the affirmation of the existence of an object is in respect to the object
itself, and its negation is in respect to what the object is not. Genuine anekāntavāda thus
considers positive and negative attributes of an object, at the same time, and without any
contradictions.
Another Buddhist logician Dharmakirti ridiculed anekāntavāda in Pramānavar-

ttikakārika: "With the differentiation removed, all things have dual nature. Then, if
somebody is implored to eat curd, then why he does not eat camel?" The insinuation is
obvious; if curd exists from the nature of curd and does not exist from the nature of a
WT
camel, then one is justified in eating camel, as by eating camel, he is merely eating the
negation of curd. Ācārya Akalanka, while agreeing that Dharmakirti may be right from
one viewpoint, took it upon himself to issue a rejoinder:
The person who criticises without understanding the prima facie view is acting like a
jester and not a critic. The Buddha was born a deer and the deer was born as Buddha; but
Buddha is adorable and deer is only a food. Similarly, due to the strength of an entity,
with its differences and similarities specified, nobody would eat camel if implored to eat
curd.
Chapter 9
Karma in Jainism
In Jainism, karma is the basic principle within an overarching psycho-cosmology. In the

Jain cosmology, human moral actions form the basis of the transmigration of the soul
(jīva). The soul is constrained to a cycle of rebirth, trapped within the temporal world
WT
(saṃsāra), until it finally achieves liberation (mokṣa). Liberation is achieved by
following a path of purification.
In Jain philosophy, karma not only encompasses the causality of transmigration, but is
also conceived of as an extremely subtle matter, which infiltrates the soul—obscuring its
natural, transparent and pure qualities. Karma is thought of as a kind of pollution, that
taints the soul with various colours (leśyā). Based on its karma, a soul undergoes
transmigration and reincarnates in various states of existence—like heavens or hells, or as
humans or animals.
Jains cite inequalities, sufferings, and pain as evidence for the existence of karma. Jain
texts have classified the various types of karma according to their effects on the potency
of the soul. The Jain theory seeks to explain the karmic process by specifying the various
causes of karmic influx (āsrava) and bondage (bandha), placing equal emphasis on deeds
themselves, and the intentions behind those deeds. The Jain karmic theory attaches great
responsibility to individual actions, and eliminates any reliance on some supposed
existence of divine grace or retribution. The Jain doctrine also holds that it is possible for
us to both modify our karma, and to obtain release from it, through the austerities and
purity of conduct.
Several scholars date the origin of the doctrine of karma prior to the migration of the
Indo-Aryan peoples. They see its current form as a result of development in the teachings
of the Śramaṇas, and later assimilation into brahmanical Hinduism, by the time of the
Upaniṣads. The Jain concept of karma has been subject to criticism from rival Indian
philosophies—like Vedanta Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sāṃkhya.
Philosophical overview
WT
The karma-tainted soul is like gold ore
The soul (jiva), when liberated (mokṣa), is like pure gold
According to Jains, all souls are intrinsically pure in their inherent and ideal state,
possessing the qualities of infinite knowledge, infinite perception, infinite bliss and
infinite energy. However, in contemporary experience, these qualities are found to be
defiled and obstructed, on account of the association of these souls with karma. The soul
has been associated with karma in this way throughout an eternity of beginningless time.
This bondage of the soul is explained in the Jain texts by analogy with gold ore, which—
in its natural state—is always found unrefined of admixture with impurities. Similarly,
the ideally pure state of the soul has always been overlaid with the impurities of karma.
This analogy with gold ore is also taken one step further: the purification of the soul can
be achieved if the proper methods of refining are applied. Over the centuries, Jain monks
have developed a large and sophisticated corpus of literature describing the nature of the
soul, various aspects of the working of karma, and the ways and means of attaining
mokṣa.
Material theory
Jainism speaks of karmic "dirt", as karma is thought to be manifest as very subtle and
WT
microscopically imperceptible particles pervading the entire universe. They are so small
that one space-point—the smallest possible extent of space—contains an infinite number
of karmic particles (or quantity of karmic dirt). It is these karmic particles that adhere to
the soul and affect its natural potency. This material karma is called dravya karma; and
the resultant emotions—pleasure, pain, love, hatred, and so on—experienced by the soul
are called bhava karma, psychic karma. The relationship between the material and
psychic karma is that of cause and effect. The material karma gives rise to the feelings
and emotions in worldly souls, which—in turn—give rise to psychic karma, causing
emotional modifications within the soul. These emotions, yet again, result in influx and
bondage of fresh material karma. Jains hold that the karmic matter is actually an agent
that enables the consciousness to act within the material context of this universe. They
are the material carrier of a soul's desire to physically experience this world. When
attracted to the consciousness, they are stored in an interactive karmic field called
kārmaṇa śarīra, which emanates from the soul. Thus, karma is a subtle matter
surrounding the consciousness of a soul. When these two components—consciousness
and ripened karma—interact, the soul experiences life as known in the present material
universe.
Self regulating mechanism
According to Indologist Robert J. Zydenbos, karma is a system of natural laws, where

actions that carry moral significance are considered to cause certain consequences in the
same way as physical actions. When one holds an apple and then lets it go, the apple will
fall. There is no judge, and no moral judgment involved, since this is a mechanical
consequence of the physical action. In the same manner, consequences occur naturally
when one utters a lie, steals something, commits senseless violence or leads a life of
debauchery. Rather than assume that these consequences—the moral rewards and
retributions—are a work of some divine judge, Jains believe that there is an innate moral
order in the cosmos, self-regulating through the workings of the law of karma. Morality
and ethics are important in Jainism not because of a God, but because a life led in
agreement with moral and ethical principles (mahavrata) is considered beneficial: it leads
to a decrease—and finally to the total loss of—karma, which in turns leads to everlasting
happiness. The Jain conception of karma takes away the responsibility for salvation from
God and bestows it on man himself. In the words of the Jain scholar, J. L. Jaini:
Jainism, more than any other creed, gives absolute religious independence and freedom to
man. Nothing can intervene between the actions which we do and the fruits thereof. Once
done, they become our masters and must fructify. As my independence is great, so my
responsibility is co-extensive with it. I can live as I like; but my voice is irrevocable, and
I cannot escape the consequences of it. No God, his Prophet or his deputy or beloved can
interfere with human life. The soul, and it alone is responsible for all it does.
Predominance of Karma
WT
Māhavīra, the 24th tīrthaṇkara bore his karma with equanimity and attained liberation
According to Jainism, karmic consequences are unerringly certain and inescapable. No
divine grace can save a person from experiencing them. Only the practice of austerities
and self-control can modify or alleviate the consequences of karma. Even then, in some
cases, there is no option but to accept karma with equanimity. The second-century Jain
text, Bhagavatī Ārādhanā (verse no. 1616) sums up the predominance of karma in Jain
doctrine: "There is nothing mightier in the world than karma; karma tramples down all
powers, as an elephant a clump of lotuses." This predominance of karma is a theme often
explored by Jain ascetics in the literature they have produced, throughout all centuries.
Paul Dundas notes that the ascetics often used cautionary tales to underline the full
karmic implications of morally incorrect modes of life, or excessively intense emotional
relationships. However, he notes that such narratives were often softened by concluding
statements about the transforming effects of the protagonists' pious actions, and their
eventual attainment of liberation.
The biographies of the exploits of legendary persons like Rama (Rāma) and Krishna
WT
(Kṛṣṇa), in the Jain versions of the Ramayana and Mahabharata, also have karma as one
of the major themes. The major events, characters and circumstances are explained by
reference to their past lives, with examples of specific actions of particular intensity in
one life determining events in the next. Jain texts narrate how even Māhavīra, the 24th
tīrthaṇkara (ford-maker), had to bear the brunt of his previous karma before attaining
kevala jñāna (enlightenment). He attained it only after bearing twelve years of severe
austerity with detachment. The Ācāranga Sūtra speaks of how Māhavīra bore his karma
with complete equanimity, as follows.
He was struck with a stick, the fist, a lance, hit with a fruit, a clod, a potsherd. Beating
him again and again many cried. When he once sat without moving his body many cut
his flesh, tore his hair under pain, or covered him with dust. Throwing him up they let
him fall, or disturbed him in his religious postures; abandoning the care of his body, the
Venerable One humbled himself and bore pain, free from desires. As a hero at the head of
the battle is surrounded by all sides, so was there Māhavīra. Bearing all hardships, the
Venerable One, undisturbed, proceeded on the road to nirvāṇa.
—Ācāranga Sūtra 8–356:60
Reincarnation and transmigration
WT
The hand with a wheel on the palm symbolizes the Jain Vow of Ahiṃsā. The word in the
middle is "ahimsa". The wheel represents the dharmacakra which stands for the resolve to
halt the cycle of reincarnation through relentless pursuit of truth and non-violence.
Karma forms a central and fundamental part of Jain faith, being intricately connected to
other of its philosophical concepts like transmigration, reincarnation, liberation, non-
violence (ahiṃsā) and non-attachment, among others. Actions are seen to have
consequences: some immediate, some delayed, even into future incarnations. So the
doctrine of karma is not considered simply in relation to one life-time, but also in relation
to both future incarnations and past lives. Uttarādhyayana-sūtra 3.3–4 states: "The jīva
or the soul is sometimes born in the world of gods, sometimes in hell. Sometimes it
acquires the body of a demon; all this happens on account of its karma. This jīva
sometimes takes birth as a worm, as an insect or as an ant." The text further states (32.7):
"Karma is the root of birth and death. The souls bound by karma go round and round in
the cycle of existence."
Actions and emotions in the current lifetime affect future incarnations depending on the
nature of the particular karma. For example, a good and virtuous life indicates a latent
desire to experience good and virtuous themes of life. Therefore, such a person attracts
karma that ensures that his future births will allow him to experience and manifest his
virtues and good feelings unhindered. In this case, he may take birth in heaven or in a
prosperous and virtuous human family. On the other hand, a person who has indulged in
immoral deeds, or with a cruel disposition, indicates a latent desire to experience cruel
themes of life. As a natural consequence, he will attract karma which will ensure that he
is reincarnated in hell, or in lower life forms, to enable his soul to experience the cruel
themes of life.
There is no retribution, judgment or reward involved but a natural consequences of the

choices in life made either knowingly or unknowingly. Hence, whatever suffering or
pleasure that a soul may be experiencing in its present life is on account of choices that it
has made in the past. As a result of this doctrine, Jainism attributes supreme importance
to pure thinking and moral behavior. Apart from Buddhism, Jainism may be the only
religion that does not invoke the fear of God as a reason for moral behavior.
Four states of existence
WT
The soul travels to any one of the four states of existence after the death depending on its
karmas
The Jain texts postulate four gatis, that is states-of-existence or birth-categories, within
which the soul transmigrates. The four gatis are: deva (demi-gods), manuṣya (humans),
nāraki (hell beings) and tiryañca (animals, plants and micro-organisms). The four gatis
have four corresponding realms or habitation levels in the vertically tiered Jain universe:
demi-gods occupy the higher levels where the heavens are situated; humans, plants and
animals occupy the middle levels; and hellish beings occupy the lower levels where
seven hells are situated.
Single-sensed souls, however, called nigoda, and element-bodied souls pervade all tiers
of this universe. Nigodas are souls at the bottom end of the existential hierarchy. They are
so tiny and undifferentiated, that they lack even individual bodies, living in colonies.
According to Jain texts, this infinity of nigodas can also be found in plant tissues, root
vegetables and animal bodies. Depending on its karma, a soul transmigrates and
reincarnates within the scope of this cosmology of destinies. The four main destinies are
WT
further divided into sub-categories and still smaller sub–sub categories. In all, Jain texts
speak of a cycle of 8.4 million birth destinies in which souls find themselves again and
again as they cycle within samsara.
In Jainism, God has no role to play in an individual's destiny; one's personal destiny is not
seen as a consequence of any system of reward or punishment, but rather as a result of its
own personal karma. A text from a volume of the ancient Jain canon, Bhagvati sūtra
8.9.9, links specific states of existence to specific karmas. Violent deeds, killing of
creatures having five sense organs, eating fish, and so on, lead to rebirth in hell.
Deception, fraud and falsehood leads to rebirth in the animal and vegetable world.
Kindness, compassion and humble character result in human birth; while austerities and
the making and keeping of vows leads to rebirth in heaven.
Each soul is thus responsible for its own predicament, as well as its own salvation.
Accumulated karma represent a sum total of all unfulfilled desires, attachments and
aspirations of a soul. It enables the soul to experience the various themes of the lives that
it desires to experience. Hence a soul may transmigrate from one life form to another for
countless of years, taking with it the karma that it has earned, until it finds conditions that
bring about the required fruits. In certain philosophies, heavens and hells are often
viewed as places for eternal salvation or eternal damnation for good and bad deeds. But
according to Jainism, such places, including the earth are simply the places which allow
the soul to experience its unfulfilled karma.
Lesya – colouring of the soul
WT Lesyas depicted in the parable of six travellers
According to the Jain theory of karma, the karmic matter imparts a colour (leśyā) to the
soul, depending on the mental activities behind an action. The coloring of the soul is
explained through the analogy of crystal, that acquires the color of the matter associated
with it. In the same way, the soul also reflects the qualities of taste, smell and touch of
associated karmic matter, although it is usually the colour that is referred to when
discussing the leśyās. Uttarādhyayana-sūtra 34.3 speaks of six main categories of leśyā
represented by six colours: black, blue, grey, yellow, red and white. The black, blue and
grey are inauspicious leśyā, leading to the soul being born into misfortunes. The yellow,
red and white are auspicious leśyās, that lead to the soul being born into good fortune.
Uttarādhyayana-sūtra describes the mental disposition of persons having black and white
leśyās:
A man who acts on the impulse of the five sins, does not possess the three guptis, has not
ceased to injure the six (kinds of living beings), commits cruel acts, is wicked and
violent, is afraid of no consequences, is mischievous and does not subdue his senses – a
man of such habits develops the black leśyā.
— Uttarādhyayana-sūtra, 34.21:22
A man who abstains from constant thinking about his misery and about sinful deeds, but
engages in meditation on the law and truth only, whose mind is at ease, who controls
himself, who practises the samitis and guptis, whether he be still subject to passion or
free from passion, is calm, and subdues his senses—a man of such habits develops the
white leśyā.
— Uttarādhyayana-sūtra, 34.31:32
WT
The Jain texts further illustrate the effects of leśyās on the mental dispositions of a soul,
using an example of the reactions of six travellers on seeing a fruit-bearing tree. They see
a tree laden with fruit and begin to think of getting those fruits: one of them suggests
uprooting the entire tree and eating the fruit; the second one suggests cutting the trunk of
the tree; the third one suggests simply cutting the branches; the fourth one suggests
cutting the twigs and sparing the branches and the tree; the fifth one suggests plucking
only the fruits; the sixth one suggests picking up only the fruits that have fallen down.
The thoughts, words and bodily activities of each of these six travellers are different
based on their mental dispositions and are respectively illustrative of the six leśyās. At
one extreme, the person with the black leśyā, having evil disposition, thinks of uprooting
the whole tree even though he wants to eat only one fruit. At the other extreme, the
person with the white leśyā, having a pure disposition, thinks of picking up the fallen
fruit, in order to spare the tree.
Role of deeds and intent
The role of intent is one of the most important and definitive elements of the karma
theory, in all its traditions. In Jainism, intent is important but not an essential
precondition of sin or wrong conduct. Evil intent forms only one of the modes of
committing sin. Any action committed, knowingly or unknowingly, has karmic rep-
ercussions. In certain philosophies, like Buddhism, a person is guilty of violence only if
he had an intention to commit violence. On the other hand, according to Jains, if an act
produces violence, then the person is guilty of it, whether or not he had an intention to
commit it.
John Koller explains the role of intent in Jainism with the example of a monk, who
unknowingly offered poisoned food to his brethren. According to the Jain view, the monk
is guilty of a violent act if the other monks die because they eat the poisoned food; but
according to the Buddhist view he would not be guilty. The crucial difference between
the two views is that the Buddhist view excuses the act, categorising it as non-intentional,
since he was not aware that the food was poisoned; whereas the Jain view holds the monk
to have been responsible, due to his ignorance and carelessness. Jains argue that the
monk's very ignorance and carelessness constitute an intent to do violence and hence
entail his guilt. So the absence of intent does not absolve a person from the karmic
consequences of guilt either, according to the Jain analysis.
Intent is a function of kaṣāya, which refers to negative emotions and negative qualities of
mental (or deliberative) action. The presence of intent acts as an aggravating factor,
increasing the vibrations of the soul, which results in the soul absorbing more karma.
This is explained by Tattvārthasūtra 6.7: "[The] intentional act produces a strong karmic
bondage and [the] unintentional produces weak, shortlived karmic bondage." Similarly,
the physical act is also not a necessary condition for karma to bind to the soul: the
existence of intent alone is sufficient. This is explained by Kundakunda (1st Century CE)
in Samayasāra 262–263: "The intent to kill, to steal, to be unchaste and to acquire
property, whether these offences are actually carried or not, leads to bondage of evil
WT
karmas." Jainism thus places an equal emphasis on the physical act as well as intent for
binding of karmas.
Origins and Influence

The doctrine of karma is central to all Indian religions, however, it is difficult to say just
when and where in India the concept of karma originated. According to Glasenapp, the
doctrine of karma must have existed at least a thousand years before the beginning of the
Christian era. There is no clear consensus amongst scholars as to its origins, although it is
believed by some that the concept of karma has a philosophical background that is non-
Vedic and non-brahmanical origin. According to the scholars, the Jain conception of
karma—as something material that encumbers the soul—is probably the oldest distinct
element, common to all the karmic theories. It is probable that the concept of karma and
reincarnation entered the mainstream brahaminical thought via the Sramana—literally
"renouncer (of tradition)"—movement, to which Jainism and Buddhism belong. Historian
G. C. Pande opines that early Upananiṣadic thinkers like Yājñavalkya were acquainted
with the Sramanic philosophy and tried to incorporate ideas of karma, Saṃsāra and
mokṣa into the Vedic thought.
Jain and Buddhist scholar, Dr. Padmanabh Jaini observes: "Perhaps the entire concept
that a person's situation and experiences are in fact the results of deeds committed in
various lives may not be Aryan origin at all, but rather may have developed as a part of
the indigenous Gangetic traditions from which the various Sramana movements arose. In
any case we shall see, Jaina views on the process and possibilities of rebirth are distinctly
non-Hindu; the social ramifications of these views, moreover, have been profound." The
earliest works of the Jain canon, Acaranga Sutra and Sutrakritanga, contain a general
outline of the doctrines of karma and reincarnation, with only minimal technical details
and classification. Detailed codification of types of karma and their effects is not attested
until the time of Umasvati in 2nd century CE.
With regards to the influence of the theory of karma on development of various religious
and social practices in ancient India, Dr. Padmanabh Jaini states:
The emphasis on reaping the fruits only of one's own karma was not restricted to the
Jainas; both Hindus and Buddhist writers have produced doctrinal materials stressing the
same point. Each of the latter traditions, however, developed practices in basic
contradiction to such belief. In addition to śrāddha (the ritual Hindu offerings to the dead
ancestors), we find among Hindus widespread adherence to the notion of divine
intervention in one's fate, while (Mahayana) Buddhists eventually came to propound such
theories like boon-granting Bodhisattvas, transfer of merit and like. Only Jainas have
been absolutely unwilling to allow such ideas to penetrate their community, despite the
fact that there must have been tremendous amount of social pressure on them to do so.
The Jain socio-religious practices like regular fasting, practicing severe austerities and
penances, the ritual death of sallekhanā and rejection of god as the creator and operator
of the universe can all be linked to the Jain theory of karma. Jaini notes that the
disagreement over the karmic theory of transmigration resulted in the social distinction
between the Jains and their Hindu neighbours. Thus one of the most important Hindu
WT
ritual of śrāddha (offerings to ancestors) was not only rejected but strongly criticised by
the Jains as superstition. Certain authors have also noted the strong influence of the
concept of karma on the Jain ethics, especially the ethics of non-violence. It is suggested
that, belief in the doctrine of rebirth may have led to the idea of the unity of all life and,
consequently, to the ethical concept of non-violence in ancient India. Once the doctrine
of transmigration of souls came to include rebirth on earth in animal as well as human
form, depending upon one’s karmas, it is quite probable that, it created a humanitarian
sentiment of kinship amongst all life forms and thus contributed to the notion of ahiṃsā.
The process of bondage and release

The karmic process in Jainism is based on seven truths or fundamental principles (tattva)
of Jainism which explain the human predicament. Out that the seven tattvas, the four—
influx (āsrava), bondage (bandha), stoppage (saṃvara) and release (nirjarā)—pertain to
the karmic process.
Attraction and binding
WT
The karmic inflow on account of yoga driven by passions and emotions cause a long term
inflow of karma prolonging the cycle of reincarnation and transmigration of a soul.
The karmic bondage occurs as a result of the following two processes: āsrava and
bandha. Āsrava is the inflow of karma. The karmic influx occurs when the particles are
attracted to the soul on account of yoga. Yoga is the vibrations of the soul due to activities
of mind, speech and body. However, the yoga alone do not produce bondage. The karmas
have effect only when they are bound to the consciousness. This binding of the karma to
the consciousness is called bandha. Out of the many causes of bondage, emotions or
passions are considered as the main cause of bondage. The karmas are literally bound on
account of the stickiness of the soul due to existence of various passions or mental
dispositions. The passions like anger, pride, deceit and greed are called sticky (kaṣāyas)
because they act like glue in making karmic particles stick to the soul resulting in
bandha. The karmic inflow on account of yoga driven by passions and emotions cause a
long term inflow of karma prolonging the cycle of reincarnations. On the other hand, the
karmic inflows on account of actions that are not driven by passions and emotions have
only a transient, short-lived karmic effect. Hence the ancient Jain texts talk of subduing
these negative emotions:
When he wishes that which is good for him, he should get rid of the four faults—anger,
pride, deceit and greed—which increase the evil. Anger and pride when not suppressed,
and deceit and greed when arising: all these four black passions water the roots of re-
birth.
—Daśavaikālika sūtra, 8:36–39
WT
Causes of attraction and bondage
The Jain theory of karma proposes that karma particles are attracted and then bound to
the consciousness of souls by a combination of four factors pertaining to actions:
instrumentality, process, modality and motivation.
• The instrumentality of an action refers to whether the instrument of the action

was: the body, as in physical actions; one's speech, as in speech acts; or the mind,
as in thoughtful deliberation.
• The process of an action refers to the temporal sequence in which it occurs: the
decision to act, plans to facilitate the act, making preparations necessary for the
act, and ultimately the carrying through of the act itself.
• The modality of an action refers to different modes in which one can participate
in an action, for example: being the one who carries out the act itself; being one
who instigates another to perform the act; or being one who gives permission,
approval or endorsement of an act.
• The motivation for an action refers to the internal passions or negative emotions
that prompt the act, including: anger, greed, pride, deceit and so on.
All actions have the above four factor present in them. When different permutations of
the sub-elements of the four factors are calculated, the Jain teachers speak of 108 ways in
which the karmic matter can be attracted to the soul. Even giving silent assent or
endorsement to acts of violence from far away has karmic consequences for the soul.
Hence, the scriptures advise carefulness in actions, awareness of the world, and purity in
thoughts as means to avoid the burden of karma.
•
•
WT
Karmas are attracted by the activity of mind, speech and body influenced by various
passions.
According to Tattvārthasūtra, the causes of bandha or the karmic bondage—in the order
they are required to be eliminate by a soul for spiritual progress—are:
Mithyātva (Irrationality and a deluded world view) – The deluded world view is
the misunderstanding as to how this world really functions on account of one-
sided perspectives, perverse viewpoints, irrational scepticism, pointless generali-
sations and ignorance.
Avirati (non-restraint or a vowless life) – The second cause of bondage, avirati is
the inability to refrain voluntarily from the evil actions, that harms oneself and
others. The state of avirati can only be overcome by observing the minor vows of
a layman.
• Pramāda (carelessness and laxity of conduct) – This third cause of bondage
consists of absentmindedness, lack of enthusiasm towards acquiring merit and
spiritual growth, and improper actions of mind, body and speech without any
regard to oneself or others.
• Kaṣāya (passions or negative emotions) – The four passions—anger, pride, deceit
and greed—are the primary reason for the attachment of the karmas to the soul.
They keep the soul immersed in the darkness of delusion leading to deluded
conduct and unending cycles of reincarnations.
• Yoga (activities of mind, speech and body) – The threefold activities of mind,
body and speech attract and bind the karmas when such actions are influenced by
passions.
Each cause presupposes the existence of the next cause, but the next cause does not
necessarily pre-suppose the existence of the previous cause. A soul is able to advance on
the spiritual ladder called guṇasthāna, only when it is able to eliminate the above causes
of bondage one by one.
Experiencing the effects
WT
Vediniya karma: Pain and Pleasure is induced on account of licking honey from the
sword
The nature of experience of the effects of the karma depends on the following four
factors:
• Prikriti (nature or type of karma) – According to Jain texts, there are eight main
types of karma which categorized into the ‘harming’ and the ‘non-harming’; each
divided into four types. The harming karmas (ghātiyā karmas) directly affect the
soul powers by impeding its perception, knowledge and energy, and also brings
about delusion. These harming karmas are: darśanāvaraṇa (perception-obscuring
karma), jñānavāraṇa (knowledge-obscuring karma), antarāya (obstacle-creating
karma) and mohanīya (deluding karma). The non-harming category (aghātiyā
karmas) is responsible for the reborn soul's physical and mental circumstances,
longevity, spiritual potential and experience of pleasant and unpleasant
sensations. These non-harming karmas are: nāma (body-determining karma), āyu
(lifespan-determining karma), gotra (status-determining karma) and vedanīya
WT
(feeling-producing karma), respectively. Different types of karmas thus affect the
soul in different ways as per their nature.
• Stithi (the duration of the karmic bond) – The karmic bond remains latent and
bound to the consciousness up to the time it is activated. Although latent karma
does not affect the soul directly, its existence limits the spiritual growth of the
soul. Jain texts provide minimum and the maximum duration for which such
karma is bound before it matures.
• Anubhava (intensity of karmas) – The degree of the experience of the karmas,
that is, mild or intense, depends on the anubhava quality or the intensity of the
bondage. It determines the power of karmas and its effect on the soul. Anubhava
depends on the intensity of the passions at the time of binding the karmas. More
intense the emotions—like anger, greed etc.—at the time of binding the karma,
the more intense will be its experience at the time of maturity.
• Pradesha (The quantity of the karmas) – It the quantity of karmic matter that is
received and gets activated at the time of experience.
Both emotions and activity play a part in binding of karmas. Duration and intensity of the
karmic bond are determined by emotions or "kaṣāya" and type and quantity of the karmas
bound is depended on yoga or activity.
Maturity
WT
Karma as moral action and reaction: goodness sown is reaped as goodness.
The consequences of karma are inevitable. The consequences may take some time to take
effect but the karma is never fruitless. To explain this, a Jain monk, Ratnaprabhacharya
says: "The prosperity of a vicious man and misery of a virtuous man are respectively but
the effects of good deeds and bad deeds done previously. The vice and virtue may have
their effects in their next lives. In this way the law of causality is not infringed here."
The latent karma becomes active and bears fruit when the supportive conditions arise. A
great part of attracted karma bears its consequences with minor fleeting effects, as
generally most of our activities are influenced by mild negative emotions. However,
those actions that are influenced by intense negative emotions cause an equally strong
karmic attachment which usually does not bear fruit immediately. It takes on an inactive
state and waits for the supportive conditions—like proper time, place, and environment—
to arise for it to manifest and produce effects. If the supportive conditions do not arise,
the respective karmas will manifest at the end of maximum period for which it can
remain bound to the soul. These supportive conditions for activation of latent karmas are
determined by the nature of karmas, intensity of emotional engagement at the time of
binding karmas and our actual relation to time, place, surroundings. There are certain
laws of precedence among the karmas, according to which the fruition of some of the
karmas may be deferred but not absolutely barred.
Modifications
Although the Jains believe the karmic consequences as inevitable, Jain texts also hold
WT
that a soul has energy to transform and modify the effects of the karmas.. Karma
undergoes following modifications:
1. Udaya (maturity) – It is the fruition of karmas as per its nature in the due course.
2. Udīraṇa (premature operation) – By this process, it is possible to make certain
karmas operative before their predetermined time.
3. Udvartanā (augmentation) – By this process, there is a subsequent increase in
duration and intensity of the karmas due to additional negative emotions and
feelings.
4. Apavartanā (diminution) – In this case, there is subsequent decrease in duration
and intensity of the karmas due to positive emotions and feelings.
5. Saṃkramaṇa (transformation) – It is the mutation or conversion of one sub-type
of karmas into another sub-type. However, this does not occur between different
types. For example, papa (bad karma) can be converted into punya (good karma)
as both sub-types belong to the same type of karma.
6. Upaśamanā (state of subsidence) – During this state the operation of karma does
not occur. The karma becomes operative only when the duration of subsidence
ceases.
7. Nidhatti (prevention) – In this state, premature operation and transformation is not
possible but augmentation and diminution of karmas is possible.
8. Nikācanā (invariance) – For some sub-types, no variations or modifications are
possible—the consequences are the same as were established at the time of
bonding.
The Jain karmic theory, thus speaks of great powers of soul to manipulate the karmas by
its actions.
Release
WT
The shedding or Nirjara of karmic dust or karmas is possible by austerities, detachment,
repentance and devotion to Arihants and Siddhas.
Jain philosophy assert that emancipation is not possible as long as the soul is released
from bondage of the karmas. This is possible by samvara, that is, stoppage of inflow of
new karmas, and nirjarā, that is, shedding of existing karmas through conscious efforts.
Samvara or stoppage of karmic influx is achieved through practice of:
1. Three guptis or three controls of mind, speech and body,

2. Five samitis or observing carefulness in movement, speaking, eating, placing
objects and disposing refuse.
3. Ten dharmas or observation of good acts like – forgiveness, humility, straight-
forwardness, contentment, truthfulness, self control, penance, renunciation, non-
attachment and continence.
4. Anuprekshas or meditation on the truths of this universe.
5. Pariṣahajaya, that is, a man on moral path must develop a perfectly patient and
unperturbed attitude in the midst of trying and difficult circumstances.
6. Cāritra, that is, endeavour to remain in steady spiritual practices.
Nirjarā or annihilation of the existing karmas is possible through tapas, that is, austerities
and penances. Tapas can be either external or internal. Six forms of external tapas are—
fasting, control of appetite, accepting food under certain conditions, renunciation of
delicious food, sitting and sleeping in lonely place and renunciation of comforts. Six
forms of internal tapas are—atonement, reverence, rendering of service to worthy ones,
spiritual study, avoiding selfish feelings and meditation.
Rationale
Justice Tukol notes that the supreme importance of the doctrine of karma lies
WT
in providing a rational and satisfying explanation to the apparent unexplainable
phenomenon of birth and death, of happiness and misery, of inequalities and of existence
of different species of living beings. Sūtrakṛtāṅga, one of the oldest canon of Jainism,
states:
Here in the east, west, north, and south many men have been born according to their
merit, as inhabitants of this our world—some as Aryas, some as non-Aryas, some in
noble families, some in low families, some as big men, some as small men, some of good
complexion, some of bad complexion, some as handsome men, some as ugly men. And
of these men one man is king.
— Sūtrakṛtāṅga, 2.1.13
Jains thus cite inequalities, sufferings, and pain as evidence for the existence of karma.
The theory of karma is able to explain day-to-day observable phenomena such as
inequality between the rich and the poor, luck, differences in lifespan, and the ability to
enjoy life despite being immoral. According to Jains, such inequalities and oddities that
exist even from the time of birth can be attributed to the deeds of the past lives and thus
provide evidence to existence of karmas:
One is stout while another is lean; one is a master while another is a slave and similarly
we find the high and the low, the mutilated and the lame, the blind and the deaf and many
such oddities. The thrones of mighty monarchs are gone. The proud and the haughty have
been humiliated in a moment and reduced to ashes. Even amongst the twins born of the
same mother, we find one a dullard and another intelligent, one rich and another poor,
one black and another white. What is all this due to? They could not have done any deeds
while they were in their mother’s womb. Then, why then should such oddities exist? We
have then to infer that these disparities must be the result of their deeds in their past births
though they are born together at one time. There are many oddities in this world and it
will have to be admitted that behind all this some powerful force is at work whereby the
world appears to be full of oddities. This force is called 'karma'. We are unable to
perceive karma by our naked eyes, yet we are able to know it from its actions.
Scientific interpretation
Jain philosopher-monks postulated the existence of karma as subtle and microscopic
particles that cannot be perceived by senses, some two millennia before modern science
proved the existence of atoms and subatomic particles. However, these and other
elementary particles that have been either discovered or postulated cannot be equated
with karmic particles. Some authors have sought to explain the concept of karmic
particles in the context of modern science and physics. Hermann Kuhn points out that,
although the idea of "karmic particles" is not yet proven, one only needs to recall that
science found proof of the existence of molecules and atoms only the 19th and 20th
century. Anyone who would have suggested that these "indivisible" particles were made
up of even subtler units like quarks and leptons only a hundred years ago may have been
dismissed, though such theories were in existence. With regards to interaction of
consciousness and karmic matter, he further states that, it can be easily understood
WT
considering that ideas like the mind fundamentally affecting matter are now accepted in
scientific circles. While admitting that though science has not discovered karmic matter
yet, he is of opinion that it does not state anything against its existence. K. V. Mardia, in
his book The Scientific Foundations of Jainism, has interpreted karma in terms of modern
physics, suggesting that the particles are made of karmons, dynamic high energy particles
which permeate the universe. However, most scientists do not consider karma and
reincarnation to be within the bounds of science, as it is neither a testable nor a falsifiable
theory.
Criticisms
WT
Statuette of Siddhārtha Gautama - The Buddha, who is documented as having criticised
some aspects of Jain karma theory
The Jain theory of karma has been challenged since ancient times by Vedanta Hindu,
Buddhist and Sāṃkhya philosophies.
In particular, Vedanta Hindus considered the Jain position on the supremacy and potency
of karma, specifically its insistence on non-intervention by any Supreme Being in regard
to the fate of souls, as worthy of the label nāstika or atheistic. For example, in a
commentary to Brahma Sutras (III, 2, 38, and 41)), Adi Sankara, argues that the original
karmic actions themselves cannot bring about the proper results at some future time;
neither can super sensuous, non-intelligent qualities like adrsta—an unseen force being
the metaphysical link between work and its result—by themselves mediate the
appropriate, justly deserved pleasure and pain. The fruits, according to him, then, must be
administered through the action of a conscious agent, namely, a supreme being (Ishvara).
Strong emphasis on the doctrine of karma and intense asceticism was also criticised by
the Buddhists, even though they also believe in karma. The ancient Buddhist scripture
Saṃyutta Nikāya narrates the story of Asibandhakaputta, a headman who was originally
a disciple of Māhavīra. He debates with the Buddha, telling him that, according to
Māhavīra (Nigaṇṭha Nātaputta), a man's fate or karma is decided by what he does
habitually. The Buddha responds, considering this view to be inadequate, stating that
even a habitual sinner spends more time "not doing the sin" and only some time actually
"doing the sin."
WT
In another Buddhist text Majjhima Nikāya, the Buddha criticizes Jain emphasis on the
destruction of unobservable and unverifiable types of karma as a means to end suffering,
rather than on eliminating evil mental states such as greed, hatred and delusion, which are
observable and verifiable. In the Upālisutta dialogue of this Majjhima Nikāya text,
Buddha contends with a Jain monk who asserts that bodily actions are the most criminal,
in comparison to the actions of speech and mind. Buddha criticises this view, saying that
the actions of mind are most criminal, and not the actions of speech or body. Buddha also
criticises the Jain ascetic practice of various austerities, claiming that he, Buddha, is
happier when not practising the austerities.
While admitting the complexity and sophistication of the Jain doctrine, Padmanabh Jaini
compares it with that of Hindu doctrine of rebirth and points out that the Jain seers are
silent on the exact moment and mode of rebirth, that is, the re-entry of soul in womb after
the death. The concept of nitya-nigoda, which states that there are certain categories of
souls who have always been nigodas, is also criticized. According to Jainism, nigodas are
lowest form of extremely microscopic beings having momentary life spans, living in
colonies and pervading the entire universe. According to Dr. Jaini, the entire concept of
nitya-nigoda undermines the concept of karma, as these beings clearly would not have
had prior opportunity to perform any karmically meaningful actions.
Karma is also criticised on the grounds that it leads to the dampening of spirits with men
suffering the ills of life because the course of one's life is determined by karma. It is often
maintained that the impression of karma as the accumulation of a mountain of bad deeds
looming over our heads without any recourse leads to fatalism. However, as Paul Dundas
puts it, the Jain theory of karma does not imply lack of free will or operation of total
deterministic control over destinies. Furthermore, the doctrine of karma does not promote
fatalism amongst its believers on account of belief in personal responsibility of actions
and that austerities could expatiate the evil karmas and it was possible to attain salvation
by emulating the life of the Jinas.
Chapter 10
Jain Meditation
Meditation has been the central practice of spirituality in Jainism for ages. Jain
meditation and spiritual practices system is referred to as salvation-path. It's three
important constituents are Right perception and faith, Right knowledge and Right
WT
conduct which are also known as Three Jewels. Meditation in Jainism aims at realizing
the self, attain salvation, take the soul to complete freedom. It aims to reach and to
remain in the pure state of soul which is believed to be pure conscious, beyond any
attachment or aversion. The practitioner strives to be just a knower-seer (Gyata-Drashta).
Jain meditation can be broadly categorized to the auspicious Dharmya Dhyana and
Shukla Dhyana and inauspicious Artta and Raudra Dhyana.
Lord Mahaveer, 24th Tirthankara
Jain meditation is also referred as Samayika. The word Samayika means being in the
moment of continuous real-time. This act of being conscious of the continual renewal of
the universe in general and one's own renewal of the individual living being (Jiva) in
particular is the critical first step in the journey towards identification with one's true
nature, called the Atman. It is also a method by which one can develop an attitude of
harmony and respect towards other humans and Nature. By being fully aware, alert and
conscious of the constantly moving present, one will experience their true nature, Atman.
The 24 Jain Tirthankaras are always seen in meditative posture and have practiced it
deeply and attained enlightenment.
History
Lord Rishabha, the first Tirthankar in Jainism, dating back to the prehistoric era of end of
the stone age and starting of the agriculture age practiced meditation and attained
enlightenment at Mount Kailash. Bahubali, son of Rishabha practiced meditation for
twelve months maintaining same standing posture. King Bharata, elder son of Rishabha,
got in trance state by fixing his gaze on his image in mirror and got deep into meditation
and finally attained enlightenment. Fixing gaze on some object for meditation has been
WT
an important meditation technique followed in Jainism.
Bahubali practicing meditation in standing Kayotsarga posture. Statue is carved from a

single stone fifty-seven feet high in 981 A.D., is located in Karnataka, India
The Indus valley excavation findings of many antique objects like coins, etc. depict
Rishabha in meditative posture. All the twenty four Tirthankar practiced deep meditation,
some for years, some for months and attained enlightenment. All the statues and pictures
of Tirthankar primarily show them in meditative postures. Mahaveer, the twenty fourth
Tirthankar, in 5th century BCE, practiced twelve years of deep meditation and attained
enlightenment. Acharya Mahapragya's conclusion of Acharya Kundakunda's under-
standing on practices of Mahaveer is that all other penances of Mahaveer like fasting
were done to get support for meditation.
The Acaranga Sutra based on teachings of Lord Mahaveer dating back to 500 BCE,
describes Jain meditation and spiritual practices elaborately and in minute detail
of philosophy. The Sutraktianga, Bhagavati and Sthanang also gives directions on
contemplation, Yogasana, meditation, etc. Aup-paatik has organised presentation of
Tapoyga which is a kind of right conduct.
WT
Acharya Bhadrabahu of 400 BCE, practiced Mahaprana meditation for twelve
years.Description of practice of Samadhi meditation by many other Acharya is also
found. Chandragupta Maurya, the founder of Maurya empire was Acharya Bhadrabahu's
disciple and became Jain monk. The Acharya later migrated to southern part in India and
it helped Jainism to spread in South India. Acharya Bhadrabahu also took Chandragupta
Maurya to South India along with him. Acharya Kundakunda of first century BCE, from
southern Indian state, Tamil Nadu, opened new dimensions of meditation in Jain tradition
through books like Samayasara, Pravachansaar. Holistic approach to salvation path is
written and compiled in a single book Tattvartha Sutra by Acharya Umaswati.
Acharya Bhadrabahu II, Jinbhadra, Pujyapada Devanandi were great spiritual experts
during the period of 4th, 5th, 6th century of CE. They made remarkable contribution
through their literature.Haribhadra Suri in eight century and Acharya Hemachandra in
twelve century CE, presented meditation through different approaches and viewpoints.
During eighteenth century CE, Acharya Vinay Vijay worte Shantsudharasa on contem-
plation practices. Upadhyaaya Yashovijay in the same century wrote extensivley on
meditation.
Acharya Mahapragya formulated Preksha Meditation in 1970s and presented a well

organised system of meditation. It is an important milestone in the history of Jain
meditation system. Numerous Preksha meditation centers came into existence around the
world and numerous meditations camps are being organised to impart training in it.
Samayika
Samayika word is derived from the word samaya - meaning time - in the Prakrit
language. The Jains also use the term Samayika to denote the practice of meditation. The
aim of Samayika is to transcend our daily experiences as the "constantly changing"
human beings, called Jiva, and allow identification with the "changeless" reality in
practitioner, called the Atman. Is it possible to identify with the "changelessness" in us
when constant change and renewal in and around us dominate our attention and energies?
Samayika addresses this question.
One begins by achieving a balance in time. If the present moment of time is taken to be a
point between the past and the future, Samayika means being fully aware, alert and
conscious in that very moment, experiencing one's true nature, Atma, which is considered
common to all living beings. To live in samayika is called living in the present.
One of the main goal of Samayika is to inculcate equanimity, to see all the events
equanimously. It encourages to be consistently spiritually vigilant. Samayaika is
practiced in all the Jain sects and communities. Samayika is an important practice during
Paryushana, a special eight- or ten-day period (depending on the sect) practiced by the
Jains.
Preksha Meditation
WT
Acharya Mahaprajna, Formulator of Preksha Meditation
Acharya Mahaprajna, The Tenth Head of Jain Svetambara Terapanth sect formulated
Preksha Meditation in 1970s. He practiced various meditation techniques for nearly 30
years and developed this well organized meditation system and presented it in scientific
light. Preksha Meditation is the combination of knowledge from ancient religious books,
modern science and experience. Acharya Mahaprajna made a deep research on Agam -
Jain holy scriptures, ancient scriptures, medical science, Yoga science, Naturopathy,
Ayurveda, modern Physics, etc. while developing this meditation system.
Preksha meditation is the practice of purifying the emotions and conscious (chitta) and
realizing the own self. It helps in leading a peaceful life and is a system of mediation for
attitudinal change, behavioral modification and integrated development of personality.
The word preksha means 'to perceive carefully and profoundly'. In preksha, perception
always means experience bereft of the duality of like and dislike, pleasure and pain.
Impartiality and equanimity are synonymous with Preksha. Preksha is impartial
WT
perception, where there is neither the emotion of attachment nor aversion, neither
pleasure or displeasure. Both these states of emotion are closely and carefully perceived
but not experienced. And because both are perceived from close quarters, it is not
difficult to reject both of them and assume a neutral position. Thus equanimity is
essentially associated with preksha.
It aims at reaching and purify the deeper levels of existence. Regular practice strengthens
the immune system, builds up stamina to resist against aging, pollution, chemical toxins,
viruses, diseases.
Important elements in the system are Kayotsarg - Full awareness with complete
relaxation, Perception of the breath, body, the psychic centres, psychic colors (lesya
meditation), present moment, thought, Animesha preksha (fixing gaze at an object),
contemplation processes, Yoga and Pranayaam, Mantra, Therapy.
Important disciplines in the system are - Synchrony of mental and physical actions or
simply present mindedness or complete awareness of one's actions, disciplining the
reacting attitude, friendliness, diet, silence, spiritual vigilance.
One commences the practice of this technique with the perception of the body. Body
contains the soul. Therefore, one must pierce the wall of the container to reach the
content (the soul). Again, breathing is a part of the body and essence of life. To breath is
to live; and so breath is naturally qualified to be the first object of perception, while
the body itself would become the next one. The vibrations, sensations and other
physiological events are worthy of attention. Conscious mind becomes sharpened to
perceive these internal realities in due course, and then it will be able to focus itself on
the minutest and the most subtle occurrences within the body. The direct perception of
emotions, urges and other psychological events will then be possible. And ultimately the
envelope of karmic matter, contaminating the consciousness could be clearly recognized.
The meditation training camps are organized on a regular basis. Major training centers in
India are in Ladnun, Rajasthan, Delhi, Ahemedabad. Centers are also present in many
countries like the US, UK, Russia, Germany, Ukraine, Australia, Singapore, Netherland,
etc.
Existing and Historical meditation techniques in Jainism

According to the some commonly practiced yoga systems, high concentration is reached
by meditating in an easy (preferably lotus) posture in seclusion and staring without
blinking at the rising sun, a point on the wall, or the tip of the nose, and as long as one
can keep the mind away from the outer world, this strengthens concentration. Garuda is
the name Jainism gives to the yoga of self-discipline and discipline of mind, body and
speech, so that even earth, water, fire and air can come under one’s control. Śiva is in
Jainism control over the passions and the acquisition of such self-discipline that under all
WT
circumstances equanimity is maintained.
Prānayāma – breathing exercises – are performed to strengthen the flows of life energy.
Through this, the elements of the constitution – earth, water, fire and air – are also
strengthened. At the same time the five chakras are controlled. Prānayāma also helps to
stabilize one’s thinking and leads to unhampered direct experience of the events around
us.
Next one practices pratyāhāra. Pratyāhāra means that one directs the senses away from
the enjoyment of sensual and mental objects. The senses are part of the nervous system,
and their task is to send data to the brain through which the mind as well as the soul is
provided with information. The mind tends to enjoy this at the cost of the soul as well as
the body. Pratyāhāra is obtained by focusing the mind on one point for the purpose of
receiving impulses: on the eyes, ears, tip of the nose, the brow, the navel, the head, the
heart or the palate.
The Oldest Jain Canon (4th Century BCE) describes meditation of Mahavira before
attaining kevala Jnana:
Giving up the company of all householders whomsoever, he meditated. Asked, he gave

no answer; he went, and did not transgress the right path.(AS 312) In these places was the
wise Sramana for thirteen long years; he meditated day and night, exerting himself,
undisturbed, strenuously. (AS 333) And Mahavira meditated (persevering) in some
posture, without the smallest motion; he meditated in mental concentration on (the
things) above, below, beside, free from desires. He meditated free from sin and desire,
not attached to sounds or colours; though still an erring mortal (khadmastha), he
wandered about, and never acted carelessly.(AS 374-375)
After more than twelve years of austerities and meditation, Mahavira entered the state of
Kevala Jnana while doing shukla dhayana, the highest form of meditation:
The Venerable Ascetic Mahavira passed twelve years in this way of life; during the
thirteenth year in the second month of summer, in the fourth fortnight, the light
(fortnight) of Vaisakha, on its tenth day called Suvrata, in the Muhurta called Vigaya,
while the moon was in conjunction with the asterism Uttaraphalguni, when the shadow
had turned towards the east, and the first wake was over, outside of the town Grim-
bhikagrama, on the northern bank of the river Rigupalika, in the field of the householder
Samaga, in a north-eastern direction from an old temple, not far from a Sal tree, in a
squatting position with joined heels exposing himself to the heat of the sun, with the
knees high and the head low, in deep meditation, in the midst of abstract meditation,he
reached Nirvana, the complete and full, the unobstructed, unimpeded, infinite and
supreme best knowledge and intuition, called Kevala.
In Uttarādhyayana Sūtra, Mahavira explains the various benefits of meditation:
Disciple: Sir, what does the soul obtain by Samayika.
WT
Mahavira: By Samayika or moral and intellectual purity (literally, equilibrium) the soul
ceases from sinful occupations
—Uttarādhyayana Sūtra 29.8
Disciple: Sir, what does the soul obtain by Kayotsarga (complete steadiness of mind and
body).
Mahavira: By Kayotsarga he gets rid of past and present transgressions; thereby his
mind is set at ease like a porter who is eased of his burden; and engaging in praiseworthy
contemplation he enjoys happiness.
Disciple: Sir, what does the soul obtain by anupreksha (contemplation on truths of
universe).
Mahavira: By anupreksha or pondering (on what he has learned) he loosens the firm
hold which the seven kinds of Karman, except the ayushka (have upon the soul); he
shortens their duration when it was to be a long one; he mitigates their power when it was
intense; (he reduces their sphere of action when it was a wide one); he may either acquire
ayushka-karman or not, but he no more accumulates Karman which produces unpleasant
feelings, and he quickly crosses the very large forest of the fourfold Samsara, which is
without beginning and end.
Disciple: Sir, what does the soul obtain by ekagramanahsannivesana (concentration of

thoughts).
Mahavira: By ekagramanahsannivesana or concentration of his thoughts he obtains
stability of the mind.
Acharya Mahaprajna, the 10th Head of Jain Swetamber Terapanth sect, formulated a well
organized meditation system known as preksha meditation in the 1970s. With this, he
rediscovered the Jain Meditation techniques available in ancient Jain scriptures. The
system consists of the perception of the breath, body, the psychic centres, psychic colors,
thought and of contemplation processes which can initiate the process of personal
transformation. A few important contemplation themes are - Impermanence, Solitariness,
Vulnerability. It aims at reaching and purifying the deeper levels of existence. Regular
practice is believed to strengthen the immune system and build up stamina to resist
against aging, pollution, viruses, diseases. Meditation practice is an important part of the
daily lives of the religion's monks.
WT
The kayotsarg method is found to be very useful by many Jains. It means self awareness
by complete relaxation. The practitioner takes a comfortable posture either lying down or
sitting or standing and breathes calmly. Then auto suggests each and every part and entity
of the body to be relaxed and feel the same. Once the body is completely relaxed, the
practitioner practices to realize separate existence of soul from body and then forgets
about the body and practices to identify the Self. Then one practices of complete
awareness of the self without any hindrance.
Contemplation is an important wing in Jain meditation. The practitioner meditates or

reflects deeply on subtle facts or philosophical aspects. The first type is Agnya vichāya, in
which one meditates deeply on the seven elementary facts - life and non-life, the inflow,
bondage, stoppage and removal of karmas, and the final accomplishment of liberation.
The second is Apaya vichāya, in which incorrect insights and behavior in which “sleeping
souls” indulge, are reflected upon. The third is Vipaka vichāya dharma dhyāna, in which
one reflects on the eight causes or basic types of karma. The fourth is Sansathan vichāya
dharma dhyāna, when one thinks about the vastness of the universe and the loneliness of
the soul, which has had to face the results of its own causes all alone. A few important
contemplation themes in Preksha meditation are - Impermanence, Solitariness,
Vulnerability.
Practitioner can apply a number of meditation techniques known as pindāstha-dhyāna,

padāstha-dhyāna, rūpāstha-dhyāna, rūpātita-dhyāna, savīrya-dhyāna, etc.
WT
Picture depicting Pindastha Dhyana
In pindāstha-dhyāna one imagines oneself sitting all alone in the middle of a vast ocean
of milk on a lotus flower, meditating on the soul. There are no living beings around
whatsoever. The lotus is identical to Jambūdvīpa, with Mount Meru as its stalk. Next the
meditator imagines a 16-petalled lotus at the level of his navel, and on each petal are
printed the (Sanskrit) letters “arham“ and also an inverted lotus of 8 petals at the location
of his heart. Suddenly the lotus on which one is seated flares up at the navel and flames
gradually rise up to the inverted lotus, burning its petals with a rising golden flame which
not only burns his or her body, but also the inverted lotus at the heart. The flames rise
further up to the throat whirling in the shape of a swastika and then reach the head,
burning it entirely, while taking the form of a three-sided pyramid of golden flames
above the head, piercing the skull sharp end straight up. The whole physical body is
charred, and everything turns into glowing ashes. Thus the pinda or body is burnt off and
the pure soul survives. Then suddenly a strong wind blows off all the ashes; and one
imagines that a heavy rain shower washes all the ashes away, and the pure soul remains
seated on the lotus. That pure Soul has infinite virtues, it is Myself. Why should I get
polluted at all? One tries to remain in his purest nature. This is called pindāstha dhyāna,
in which one ponders the reality of feeling and experiencing.
In padāstha dhyāna one focuses on some mantras, words or themes. Couple of important
mantra examples are, OM - it signifies remembrance of the five classes of spiritual beings
(the embodied and non-embodied Jinas, the ascetics, the monks and the nuns),
pronouncing the word “Arham” makes one feel “I myself am the omniscient soul” and
one tries to improve one’s character accordingly. One may also pronounce the holy name
of an arhat and concentrate on the universal richness of the soul.
In rūpāstha dhyāna one reflects on the embodiments of Arhats, the svayambhuva (the
self-realized), the omniscients and other enlightened people and their attributes, such as
three umbrellas and whiskers – as seen in many icons – unconcerned about one’s own
body, but almighty and benevolent to all living beings, destroyer of attachment, enmity,
etc. Thus the meditator as a human being concentrates his or her attention on the virtues
of the omniscients to acquire the same virtues for himself.
Rūpātita dhyāna is a meditation in which one focuses on bodiless objects such as the
liberated souls or siddhas, which stand individually and collectively for the infinite
qualities that such souls have earned. That omniscient, potent, omnipresent, liberated and
untainted soul is called a nirañjāna, and this stage can be achieved by right vision, right
knowledge and right conduct only. Right vision, right knowledge and right conduct begin
the fourth stage of the 14-fold path.
WT
The ultimate aim of such yoga and meditation is to pave the way for the spiritual
elevation and salvation of the soul. Some yogis develop their own methods for
meditation.
Lord Mahavira and Meditation
Lord Mahavira's attainment of omniscience, Kewal Gyan
Meditation was an integral part of Lord Mahavira's life. Lord Mahavira had meditated in
different ways:
• Meditation by fixing the gaze for hours on an oblique wall and also for acquiring
high levels of magnetism in the eyes.
• Adoption of various steady postures in meditation. He meditated on various
spaces in the universe, the higher loka - upper, in the downward direction - lower
loka and in the transverse direction - the transverse loka, making them objects for
meditation.
• Meditating mostly in standing posture.
• Practiced Kayotsarga for full awareness and deep relaxation.
• Meditating in the open without clothes and shelter.
• Being ceaselessly conscious at every moment of the day and night. Total
vigilance in the sixth step, and Samadhi, the seventh step of the meditative path.
Practicing meditation, both with the support of an object and without any support
WT
•
of any object.
• Usage of different objects for his meditation sessions. He would change the
targets of his attention.
Objects on which he had meditated:
• The Karmas moving upward, downward and in a transverse direction.

• Bondage, the cause of bondage and its consequences.
• Salvation, its cause and its bliss.
• The head, the navel and the big toe.
• Matter, its characteristic and modes (its changing conditions).
• The origin, permanence and transitory nature of Matter.
• The gross world and the cosmos.
• Subtle objects like the molecular structure.
• The soul, by intuition.
• Practice of contemplations (Bhawanas) during practice of meditation. The main
subjects were: Loneliness, transitoriness and absence of protection, etc.
• Concentration on the body for a long stretch of time; he could change it on the
mental and vocal level. He could change his meditations from matter to mode and
from word to silence.
Chapter 11
Jain Cosmology
WT
Structure of Universe in Jain cosmology in form of a lokapurusa or cosmic man
Jain cosmology is the description of the shape and functioning of the physical and
metaphysical Universe (loka) and its constituents (such as living, matter, space, time etc.)
according to Jainism, which includes the canonical Jain texts, commentaries and the
writings of the Jain philosopher-monks. Jain cosmology considers the loka, or universe,
as an uncreated entity, existing since infinity, having no beginning or an end. Jain texts
describe the shape of the universe as similar to a man standing with legs apart and arm
resting on his waist. This Universe, according to Jainism, is narrow at the top, broad at
the middle and once again becomes broad at the bottom.
Mahāpurāṇa of Ācārya Jinasena is famous for this quote: "Some foolish men declare that
a creator made the world. The doctrine that the world was created is ill advised and
should be rejected. If God created the world, where was he before the creation? If you say
he was transcendent then and needed no support, where is he now? How could God have
made this world without any raw material? If you say that he made this first, and then the
world, you are faced with an endless regression."
The Concept of reality – the constituents of the Universe
WT
This Universe is made up of what Jains call six dravya or reals or substances classified as
follows:
• Jīva (Living Substances)
Jīva i.e. Souls - Soul (Jīva) exists as a reality, having a separate existence from the
body that houses it. It is characterised by chetana (consciousness) and upayoga
(knowledge and perception). Though the soul experiences both birth and death, it
is neither really destroyed nor created. Decay and origin refer respectively to the
disappearing of one state of soul and appearing of another state, these being
merely the modes of the soul.
• Ajīva (Non-Living Substances)

o Pudgala (Matter)) - Matter is classified as solid, liquid, gaseous, energy,
fine Karmic materials and extra-fine matter i.e. ultimate particles.
Paramāṇu or ultimate particle (atoms) is the basic building block of all
matter. One of the qualities of the Paramāṇu and Pudgala is that of
permanence and indestructibility. It combines and changes its modes but
its basic qualities remain the same. According to Jainism, it cannot be
created nor destroyed.
o Dharma-tattva (Principle of Motion) and
o Adharma-tattva (Principle of Rest) - Dharmastikāya and Adharmastikāya
are distinctly peculiar to Jaina system of thought depicting the principle of
Motion and Rest. They are said to pervade the entire universe. Dharma
and Adharma are by itself not motion or rest but mediate motion and rest
in other bodies. Without Dharmastikāya motion is not possible and
without Adharmastikāya rest is not possible in universe.
o Ākāśa (Space) - Space is a substance that accommodates the living souls,
the matter, the principle of motion, the principle of rest and time. It is all-
pervading, infinite and made of infinite space-points.
o Kāla (Time) - Kāla is a real entity according to Jainism and all activities,
changes or modifications can be achieved only through the progress of
time.
Time Cycle
WT Division of time as envisaged by Jains
According to Jainism, time is beginningless and eternal. The Kālacakra, the cosmic
wheel of time, rotates ceaselessly. The wheel of time is divided into two half-rotations,
Utsarpiṇī or ascending time cycle and Avasarpiṇī, the descending time cycle, occurring
continuously after each other. Utsarpiṇī is a period of progressive prosperity and
happiness where the time spans and ages are at an increasing scale, while Avsarpiṇī is a
period of increasing sorrow and immorality with decline in timespans of the epochs. Each
of this half time cycle consisting of innumerable period of time is further sub-divided into
six aras or epochs of unequal periods. Currently, the time cycle is in avasarpiṇī or
descending phase with the following epochs.
Average Average
Name of the Degree of
Duration of Ara Height of
Lifespan of
Ara happiness
People People
Three
Suṣama- Utmost happiness Six Miles Palyopama
suṣamā and no sorrow 400 trillion sāgaropamas Tall Years
Two
Moderate happiness Four Miles Palyopama
Suṣamā and no sorrow 300 trillion sāgaropamas Tall Years
Suṣama- Happiness with Two Miles One Palyopama
duḥṣamā little sorrow 200 trillion sāgaropamas Tall Years
705.6
Duḥṣama- Sorrow with little 100 trillion sāgaropamas 1500 Quintillion
WT
suṣamā happiness (less 42,000 years) Meters Years
130 Years
Duḥṣamā Sorrow 21,000 Years 6 Feet Maximum
Duḥṣama- Extreme sorrow
duḥṣamā and misery 21,000 Years 1 Hatha 16-20 Years
• Suṣama-suṣamā - During the first ara of the Avsarpini, people lived for three
palyopama years. During this ara people were on average six miles tall. They
took their food on every fourth day; they were very tall and devoid of anger,
pride, deceit, greed and other sinful acts. Various kinds of the kalpa trees fulfilled
their wishes and needs like food, clothing, homes, entertainment, jewels etc.
• Suṣamā - During the second ara the people lived for two palyopama years.
During this ara people were on average 4 miles tall. They took their food at an
interval of three days, but the kalpa trees supplied their wants, less than before.
The land and water became less sweet and fruitful than they were during the first
ara.
•
WT
Suṣama-duḥṣamā - During the third ara, the age limit of the people became one
palyopama year. During this are people were on average 2 miles tall. They took
their food on every second day. The earth and water as well as height and strength
of the body went on decreasing and they became less than they were during the
second ara. The first three ara the children were born as twins, one male and one
female, who married each other and once again gave birth to twins. On account of
happiness and pleasures, the religion, renunciation and austerities was not
possible. At the end of the third ara, the wish-fulfilling trees stopped giving the
desired fruits and the people started living in the societies. The first Tirthankara,
Ṛṣabhdeva was born at the end of this ara. He taught the people the skills of
farming, commerce, defence, politics and arts and organised the people in
societies. That is why he is known as the father of human civilisation.
• Duḥṣama-suṣamā - During the fourth ara, people lived for 705.6 Quintillion
Years. During this are people were on average 1500 Meters tall. The fourth ara
was the age of religion, where the renunciation, austerities and liberation was
possible. The 63 Śalākāpuruṣas, or the illustrious persons who promote the Jain
religion, regularly appear in this ara. The balance 23 Tīrthaṅkars, including Lord
Māhavīra appeared in this ara. This ara came to an end 3 years and 8 months after
the nirvāṇa of Māhavīra.
• Duḥṣama - According to Jain cosmology, currently we are in the 5th ara. As of
2010, exactly 2,537 years have elapsed and 18,463 years are still left. It is an age
of sorrow and misery. The maximum age a person can live to in this ara is 130
years. The maximum height a person can be in this ara is six feet. No liberation is
possible, although people practice religion in lax and diluted form. At the end of
this ara, even the Jain religion will disappear, only to appear again with the advent
of 1st Tirthankara in the next cycle.
• Duḥṣama - duḥṣama - The sixth ara will be the age of intense misery and sorrow,
making it impossible to practice religion in any form. The age, height and strength
of the human beings will decrease to a great extent. In this ara people will live for
no more than 16-20 years. This trend will start reversing at the onset of utsarpiṇī
WT
kāl.
In utsarpiṇī the order of the aras is reversed. Starting from Duḥṣama- duḥṣamā, it ends
with Suṣama-suṣamā and thus this never ending cycle continues. Each of these aras
progress into the next phase seamlessly without any apocalyptic consequences. The
increase or decrease in the happiness, life spans and length of people and general moral
conduct of the society changes in a phased and graded manner as the time passes. No
divine or supernatural beings are credited or responsible with these spontaneous temporal
changes, either in a creative or overseeing role, rather human beings and creatures are
born under the impulse of their own karmas.
Jain geography
Structure of Universe as per the Jain Scriptures
The early Jains contemplated over the nature of the earth and universe and developed a
detailed hypothesis on the various aspects of the astronomy and cosmology. According to
the Jain texts, the universe is divided into 3 parts –
• Urdhva Loka – the realms of the gods or heavens

• Madhya Loka – the realms of the humans, animals and plants
• Adho Loka – the realms of the hellish beings or the infernal regions
The Jain texts on geography
The Jain texts provide a detailed description on The following Upanga āgamas describe
the Jain cosmology and geography in a great detail:-
1. Sūryaprajñapti – Treatise on Sun
WT
2. Jambūdvīpaprajñapti - Treatise on the island of Roseapple tree; it contains a
description of Jambūdvī and life biographies of Ṛṣabha and King Bharata
3. Candraprajñapti - Treatise on moon
Work of Art from 15th century CE Manuscript of Sūryaprajñapti
Additionally, the following texts describe the Jain cosmology and related topics in
details:-
1. Trilokasāra – Essence of the three worlds (heavens, middle level, hells)

2. Trilokaprajñapti – Treatise on the three worlds
3. Trilokadipikā – Illumination of the three worlds
4. Tattvārthasūtra – Description on nature of realities
5. Kṣetrasamasa – Summary of Jain geography
6. Bruhatsamgrahni – Treatise on Jain cosmology and geography
Urdhva Loka, the upper world
WT
Shape of Universe as per Jain cosmology in form of a cosmic man. Picture taken from
15-17th CE Jain art
Udharva loka consists of 12 Dev Lok, 9 Greveyak and 5 Anutar Viman, which are the
realms of the Vaimaniks or the astral gods who are non-liberated gods. Above the Anutar
vimans, at the apex of the universe, is the Siddhasila, the realms of the infinite liberated
gods also known as the Siddhas, the perfected omniscient and blissful beings, who are
venerated by the Jains.
Below the siddhasila are the five Anutar Vimans named:
1. Vijay
2. Vijayant
3. Jayant
4. Aparajit
5. Savarthsiddha
Below the Anutar Vimas are the 9 Greveyaks whose names are:
WT
1. Bhadre
2. Subhadre
3. Sujae
4. Sumanase
5. Priydansne
6. Sudansne
7. Aamohe
8. Supadibaddhe
9. Jasodhare.
Below the Greveyaks, are the 12 Devalokas whose names are:
1. Sudharma
2. Ishan
3. Sanatkumar
4. Mahendra
5. Brahmloka
6. Lantak
7. Mahashukra
8. Sahastrar
9. Aanat
10. Pranat
11. Aaran
12. Achyuta.
Vaimanik devas are divided into, two groups i.e. –
• The higher groups, dwelling in 9 Greveyak and 5 Anutar Viman. They are
independent and dewelling in their own vehicles. The anuttara devas attain
liberation within one or two lifetimes.
• The lower groups, organized like earthly kingdoms - rulers (Indra), organized like
earthly kingdoms - rulers (Indras), counselors, guards, queens, followers, armies
etc.
Madhya Loka, the middle world
WT
Image depicting map of Jambudvipa as per Jain Cosmology
WT
Early 19th century painting depicting map of 2 & 1/2 continents
Madhya Loka, at the centre of the universe consists of 900 yojans above and 900 yojans
below earth surface. It is inhabited by:
1. Jyotishka devas (luminous gods) - 790 to 900 yojans above earth

2. Human, Tiryanch (Animals, birds, plants) on the surface
3. Vyantar devas (Intermediary gods)- 100 yojan below the ground level
Madhyaloka consists of many continent-islands surrounded by oceans, first eight whose

names are:-
Continent/ Island Ocean

Jambūdvīpa Lavanoda (Salt - ocean)
Ghatki Khand Kaloda (Black sea)
Puskarvardvīpa Puskaroda (Lotus Ocean)
Varunvardvīpa Varunoda (Varun Ocean)
Kshirvardvīpa Kshiroda (Ocean of milk)
Ghrutvardvīpa Ghrutoda (Butter milk ocean)
Ikshuvardvīpa Iksuvaroda (Sugar Ocean)
Nandishwardvīpa Nandishwaroda
Mount Meru is at the centre of the world surrounded by Jambūdvīpa, in form of a circle
forming a diameter of 100,000 yojans. There are two sets of sun, moon and stars
revolving around Mount Meru; while one set works, the other set rests behind the Mount
Meru.
WT
Work of Art showing maps and diagrams as per Jain Cosmography from 17th century CE
Manuscript of 12th century Jain text Sankhitta Sangheyan
Jambūdvīpa continent has 6 mighty mountains, dividing the continent into 7 zones
(Ksetra). The names of these zones are:
1. Bharat Kshetra
2. Mahavideh Kshetra
3. Airavat Kshetra
4. Ramyak
5. Hairanyvat Kshetra
6. Haimava Kshetra
7. Hari Kshetra
The three zones i.e. Bharat Kshetra, Mahavideh Kshetra and Airavat Kshetra are also
known as Karma bhoomi because practice of austerities and liberation is possible and the
Tirthankaras preach the Jain doctrine. The other four zones, Ramyak, Hairanyvat
Kshetra, Haimava Kshetra and Hari Kshetra are known as akarmabhoomi or bhogbhumi
as humans live a sinless life of pleasure and no religion or liberation is possible.
Adho Loka, the lower world
WT
17th century cloth painting depicting seven levels of Jain hell and various tortures
suffered in them. Left panel depicts the demi-god and his animal vehicle presiding over
the each hell.
The lower world consists of seven hells which is inhabited by Bhavanpati demigods and
the hellish beings. Hellish beings reside in the following hells -
1. Ratna prabha-dharma.
2. Sharkara prabha-vansha.
3. Valuka prabha-megha.
4. Pank prabha-anjana.
5. Dhum prabha-arista.
6. Tamah prabha-maghavi.
7. Mahatamah prabha-maadhavi
Śalākāpuruṣas- The deeds of the 63 Illustrious Men
During the each motion of the half-cycle of the wheel of time, 63 Śalākāpuruṣa or 63
illustrious men, consisting of the 24 Tīrthaṅkaras and their contemporaries regularly
appear. The Jain universal or legendary history is basically a compilation of the deeds of
these illustrious men. They are categorised as follows:-
WT
• 24 Tīrthaṅkaras – The 24 Tīrthaṅkaras or the ford makers appear in succession to
activate the true religion and establish the community of ascetics and laymen.
• 12 Chakravartīs – The Chakravartīs are the universal monarchs who rule over the
six continents.
• 9 Baladevas and 9 Vāsudevas or Nārāyaṇas (heros) – Baladeva and Vāsudeva are
half brothers who jointly rule over three continents.
• 9 Prativāsudevas (anti-heros) – They are anti-heros who are ultimately killed by
the Vāsudevas.
Chapter 12
Jain Rituals and Festivals
Jain rituals and festivals play a prominent part in Jainism. Rituals can take place daily
or more often, while festivals occur on designated days of the year.
WT
Everyday rituals
Pious Jains incorporate a number of rituals into their daily life. Spreading the grain for
the birds in the morning, and filtering or boiling the water for the next few hours' use are
ritual acts of charity and non-violence.
Some people dismiss the ritual acts as superstition. Others recognize that while the Jain
idols have no miraculous powers, daily rituals help the worshipper towards a reverent
state of mind.
Samayika
Samayika is the practice of equanimity, translating to meditation. It is a ritual act

undertaken early in the morning and perhaps also at noon and night. It lasts for forty-
eight minutes (Two Ghadis) and usually involves not only quiet recollection but also
usually the repetition of routine prayers. The ritual is chanting and praying about the
good things
Pratikramana
Pratikramana is performed in the morning for the repentance of violence committed

during the night, and in the evening for the violence during the day and additionally on
certain days of the year. During this, the Jain expresses remorse for the harm caused, or
wrong doing, or the duties left undone.
Worship of Jain idols
Worship before the Jain idols, bowing to the idols, and lighting a lamp in front of the
idols is an ideal way to start the day for many Jains. More elaborate forms of worship
(puja), as described, is a regular daily ritual usually done in the temple. The worshipper
enters the temple with the words 'Namo Jinanam' 'I bow to the Jina', and repeats three
times, 'Nisihii' (to relinquish thoughts about worldly affairs). The simpler surroundings of
the household shrine can also provide a suitable setting. The members of some sects of
Jainism don’t believe in worship of the Jina image. They believe in meditation and silent
prayers. Worship, or puja, can take many forms.
1. The ritual bathing of the image (Snatra Puja) is symbolic to the bathing of the
newborn Tirthankara by the gods (celestial beings). A simple symbolic act is to
touch one's forehead with the liquid used to bath the idol. Bathing the idol also
takes place during the Panch Kalyanak Puja, a ritual to commemorate the five
great events of the Tirthankara's life, namely conception, birth, renunciation,
omniscience and moksa.
2. Antaraya Karma Puja comprises a series of prayers to remove those karmas which
obstruct the spiritual uplifting power of the soul. A lengthy temple ritual which
can take three days to complete is the
3. Arihanta Puja, paying respect to the arihants.
4. There is a ritual of prayer focused on the siddhachakra, a lotus-shaped disc
WT
bearing representations of the arhat, the liberated soul, religious teacher, religious
leader and the monk (the five praiseworthy beings), as well as the four qualities
namely perception, knowledge, conduct and austerity to uplift the soul.
Festivals of Jaina
Paryusana Parva
The Paryushana Parva is the most important festival for the Jains. This is the eight-day
period during which many Jains fast and carry out the religious activities. This period
falls in the months of Shravana and Bhadra (August or September). During the rainy
season in India Jain monks stop walking from one town to another and settle in a fixed
location with the purpose of reducing the injury to the living things now springing to life.
Often a township invites respected monks to stay in its vicinity during the rainy season
(sometimes with a beautifully written manuscript invitation) and the people receive them
with great pomp and rituals. A course of lectures or sermons by a monk or other
respected person is a regular feature of the Paryusana Parva.
The word Paryusana is derived from two words meaning (gada) ‘a year’ and ‘a coming
back’. It is a period of repentance for the acts of the previous year and of austerities to
help shed the accumulated karmas. It should be remembered that the austerity is not just
to shed karmas, but to control the desire for sensual pleasures as a part of the spiritual
training to prevent the accumulation of the new karmas. During this period some people
fast for all eight days, some for the lesser periods (a minimum of three days is suggested
in the scriptures), but it is considered obligatory to fast on the last day of the Paryusana
Parva. Fasting usually involves complete abstinence from any sort of food or drink, but
some people do take boiled water during the daytime.
WT
Queen Trishala, Mahaviras mother has 14 auspicious dreams. Folio 4 from Kalpa sutra.
There are regular ceremonies in the temple and discourses of Kalpa Sutra (one of the
sacred books) in the Upashraya during this time. Kalpa Sutra contains the detailed
account of Mahavira's life, is read to the congregation. On the third day of the Paryusana
Parva the Kalpa Sutra receives a very special reverence and may be carried in the
procession. On the fifth day, at a special ceremony, the auspicious dreams of Mahavira's
mother, Queen Trishala, are demonstrated. Listening to the Kalpa Sutra, taking active
steps to prevent the animal killing, asking and offering forgiveness to all living beings,
visiting the neighborhood temples, etc., are some of the important activities during this
time. The final day of Paryusana is the most important of all. On this day those who have
observed the fasts are specially honored. This is also the day when Jains ask for
forgiveness from the family, friends and foes alike for any acts they might have
committed towards them in the previous year. Therefore this annual occasion of
repentance and forgiveness is very important. Shortly after Paryusana it is the custom to
organize a Swami Vastyalaya-dinner when all the Jains get together and renew their
friendship with each other regardless of their socio-economical status.
Mahavir Jayanti
WT
Om Hrim Siddhi Chakra used by Jains in dravya puja
Mahavira was born most probably in the year 599 B.C. and the exact date is given in the
scriptures as the thirteenth day of the bright half of the Hindu calendar month of Chaitra.
In the solar calendar this will fall in March or April. The festival to commemorate this,
known as Mahavira Jayanti, is an occasion for great celebration. Jains gather together to
hear Mahavira's message expounded, so that they can follow his teachings and example.
The dreams of his mother before his birth may be dramatically presented and the
circumstances of his birth, as narrated in the scriptures, explained to the assembled
people. The idol of Mahavira is ceremonially bathed and rocked in a cradle. In many
places the processions take place through the streets with the image having the place of
honor, and in some regions in India this is a general public holiday.
Diwali
Diwali or Deepawali is the most important festival in India. For the Jains, it is the second
most after the Paryusana Parva. For Jains Diwali marks the anniversary of Mahavir's
moksha. Mahavir attained moksha on this day in 527 B.C. (and also of the achievement
of total knowledge, omniscience, by his chief follower, Gautama Indrabhuti). The festival
falls on the last day of the Hindu calendar month of Ashvina, the end of the year as per
Indian calendar (in October or November), The celebration starts in the early morning of
the previous day, for it was then that Mahavira commenced his last sermon which lasted
till late in the night of Diwali. It is narrated that the eighteen kings of northern India who
were in his audience decided that the light of their master's knowledge would be kept
alive symbolically by lighting of the lamps. Hence it is called Dipawali, (dipa means
lamp), or Diwali.
WT
New Year
The New Year begins the next day of Diwali and is the occasion for joyful gatherings of
Jains, with everybody wishing each other a Happy New Year.
Gyana Panchami (Knowledge day)
The fifth day of the New Year is known as Gyana Panchami, the day of knowledge, when
the scriptures, which impart knowledge to the people, are worshipped with devotion.
Paush dashami
This day is famous as the birthday of 23rd JainTirthankar lourd Parshvanath. On the 10th
day of Posh month of Hindu calendar, hundreds and thousands of Jain men and women
perform the tapasya of 3 Upavas-attham (continuous fasting for 3 days) and by means of
recitation and meditation they try to attain spiritual welfare. A grand fair takes place in
Sankheswar which is a sacred place for Jains. Thousands of people gather here and
perform the austerity of 'Attham'.
Varshi Tapa / Akshay Tritiya Tapa
Those noble people who perform the austerity of Varshi tapa complete the austerity on
this day by taking sugar-cane juice in the cool shadow of Shatrunjay. First Jain
Tirthankar Rishabhdev performed the Parana (completion of an austerity) on this day
after fasting for 13 months and 13 days continuously. This day is considered to be very
auspicious for making a pilgrimage to Shatrunjay (Palitana). This falls on the 3rd day of
the bright fortnight of Vaishakh month of Hindu calendar.
Maun-agiyaras
It in November/December when a day of complete silence and fasting is kept and

meditation is directed towards the five holy beings, monk, teacher, religious leader, arhat
and siddha. This day is regarded as the anniversary of the birth of many of the
Tiirthankaras.
Navapad Oli
The serious Jain layman fast, more or less completely, and undertake other religious
practices on many auspicious days throughout the year. As many as ten days in a given
month are observed for the fasts by the pious Jains (though others may observe a lesser
number). The first day of the three seasons in the Indian year is also of special sanctity.
Twice a year, falling in March/April and September/October, the nine-day Oli period of
semi-fasting is observed when Jains take only one meal a day, of very plain food.
WT

All About Buddhism & Jainism PDF

Încărcat de

Informații document

Titlu original

Drepturi de autor

Formate disponibile

Partajați acest document

Partajați sau inserați document

Opțiuni de partajare

Vi se pare util acest document?

Este necorespunzător acest conținut?

Drepturi de autor:

Formate disponibile

All About Buddhism & Jainism PDF

Încărcat de

Drepturi de autor:

Formate disponibile

Revised Edition: 2016

© All rights reserved.

Chapter 1 - Introduction to Buddhism

Chapter 2 - Gautama Buddha

Chapter 3 - Karma in Buddhism

Chapter 7 - Introduction to Jainism

Chapter 9 - Karma in Jainism

Chapter 10 - Jain Meditation

Chapter 11 - Jain Cosmology

Chapter 12 - Jain Rituals and Festivals

Life and the world

Rebirth refers to a process whereby beings go through a succession of lifetimes as one of

1. Naraka beings: those who live in one of many Narakas (Hells)

The Four Noble Truths

1. Life as we know it ultimately is or leads to suffering/uneasiness (dukkha) in one

This method is described by early Western scholars, and taught as an introduction to

According to other interpretations by Buddhist teachers and scholars, lately recognized

Thus, according to the Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism they are

1. "The noble truth that is suffering"

WT The Dharmachakra represents the Noble Eightfold Path.

1. dṛṣṭi (ditthi): viewing reality as it is, not just as it appears to be.

3. vāc (vāca): speaking in a truthful and non-hurtful way

6. vyāyāma (vāyāma): making an effort to improve

The Middle Way

1. The practice of non-extremism: a path of moderation away from the extremes of

Buddhist scholars have produced a remarkable quantity of intellectual theories, phil-

Three Marks of Existence

The Three Marks of Existence are impermanence, suffering, and not-self.

Suffering is also a central concept in Buddhism. The word roughly corresponds to a

The doctrine of pratītyasamutpāda (Sanskrit; Pali: paticcasamuppāda; Tibetan:

The best-known application of the concept of pratītyasamutpāda is the scheme of Twelve

1. Avidyā: ignorance, specifically spiritual ignorance of the nature of reality

Mahayana Buddhism received significant theoretical grounding from Nagarjuna (perhaps

Sarvastivada teachings—which were criticized by Nāgārjuna—were reformulated by

WTThe Great Statue of Buddha Amitabha in Kamakura, Japan

The method of self-exertion or "self-power"—without reliance on an external force or

Mahāyāna Buddhism is based principally upon the path of a bodhisattva. According to

Because he has enlightenment as his aim, a bodhisattva-mahāsattva is so called.

Mahāyāna Buddhism encourages everyone to become bodhisattvas and to take the

Devotion is an important part of the practice of most Buddhists. Devotional practices

While there is no convincing evidence for meditation in pre-Buddhist early Brahminic

The Three Jewels are:

WT Japanese Mahayana Buddhist monk

Śīla is the foundation of Samadhi/Bhāvana (Meditative cultivation) or mind cultivation.

Buddhist monks praying in Thailand

Samādhi (meditative cultivation): samatha meditation

In Theravāda Buddhism, the cause of human existence and suffering is identified as

Prajñā (Wisdom): vipassana meditation

Prajñā (Sanskrit) or paññā (Pāli) means wisdom that is based on a realization of

Initially, prajñā is attained at a conceptual level by means of listening to sermons

The Buddhist "Carpenter's Cave" at Ellora in Maharashtra, India

Pre-sectarian Buddhism is the earliest phase of Buddhism, recognized by nearly all

Early Buddhist schools

Early Mahayana Buddhism

Late Mahayana Buddhism

Vajrayana (Esoteric Buddhism)

Estimates are uncertain for several reasons:

Overall there is an overwhelming diversity of recent forms of Buddhism.

• Both accept the Buddha as their teacher.

This is a rough timeline of the development of the different schools/traditions:

450 BCE 250 BCE 100 CE 500 CE 700 CE 800 CE 1200 CE

Sri Lanka & Theravada

Theravāda ("Doctrine of the Elders", or "Ancient Doctrine") is the oldest surviving