who were pious Jains and worshippers of Pārsva, gave him the name Vardhamana (Vira or Mahavira is an epithet used as a name; Arhat, Bhagavat, Jina, etc., are titles common to all Tirthakaras). He married Yasoda and by her had a daughter Apojja. His parents died when he was 30 years old, and his elder brother Nandivardhana succeeded his father in whatever position he had held. With the permission of his brother and the other authorities, he carried out a long-cherished resolve and became a monk with the usual Jain rites. Then followed 12 years of self-mortification; Mahavira wandered about as a mendicant friar, bearing all kinds of hardships; after the first 13 months he even discarded clothes. At the end of this period dedicated to meditation, he reached the state of omniscience (kevala), corresponding to the Bodhi of the Buddhists. He lived for 42 years more, preaching the law and instructing his 11 disciples (ganadhara): Indrabhūti, Agnibhūti, Vayubhūti, Arya Vyakta, Arya Sudharman, Manditaputra, Mauryaputra, Akampita, Achalabhratr, Metarya, and Prabhasa. In the 72nd year of his life he died at Páva and reached Nirvana. This event took place, as stated above, some years before Buddha's death, and may, therefore, be placed about 480 B.C. The Svetambaras, however, place the Nirvana of Mahavira, which is the initial point of their era, 470 years before the beginning of the Vikrama era, or in 527 B.C. The Digambaras place the same event 18 years later. 3. Canonical literature of the Svetämbaras.The canonical books of the Svetāmbaras (the Digambaras do not admit them to be genuine) are not works by Mahavira himself, but some of them claim to be discourses delivered by him to Indrabhūti, the Gautama, which his disciple, the ganadhara Sudharman, related to his own disciple Jambusvamin. Before entering on details about the existing canon, it must be stated that, according to the Jains, there were originally, since the time of the first Tirthakara, two kinds of sacred books, the 14 purcas and the 11 angas; the 14 purvas were, however, reckoned to make up a 12th anga under the name of Dretivada. The knowledge of the 14 purvas continued only down to Sthulabhadra, the 8th patriarch after Mahavira; the next 7 patriarchs down to Vajra knew only 10 purvas, and after that time the remaining purvas were gradually lost, until, at the time when the canon was written down in books (980 A.v.), all the purvas had disappeared, and consequently the 12th anga too. Such is the Svetambara tradition regarding the purvas; that of the Digambaras is similar as regards the final loss of the purvas, differing, however, in most details; but they contend that the angas also were lost after 9 more generations.2 The 11 angas are the oldest part of the canon (siddhanta), which at present embraces 45 texts. Besides the 11 angas, there are 12 upangas, 10 painņas (prakirnas), 6 chhedasūtras, Nandi and Anuyogadvara, and 4 mūlasūtras. Á list of these texts according to the usual enumeration follows. even afterwards, they have undergone many altera- The older As the works belonging to the canon are of different origin and age, they differ greatly in character. Some are chiefly in prose, some in verse, some in mixed prose and verse. Frequently a work comprises distinctly disparate parts put together when the redaction of the canon took place. The older prose works are generally very diffuse and contain endless repetitions; some, however, contain succinct rules, some, besides lengthy descriptions, systematic expositions of various dogmatic questions; in others, again, the systematic tendency prevails throughout. A large literature of glosses and commentaries has grown up round the more important texts. Besides the sacred literature and the commentaries belonging to it, the Jains possess separate works, in close material agreement with the former, which contain systematic expositions of their faith, or parts of it, in Prakrit and Sanskrit. These works, which generally possess the advantage of accuracy and clearness, have in their turn become the object of learned labours of commentators. One of the oldest is Umāsvāti's Tattvärthadhigamasutra, a Svetambara work, which, however, is also claimed by the Digambaras. A sort of encyclopædia of Jainism is the Lokaprakasa by Tejapala's son, Vinaya vijaya (1652). On these and similar works our sketch of the Jain faith is chiefly based. It may here be mentioned that the Jains also possess a secular literature of their own, in poetry and prose, both Sanskrit and Prakrit. Of peculiar interest are the numerous tales in Prakrit and Sanskrit with which authors used to illustrate dogmatical or moral problems. They have also attempted more extensive narratives, some in a more popular style, as Haribhadra's Samaräichchakaha, and Siddharsi's great allegorical work Upamitibhavaprapañchä katha (both edited in Bibl. Ind., Calcutta, 1901-14), some in highly artificial Sanskrit, as Somadeva's Yasastilaka and Dhanapala's Tilakamañjari (both published in the Kavyamālā, Bombay, 1901-03, 1903). Their oldest Prakrit poem (perhaps of the 3rd cent. A.D.), the Paümachariya, is a Jain version of the Ramayana. Sanskrit poems, both in purāṇa and in kävya style, and hymns in Prakrit and Sanskrit, are very numerous with the Svetambaras as well as the Digambaras; there are likewise some Jain drainas. Jain authors have also contributed many works, original treatises as well as commentaries, to the scientific literature of India in its various branches-grammar, lexicography, metrics, (1) 11 angas: Achāra, Sūtrakṛta, Sthana, Samavaya, Bhagavati, Jñatadharmakathās, Upasakadasas, Antakṛddašās, Anuttaraupapatikadaśās, Prasnavyäkaraṇa, Vipāka (Dṛṣṭivada, no longer extant); (2) 12 upāngas: Aupapatika, Rajapraśniya, Jivabhigama, Prajñapana, Jambudvipaprajñapti, Chandraprajň apti, Suryaprajñapti, Nirayāvali [or Kalpikaj, Kalpävatamsikā, Puspika, Puspachulikā, Vṛṣṇidaśās; (3) 10 paiņņas (prakirņas): Chatuḥsarana, Samstara, Aturapratyakhyānam, Bhaktaparijña, Tandulavaiyāli, Chandavija, Devendrastava, Ganivija, Mahapratyakhyāna, Virastava; (4) 6 chhedasūtras: Nisitha, Mahänisitha, Vyavahara, Dasaśrutaskandha, Brhatkalpa, Pañ chakalpa; (5) 2 sutras without a common name: Nandi and Anuyogadvara; (6) 4 mūlasūtras: Uttaradhyayana, Avasyaka, Dasavaikalika, and Pindaniryukti. Most of the canonical books have been edited in India, some with commentaries. English translations have been published of the Acharānga, Sutrakṛtanga, Upāsakadaśās, Antakṛddasās, Anuttaraupapati-poetics, philosophy, etc. (cf. art. HEMACHANDRA), vol. vi. p. 591. kadašas, Uttaradhyayana, and two Kalpasūtras. The redaction of the canon took place under Devarddhigani in 980 after the Nirvana (A.D. 454, according to the common reckoning, actually perhaps 60 years later); before that time the sacred texts were handed down without embodying them in written books. In the interval between the composition and the final redaction of the texts, and 1 In the Preface to his ed. of the Parisişța Parvan (Bibl. Ind., Calcutta, 1891), p. 4ff., the present writer criticizes the Svetambara tradition, and, by combining the Jain date of Chandragupta's accession to the throne in 155 after the Nirvana with the historical date of the same event in 321 or 322 B.C., arrives at 476 or 477 B.C. as the probable date of Mahavira's Nirvana. 2 For details see A. A. Guérinot, Répertoire d'épigraphie jaina, Paris, 1908, p. 36. 3 For details see Weber, 'Sacred Literature of the Jainas, which first appeared (in German) in Indische Studien, xvi. [1883), and xvii. (1885), and was translated in IA xvii. [1888]-xxi. [1892]. 4. The doctrines of Jainism.-Jain doctrines may be broadly divided into (i.) philosophical and (ii.) practical. Jain philosophy contains ontology, metaphysics, and psychology. The practical doctrines are concerned with ethics and asceticism, monasticism, and the life of the laity. i. (a) Philosophy.-The Aranyakas and Upaniṣads had maintained, or were believed to maintain, that Being is one, permanent, without beginning, change, or end. In opposition to this view, the Jains declare that Being is not of a persistent and unalterable nature: Being, they say, 'is joined to 1 See Weber, loc. cit. 8. 2 The development of this commenting literature has been studied by E. Leumann, ZDMG xlvi. [1892) 585 ff. 3 The Skr. text with a German tr. and explanation has been published by the present writer in ZDMG lx. [1906] 287 ff., 512 ff.; text and bhāṣya are contained in the Bibl. Ind. edition (Calcutta, 1905). 4 Edited by Hiräläla Haṁsarāja, 3 vols., Jāmnagar, 1910. production, continuation, and destruction.'1 This theory they call the theory of the 'Indefiniteness of Being' (anekantavāda); it comes to this: existing things are permanent only as regards their substance, but their accidents or qualities originate and perish. To explain: any material thing continues for ever to exist as matter; this matter, however, may assume any shape and quality. Thus, clay as substance may be regarded as permanent, but the form of a jar of clay, or its colour, may come into existence and perish. It is clear that the Brahmanical speculations are concerned with transcendental Being, while the Jain view deals with Being as given in common experience. The doctrine of the Indefiniteness of Being is upheld by a very strange dialectical method called Syadvāda, to which the Jains attach so much importance that this name frequently is used as a synonym for the Jain system itself. According to this doctrine of Syadvāda, there are 7 forms of metaphysical propositions, and all contain the word syat, e. g. syād asti sarvaṁ, syād nāsti sarvaṁ. Syat means may be,' and is explained by kathamchit, which in this connexion may be translated 'somehow.' The word syat here qualifies the word asti, and indicates the Indefiniteness of Being (or astitvam). For example, we say a jar is somehow, i.e. it exists, if we mean thereby that it exists as a jar; but it does not exist somehow if we mean that it exists as a cloth or the like. The purpose of these seeming truisms is to guard against the assumption of the Vedantins that Being is one without a second, the same in all things. Thus we have the correlative predicates is' (asti) and is not' (nāsti). A third predicate is 'inexpressible' (avaktavya); for existent and non-existent (sat and asat) belong to the same thing at the same time, and such a co-existence of mutually contradictory attributes cannot be expressed by any word in the language. The three predicates variously combined make up the 7 propositions, or sapta bhangas, of the Syadvāda. Supplementary to the doctrine of the Syādvāda, and, in a way, the logical complement to it, is the doctrine of the nayas. The nayas are ways of expressing the nature of things: all these ways of judgment, according to the Jains, are one-sided, and they contain but a part of the truth. There are 7 nayas, 4 referring to concepts, and 3 to words. The reason for this variety of statement is that Being is not simple, as the Vedantins contend, but is of a complicated nature; therefore every statement and every denotation of a thing is necessarily incomplete and one-sided; and, if we follow one way only of expression or of viewing things, we are bound to go astray. Hence it is usual in explaining notions to state what the thing under discussion is with reference to substance, place, time, and state of being. (b) Metaphysics. All things, i.e. substances (dravya), are divided into lifeless things (ajivakaya) and lives or souls (jiva). The former are again divided into (1) space (ākāśa); (2) and (3) two subtle substances called dharma and adharma, and (4) matter (pudgala). Space, dharma, and adharma are the necessary conditions for the subsistence of all other things, viz. souls and matter; space affords them room to subsist; dharma makes it possible for them to move or to be moved; and adharma, to rest. It will be seen that the function of space, as we conceive it, is by the Jains distributed among three different substances; this seems highly speculative, and rather hyperlogical. But the conception of the two cosmical substances 1 See H. Jacobi, 'The Metaphysics and Ethics of the Jainas, in Trans. of the Congress for the Hist. of Religion, Oxford, 1908, ii. 60. 2 Ib. 61. dharma and adharma, which occur already, in the technical meaning just given, in canonical books, seems to be developed from a more primitive notion. For, as their names dharma and adharma indicate, they seem to have denoted, in primitive specula tion, those invisible 'fluids' which by contact cause sin and merit. The Jains, using for the latter notions the terms pāpa and punya, were free to use the current names of those fluids' in a new sense not known to other Indian thinkers. Space (ākāśa) is divided into that part of space which is occupied by the world of things (lokākāśa), and the space beyond it (alokākāsa), which is absolutely void and empty, an abyss of nothing. Dharma and adharma are co-extensive with the world; accordingly no soul nor any particle of matter can get beyond this world for want of the substrates of motion and rest. Time is recognized by some as a quasi-substance besides those enumerated. Matter (pudgala) is eternal and consists of atoms; otherwise it is not determined in its nature, but, as is already implied by the doctrine of the Indefiniteness of Being, it is something that may become anything, as earth, water, fire, wind, etc. Two states of matter are distinguished: gross matter, of which the things which we perceive consist, and subtle matter, which is beyond the reach of our senses. Subtle matter, for instance, is that matter which is transformed into the different kinds of karma (see below). All material things are ultimately produced by the combina tion of atoms. Two atoms form a compound when the one is viscous and the other dry, or both are of different degrees either of viscousness or dryness. Such compounds combine with others, and so on. They are, however, not constant in their nature, but are subject to change or development (pari ṇāma), which consists in the assumption of quali ties (gunas). In this way originate also the bodies and senses of living beings. The elements-earth, water, fire, and wind-are bodies of souls in the lowest stage of development, and are, therefore, spoken of as 'earth-bodies, water-bodies,' etc. Here we meet with animistic ideas which, in this form, are peculiar to Jainism. They probably go back to a remote period, and must have prevailed in classes of Indian society which were not influ enced by the more advanced ideas of the Brahmans. Different from matter and material things are the souls (jiva, lit. 'lives'). There is an infinite number of souls; the whole world is literally filled with them. The souls are substances, and as such eternal; but they are not of a definite size, since they contract or expand according to the dimensions of the body in which they are incorporated for the time being. Their characteristic mark is intelligence, which may be obscured by extrinsic causes, but never destroyed. Souls are of two kinds: mundane (saṁsärin), and liberated (mukta). Mundane souls are the embodied souls of living beings in the world and still subject to the Cycle of Birth; liberated souls will be embodied no more; they have accomplished absolute purity; they dwell in the state of perfec tion at the top of the universe, and have no more to do with worldly affairs; they have reached nirvāņa (nirvṛti, or mukti). Metaphysically the difference between the mundane and the liberated soul consists in this, that the former is entirely filled by subtle matter, as a bag is filled with sand, while the latter is absolutely pure and free from any material alloy. The defilement of the soul takes place in the following way. Subtle matter ready to be trans formed into karma pours into the soul; this is called 'influx' (asrava). In the usual state of things a soul harbours passions (kaṣāya) which act like a viscous substance and retain the subtle class of one-organed lives are plants; of some plants each is the body of one soul only, but of other plants each is an aggregation of embodied souls which have all functions of life, as respiration and nutrition, in common. That plants possess souls is an opinion shared by other Indian philosophers. But the Jains have developed this theory in a remarkable way. Plants in which only one soul is embodied are always gross; they exist in the habitable part of the world only. But those plants of which each is a colony of plant-lives may also be subtle, i.e. invisible, and in that case they are distributed all over the posed of an infinite number of souls forming a very small world. These subtle plants are called nigoda; they are com cluster, have respiration and nutrition in common, and experi ence the most exquisite pains. Innumerable nigodas form a globule, and with them the whole space of the world is closely supply of souls in place of those who have reached nirvāṇa. packed, like a box filled with powder. The nigodas furnish the sufficed to replace the vacancy caused in the world by the nirvana of all the souls that have been liberated from the beginningless past down to the present. Thus it is evident that the samsara will never be empty of living beings (see Lokaprakāša, vi. 31 ff.). matter coming into contact with the soul; the subtle matter thus caught by the soul enters, as it were, into a chemical combination with it; this is called the binding (bandha) (of karma-matter). The subtle matter bound' or amalgamated by the soul is transformed into the 8 kinds of karma, and forms a kind of subtle body (kārmaṇaśarira) which clings to the soul in all its migrations and future births, and determines the individual state and lot of that particular soul. For, as each particular karma has been caused by some action, good, bad, or indifferent, of the individual being in question, so this karma, in its turn, produces certain painful, or pleasant, or indifferent condi-But an infinitesimally small fraction of one single nigoda has tions and events which the individual in question must undergo. Now, when a particular karma has produced its effect in the way described, it (ie. the particular karma-matter) is discharged or purged from the soul. This process of ' 'purging off' is called nirjara. When this process goes on without interruption, all karma-matter will, in the end, be discharged from the soul; and the latter, now freed from the weight which had kept it down before the time of its liberation (for matter is heavy, and karma is material), goes up in a straight line to the top of the universe where the liberated souls dwell. But in the usual course of things the purging and binding processes go on simultaneously, and thereby the soul is forced to continue its mundane existence. After the death of an individual, his soul, together with its karmanasarira, goes, in a few moments, to the place of its new birth and there assumes a new body, expanding or contracting in accordance with the dimensions of the latter. Embodied souls are living beings, the classification of which is a subject not only of theoretical but also of great practical interest to the Jains. As their highest duty (parama dharma) is not to kill any living beings (ahimsa), it becomes incumbent on them to know the various forms which life may assume. The Jains divide living beings according to the number of sense-organs which they possess: the highest (pañchendriya) possess all five organs, viz. those of touch, taste, smell, sight, and hearing, while the lowest (ekendriya) have only the organ of touch, and the remaining classes each one organ more than the preceding one in the order of organs given above; e.g. worms, etc., possess the organs of touch and taste; ants, etc., possess, in addition, smell; bees, etc., seeing. The vertebrates possess all five organs of sense; the higher animals, men, denizens of hell, and gods possess an internal organ or mind (manas), and are therefore called rational (samjñin), while the lower animals have no mind (asamjñin). The notions of the Jains about beings with only one organ are, in part, peculiar to themselves and call for a more detailed notice. It has already been stated that the four elements are ani: mated by souls; i.e., particles of earth, etc., are the body of souls, called earth-lives, etc. These we may call elementary lives; they live and die and are born again, in the same or another elementary body. These elementary lives are either gross or subtle; in the latter case they are invisible. The last 1 The Jains recognize 5 bodies which an individual may possess (though not all simultaneously), one gross and 4 subtle ones. Besides the karmanasarira, which is the receptacle of karma and has no bodily functions, there are (1) the transmutation body (vaikriyasarira), producing the wonderful appearances which gods, magicians, etc., may assume; (2) the translocation body (aharakasarira), which certain sages may assume for a short time in order to consult a Tirthakara at some distance; (3) the igneous body (taijasasarira), which in common beings causes the digestion of food, but in persons of merit gives effect to their curses (that they burn their objects) and to their benedictions (that they gladden as the rays of the moon), etc. This doctrine of the subtle bodies, in which, however, many details are subject to controversy, seems to be the outcome of very primitive ideas about magic, etc., which the Jains attempted to reduce to a rational theory. With the terms vaikriya. and taijasasarira may be compared the vaikarika and taijasa ahamkara of the Sankhyas. From another point of view mundane beings are divided into four grades: denizens of hell, animals, men, and gods; these are the four walks of life (gati), in which beings are born according to their merits or demerits. For details, see artt. DEMONS AND SPIRITS (Jain), vol. iv. p. 608 ff., COSMOGONY AND COSMOLOGY (Indian), § 4, vol. iv. p. 160 f., and AGES OF THE WORLD (Indian), vol. i. p. 200. We have seen that the cause of the soul's embodiment is the presence in it of karma-matter. The theory of karma is the key-stone of the Jain system; it is necessary, therefore, to explain this theory in more detail. The natural qualities of soul are perfect knowledge (jñāna), intuition or faith (darśana), highest bliss, and all sorts of perfections; but these inborn qualities of the soul are weakened or obscured, in mundane souls, by the presence of karma. From this point of view the division of karma will be understood. When karma-matter has penetrated the soul, it is transformed into 8 kinds (prakṛti) of karma singly or severally, which form the kārmaṇaśarīra, just as food is, by digestion, transformed into the various fluids necessary for the support and growth of the body. The 8 kinds of karma are as follows. knowledge (i.e. omniscience) of the soul and thereby produces different degrees of knowledge and of ignorance;1 (2) darsana. varaniya, that which obscures right intuition, e.g. sleep; (3) vedaniya, that which obscures the bliss-nature of the soul and thereby produces pleasure and pain; (4) mohaniya, that which disturbs the right attitude of the soul with regard to faith, conduct, passions, and other emotions, and produces doubt, error, right or wrong conduct, passions, and various mental states. The following 4 kinds of karma concern more the individual status of a being: (5) ayuşka, that which determines the length of life of an individual in one birth as hell-being, animal, man, or god; (6) nama, that which produces the various circumstances or elements which collectively make up an individual (1) Jñlānāvaraniya, that which obscures the inborn right existence, e.g. the peculiar body with its general and special qualities, faculties, etc.; (7) gotra, that which determines the nationality, caste, family, social standing, etc., of an individual; (8) antaraya, that which obstructs the inborn energy of the soul and thereby prevents the doing of a good action when there is a desire to do it. time within which it must take effect and thereby Each kind of karma has its predestined limits in be purged off. Before we deal with the operation of karma, however, we must mention another doctrine which is connected with the karma-theory, viz. that of the six lesyās. The totality of karma amalgamated by a soul induces on it a transcendental colour, a kind of complexion, which cannot be perceived by our eyes; and this is called lesyā. There are six lesyas: black, blue, grey; yellow, red, and white. They have also, and prominently, a moral bearing; for the lesya indicates the character of the individual who owns it. The first three belong to bad characters, the last three to good characters.2 1 The Jains acknowledge five kinds of knowledge: (1) ordinary cognition (mati), (2) testimony (śruta), (3) supernatural cognition (avadhi), (4) direct knowledge of the thoughts of others (manaḥparyaya), (5) omniscience (kevala). 2 The belief in colours of the soul seems to be very old and to go back to the time when expressions like a black soul,' 'a The individual state of the soul is produced by its inborn nature and the karma with which it is vitiated; this is the developmental or pārināmika state. But there are 4 other states which have reference only to the behaviour of the karma. In the common course of things karma takes effect and produces its proper results; then the soul is in the audayika state. By proper efforts karma may be prevented, for some time, from taking effect; it is neutralized (upasamita), but it is still present, just like fire covered by ashes; then the soul is in the aupasamika state. When karma is not only prevented from operating, but is annihilated altogether (kṣapita), then the soul is in the kṣayika state, which is necessary for reaching nirvana. There is a fourth state of the soul, kṣayopaśamika, which partakes of the nature of the preceding ones; in this state some karma is annihilated, some is neutralized, and some is active. This is the state of ordinary good men, but the kṣāyika and aupasamika states belong to holy men, especially the former. It will be easily understood that these distinctions have an important moral bearing; they are constantly referred to in the prac-bhogaparimāṇa; he may set a measure to his food, tical ethics of the Jains. We shall now consider the application of the karma-theory to ethics. The highest goal is to get rid of all karma (nirjarā) and meanwhile to acquire no new karma-technically speaking, to stop the influx (asrava) of karma, which is called samvara, or the covering of the channels through which karma finds entrance into the soul. All actions produce karma, and in the majority of cases entail on the doer continuance of worldly existence (sāmparāyika); but, when a man is free from passions and acts in strict compliance with the rules of right conduct, his actions produce karma which lasts but for a moment and is then annihilated (iryapatha). Therefore the whole apparatus of monastic conduct is required to prevent the formation of new karma; the same purpose is served by austerities (tapas), which, moreover, annihilate the old karma more speedily than would happen in the common course of things. It is evident from the preceding remarks that the ethics and ascetics of the Jains are to be regarded as the logical consequence of the theory of karma. But from a historical point of view many of their ethical principles, monastic institutions, and ascetic practices have been inherited from older religious classes of Indian society, since Brahmanical ascetics and Buddhists resemble them in many of their precepts and institutions (see SBE xxii. [1884] Introd., p. xxii ff.). ii. Jain ethics has for its end the realization of nirvāṇa, or mokṣa. The necessary condition for reaching this end is the possession of right faith, right knowledge, and right conduct. These three excellences are metaphorically named the three jewels' (triratna), an expression used also by the Buddhist but in a different sense; they are not produced, but they are manifested on the removal of obstructing or obscuring species of karma. To effect this, the rules of conduct must be observed and corresponding virtues must be acquired. Of first importance are the five vows, the first four of which are also acknowledged by Brahmans and Buddhists. The five vows (vratas) of the Jains are: (1) not to kill; (2) not to lie; (3) not to steal; (4) to abstain from sexual intercourse; (5) to renounce all interest in worldly things, especially to keep no property. These vows are to be strictly observed by monks, who take them on entering the Order, or, as it is commonly expressed, on taking dikṣā. In their case the vows are called bright soul,' were understood in a literal sense. Traces of a similar belief have also been found elsewhere (see Mahabharata, xii. 280. 33 f., 291. 4 ff.; cf. Yogasūtra, iv. 7). the five great vows (mahāvrata). Lay people, however, should observe these vows so far as their conditions admit; the five vows of the lay people are called the small vows (aṇuvrata). To explain: not to kill any living beings requires the greatest caution in all actions, considering that nearly everything is believed to be endowed with life. Endless rules have been laid down for monks which aim at preventing the destruction of the life of any living beings whatever. But if a layman were to observe these rules he could not go about his business; he is, therefore, obliged to refrain only from intentionally killing living beings, be it for food, pleasure, gain, or any such purpose. And so it is also with the remaining vows; their rigour is somewhat abated in the case of laymen. A layman, however, may, for a limited time, follow a more rigorous practice by taking one of the following particular vows or regulations of conduct (silavrata): (1) digvirati; he may limit the distance up to which he will go in this or that direction; (2) anarthadandavirati; he may abstain from engaging in anything that does not strictly concern him; (3) upabhogapari drink, and the things he enjoys, avoiding besides gross enjoyments. (It may be mentioned in passing that certain articles of food, etc., are strictly forbidden to all, monks and laymen alike, e.g. roots, honey, and spirits; and likewise no food may be eaten at night.) The preceding three vows are called gunavrata; the next four are the disciplinary vows (šikṣāvrata): (4) deśavirata, reducing the area in which one will move; (5) sāmāyika; by this vow the layman undertakes to give up, at stated times, all sinful actions by sitting down motionless and meditating on holy things; (6) pauṣadhopavāsa, to live as a monk on the 8th, 14th, or 15th day of the lunar fortnight, at least once a month: (7) atithisaṁvibhāga, lit. to give a share to guests, but it is understood in a less literal sense, viz. to provide the monks with what they want. Most of these regulations of conduct for lay men are intended apparently to make them participate, in a measure and for some time, in the merits and benefits of monastic life without obliging them to renounce the world altogether. The rules for a voluntary death have a similar end in view (see art. DEATH AND DISPOSAL OF THE DEAD [Jain], vol. iv. p. 484 f.). It is evident that the lay part of the community were not regarded as outsiders, or only as friends and patrons of the Order, as seems to have been the case in early Buddhism; their position was, from the beginning, well defined by religious duties and privileges; the bond which united them to the Order of monks was an effective one. The state of a layman was one preliminary and, in many cases, preparatory to the state of a monk; in the latter respect, however, a change seems to have come about, in so far as now and for some time past the Order of monks is recruited chiefly from novices entering it at an early age, not from laymen in general. It cannot be doubted that this close union between laymen and monks brought about by the similarity of their religious duties, differing not in kind, but in degree, has enabled Jainism to avoid fundamental changes within, and to resist dangers from without for more than two thousand years, while Buddhism, being less exacting as regards the laymen, underwent the most extraordinary evolutions and finally disappeared altogether in the country of its origin. A monk on entering the Order takes the five great vows stated above; if they are strictly kept, in the spirit of the five times five clauses, or bhāvanās (SBE xxii. 202 ff.), no new karma can form. But, to practise them effectually, more explicit regulations are required, and these constitute the discipline of the monks. This discipline is described under seven heads. (1) Since through the activity of body, speech, and mind, which is technically called yoga by the Jains, karma-matter pours into the soul (asrava) and forms new karma, as explained above, it is necessary, in order to prevent the asrava (or to effect samvara), to regulate those activities by keeping body, speech, and mind in strict control: these are the three guptis (e.g., the gupti or guarding of the mind consists in not thinking or desiring anything bad; having only good thoughts, etc.). (2) Even in those actions which are inseparable from the duties of a monk, he may become guilty of sin by inadvertently transgressing the great vows (e.g., killing living beings). To avoid such sins he must observe the five samitis, i.e. he must be cautious in walking, speaking, collecting alms, taking up or putting down things, and voiding the body; e.g., a monk should in walking look before him for about six feet of ground to avoid killing or hurting any living being; he should, for the same reason, inspect and sweep the ground before he puts anything on it; he should be careful not to eat anything considered to possess life,1 etc. (3) Passion being the cause of the amalgamation of karma-matter with the soul, the monk should acquire virtues. The 4 cardinal vices (kaşaya) are anger, pride, illusion, and greed; their opposite virtues are forbearance, indulgence, straightforwardness, and purity. Adding to them the follow. ing 6 virtues, veracity, restraint, austerities, freedom from attachment to anything, poverty, and chastity, we have what is called the tenfold highest law of the monks (uttamadharma). (4) Helpful for the realization of the sanctity of which an earnest searcher of the highest good stands in need are the 12 reflexions (anuprekṣa or bhāvanā) on the transitoriness of all things, on the helplessness of men, on the misery of the world, and similar topics, which form the subject of endless homilies inserted in their works by Jain authors. (5) Furthermore, it is necessary for a monk, in order to keep in the right path to perfection and to annihilate his karma, to bear cheerfully with all that may cause him trouble or annoyance. There are 22 such 'troubles' (parişaha) which a monk must endure without flinching, as hunger and thirst, cold and heat, all sorts of trying occurrences, illness, ill treatment, emotions, etc. If we consider that the conduct of the monk is regulated with the purpose of denying him every form of comfort and merely keeping him alive, without, however, the risk of hurting any living beings, it may be imagined to what practical consequences the endurance of the parişahas must lead. (6) Conduct (charitra) consists in control and is of 5 degrees or phases. In the lowest phase all sinful activities are avoided, and the highest leads to the annihilation of all karma, preliminary to final liberation. (7) The last item is asceticism or austerities (tapas), which not only prevents the forming of new karma (samvara) but also purges off the old (nirjarā), provided that it be undertaken in the right way and with the right intention; for there are also the 'austerities of fools' (balatapas) practised by other religious sects, through which temporary merits, such as supernatural powers, birth as a god, etc., can be accomplished but the highest good will never be attained. Tapas is, therefore, one of the most important institutions of Jainism. It is divided into (a) external and (b) internal tapas; the former comprises the austerities practised by the Jains, the latter their spiritual exercises. (a) Among austerities fasting is the most conspicuous; the 1 The second part of the Acharanga sutra will give an idea of the cautions to be taken in this regard. 2 Cf. Manu, vi. 92. Jains have developed it to a kind of art, and reach a remarkable proficiency in it. The usual way of fasting is to eat only one meal every second, third, fourth day, and so on down to half a year. Another form of fasting is starving oneself to death (māranantiki samlekhanā; see Voluntary death or euthanasia' in the art. DEATH AND DISPOSAL OF THE DEAD (Jain]). Other kinds of abstinence are distinguished from fasting properly so called: reduction of the quantity of the daily food; restrictions as regards the kind of food selected from what one has obtained by begging (for monks and nuns must, of course, beg their daily meal and must not eat what has been specially prepared for them); rejection of all attractive food. To the category of external austerities belong also sitting in secluded spots to meditate there and the postures taken up during meditation. The latter item Jain ascetics have in common with Brahmanical Yoga. (b) Internal austerities embrace all that belongs to spiritual discipline, including contemplation-e.g., confessing and repenting of sins. Transgressions of the rules of conduct are daily expiated by the ceremony of pratikramana; greater sins must be confessed to a superior (alochana) and repented of. The usual penance in less serious cases is to stand erect in a certain position for a given time (kāyotsarga); but for graver transgressions the superior prescribes other penances-in the worst cases a new ordination of the guilty monk. Other kinds of internal austerities consist in modest behaviour, in doing services to other members of the Order or laymen, in the duty of studying, in overcoming all temptations. But the most important of all spiritual exercises is contemplation (dhyāna). Contemplation consists in the concentration of the mind on one object; it cannot be persevered in for longer than one muhurta (48 minutes), and is permitted only to persons of a sound constitution. According to the object on which the thoughts are concentrated and the purpose for which this is done, contemplation may be bad or good, and will lead to corresponding results. We are here concerned only with good contemplation, which is either religious (dharma), or pure or bright (sukla). The former leads to the intuitive cognition of things hidden to common mortals, especially of religious truths. Indeed, it cannot be doubted that the pretended accuracy of information on all sorts of subjects, such as cosmography, astronomy, geography, spiritual processes, etc., which the sacred books and later treatises contain is in great part due to the intuition which the 'religious contemplation' is imagined to produce. Higher than the latter is the 'pure' contemplation, which leads through four stages to final emancipation: first, single objects are meditated upon, then only one object; then there is the stage when the activities of the body, speech, and mind continue, but only in a subtle form without relapse. At this stage, when the worldly existence rapidly draws towards its end, the remaining karma may be suddenly consumed by a kind of explosion called samudghāta. Then, in the last stage of contemplation, all karma being annihilated and all activities having ceased, the soul leaves the body and goes up to the top of the universe, where the liberated souls stay for ever. It must, however, be remarked that 'pure contemplation' is not by itself a means of reaching liberation, but that it is the last link of a long chain of preparatory exertions. Even its first two stages can be realized only by those in whom the passions (kaṣāya) are either neutralized or annihilated; and only kevalins, i.e. those who have already reached omniscience, can enter into the last two stages, which lead directly to liberation. On the other hand, the nirvana is necessarily preceded by 12 years of |