Religion In Early South Asia Essay
religions in early South Asia?
Tapas, or asceticism, which is how I will refer to it throughout this essay, is the practice of leading an austere lifestyle. Ascetics first renounce all their worldly goods, including family and possessions and instead live a life of wandering and hardship, for example, fasting, enduring physical hardships and gleaning or foraging for food. It is the belief of the ascetic that by doing this, they will achieve moksa, or liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth. Out of the three main religions of South Asia, Jains and Hindus observe the practice of asceticism whist Buddhists do not.
In this essay I will endeavour to explain the practice of asceticism within these religions and ascertain why in Jainism, asceticism is so distinct. …show more content…
Jainism is a religion which originated in northern India at approximately the same time as Buddhism, around the sixth century BCE, ‘before common era’, although this has never been corroborated. It emerged toward the end of a time of great social conversion, in which many people reacted against the hierarchical tradition and formal rituals of Hinduism. This period is usually referred to as the Vedic period, during which there was the materialisation of city states and a creation of surplus wealth.
Although the origins of Jainism are disputed, what is known is that the religion was named after the jinas, or ‘conquerors’ the name given to the twenty four distinguished teachers, tirthankaras, or ‘ford makers’ through whom their religion was formed. (patheos.com)
Mahavira, the final tirthankara, is considered to be the founder of Jainism and he is traditionally believed to have lived from 599 to 527 BCE although some scholars have suggested he was a contemporary of the Buddha and believe he lived in the fifth century BCE. Parsva, the twenty third tirthankara also features prominently in the foundations of Jainism. It is believed that Parsva and his followers had formed a small Jain community in the seventh century BCE, based on the renunciation of the world. (Jainworld.com)
Mahavira is said at the age of thirty, to renounce all his worldly belongings and become a wandering naked ascetic, unlike Parsva, who remained clothed, and throughout his thirteen years of wandering he acquired eleven converts, all former Brahmin, who became his disciples. Mahavira is said to have fasted himself to death, a practice called salekhana, at Pavapure, India. Before he died, he established a monastic community of fourteen thousand Monks and thirty six thousand Nuns, all of whom followed the example set by Mahavira, and renounced all their possessions to become ascetics.
These ascetics were required to take the Five Great Vows. The first of which required that the Monk or Nun ‘rejects the act of killing any life forms whatsoever’, in the second the ascetic is to ‘refrain from lying’, the third demands that the Monastic ‘not take what has not been given’, the forth states that the ascetic ‘refrains from sexual activity’ and the fifth Vow entails the ‘renunciation of any attachment’. A further sixth Vow was added to the list. It demanded that the devotee ‘not eat after dark’. (Dundas, P 2002)
Whilst it was imperative for the Monastics to adhere to the Five Great Vows, it was also understood that not everyone wished to renounce at a young age, or indeed, could renounce so a further five vows were put in place in order for the Lay Community to still lead a Jain lifestyle whilst not leading an ascetic life. These Five Lesser Vows were, ‘to avoid pointless destruction of life forms’, a vow of ‘truth’, ‘non theft’, ‘chastity, with the intention of partaking in sexual activities with the purpose of procreation’ and lastly, ‘to restrict one’s possessions, live a simple life and dispose of any surplus money by religious giving’. A further three ‘subsidiary vows’ which augmented the Lesser Vows concerned the restriction of unnecessary travelling to restrict the destruction of other life forms, the evasion of extreme enjoyment of possessions and the desertion of harmful forms of activity, for example, tedium or decadent practices. (Dundas 2002)
It is imperative that all Jains lead strict vegetarian diets, in some extreme cases, Jains will have a vegan diet. Jains believe everything has a soul, vegetables included, so only certain vegetables can be eaten. Root vegetables such as garlic or onions are to be avoided as to eat them kills the whole plant whereas apples, berries or anything that grows on the plant is fine as eating the fruit from the tree does not kill the tree.
It was at this time a schism appeared within the religion which many scholars believe to be attributed to the differences between the views of Mahavira and Parsva and it was concerned with the question ‘can one achieve omniscience without giving up clothing?’ The religion split into two sects, the Digambaras (sky clad) and the Svetambaras (white clad). The former chose not to wear clothes and believed that liberation was not possible without the renunciation of everything, clothes included, whereas the latter wore white robes and believed it to be possible to attain omniscience whilst still clothed.
This split also questioned women’s ability to attain liberation, the Digambaras believe that since it is impossible for a woman to remain naked, it is therefore impossible for her to truly be an ascetic, whilst the Svetambaras believe it is not necessary to be naked to be a renouncer and therefore women could achieve liberation.
Another reason it is believed that women cannot be full ascetics, is that they cannot possibly adhere to the first Great Vow, and the fundamental tenet of Jainism, the idea that one must never harm any life forms. By the very nature of their bodies, Digambaras believe women to be himsic (harmful) it is believed women cannot help but harm the life forms which live under the breasts. They believe that menstrual blood also kills micro-organisms and that a woman’s tie to her family means that she cannot possibly renounce everything.
Jains also believe that asceticism is necessary to achieve samvara or the act of ‘stopping the influx of karmic matter into the soul’. Asceticism is regarded as an essential act by which they can achieve nirjara or ‘the shedding of karmic matter from the soul’ which is necessary for the attainment of moksa.
There are eight types of karma according to Jains, four of which are harmful and four are neutral. The four harmful ones are ‘perception-obscuring, obstacle-obscuring, knowledge-obscuring and deluding’ and the four neutral are those which ‘determine the body, lifespan, status and feeling’.
According to the Jain scriptures, there are twelve types of austerities, Bahya tapa, or external austerities and Abhyantara tapa, or internal austerities. The six external austerities are; ‘periodical fasting, eating less than the capacity of the stomach, putting restrictions in regard to food, daily renunciation of one or more out of six food types (viz, ghee, milk, curds, sugar, salt and oil), sitting or sleeping in isolation and mortification of the body’. The six internal austerities are; ‘expiation, reverence, service of the saints or worthy people, study, concentration of mind and giving up attachment to the body’. These external and internal austerities are undertaken with the intention of ridding the soul of any karmic impurities. These are usually practiced by ascetics but householders have been known to practice them to the best of their abilities. (jainworld.com)
With regard to asceticism in other religions at that time, Jainism is the only one in which it is believed that women cannot become ascetics and attain liberation. In Buddhism, a contemporary of
Jainism, asceticism is thought to be pointless and futile. It was believed that before the Buddha appeared in the world, there were two practices in which people could partake, the practice of asceticism or the practice of over indulgence. It has been suggested that the historical Buddha rejected those paths and claimed there was only one path to follow, the middle path which would lead to the ‘development of wisdom and the right knowledge of reality’. Buddha allegedly tried the ascetic lifestyle but did not believe it lead to enlightenment. (dhammadana.org)
In Hinduism, asceticism is usually regarded as something one practices at the end of their lives although this is not always the case.
Hindu followers live their lives according to the asrama system, whereby there are four stages to one’s life; Student, householder, forest-dweller and finally, ascetic.
It is important to remember that Hinduism, unlike Jainism and Buddhism, adheres to a strict Caste system and Hindu’s live their lives depending upon into which Caste they were born.
Dharma, the set of rules by which people live their lives, law, duty, religion, propriety, morality, justice to name a few for example, ‘it is a woman’s Dharma to serve her husband’, ‘or it is the sun’s Dharma to shine’, and varnas, the four different Castes of Hinduism, brahmana (Brahmin, priests or holy men), ksatriya (warrior, wealthy land owner), vaisya (skilled workers) and Sudra (workers) dictate how one lives one’s life.
There are different dharmas depending from which Varna and asrama one comes. However, all Hindu’s adhere to the sadharana dharma, or universal dharma which is the term used for honesty, non-harm or the fundamental rules of life.
Hindus, like Jains, believe the key to liberation is renunciation and that austerities lead to ‘great worldly power’, including the capability to enter Heaven. It is their belief that once one reaches the stage of householder and has made enough money and has fathered or given birth to a son, he or she then retreats to the forest to become a forest dweller where they renounce, giving up family, possessions, sex, social order to lead an austere lifestyle.
It is believed that only people who follow an ascetic lifestyle can achieve
moksa.
So on the subject of the question posed in the title of this essay, ‘In what ways is the role of asceticism in Jain religious practice distinct from that of other religions in early south Asia?’ I will endeavour to answer it with the following conclusions:
The name Jainism itself implies asceticism as it is derived from the word ‘Jaina’, meaning defeating the senses. By its definition, the followers of the religion are required to lead an austere life. Samyana, or the art of self-restraint is the very basis for Jain asceticism and by comparison, the other main religions lead a relatively opulent lifestyle, choosing to become ascetics if and when they want to. The role of women ascetics in Jainism sets it apart from the other religions too with the digambara and svetambara split making it impossible for some women followers to become ascetics and achieve liberation.
The Jain interpretation of karma and how it affects lives is distinct too, with Jains believing that only an ascetic lifestyle can cleanse the soul of bad karma whereas the other two main religions, Hinduism and Buddhism believe that karma can be controlled through other means.
By comparison, asceticism in Jainism is regarded as something which must be undertaken in order to lead a pure life. Even for Jain laypeople, austerity is regarded as something fundamental to their religion which, if not adhered to will have a negative impact on their future.
References
Author unknown http://www.patheos.com/Library/Jainism.html (Accessed 30th October 2013)
Author unknown Jainism http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/jainism/ (Accessed 27th October 2013)
Author unknown Jainism Global Resource Centre http://www.jainworld.com/jainbooks/asceticism/ch16.asp (Accessed 30th October 2013)
Author unknown The 13 ascetic practices http://en.dhammadana.org/sangha/dhutanga.htm (Accessed 31st October 2013)
Dundas, P: 2002 The Jains 2nd edition
London and New York: Routledge
Flood, G: 1996 An Introduction to Hinduism
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Tapas, or asceticism, which is how I will refer to it throughout this essay, is the practice of leading an austere lifestyle. Ascetics first renounce all their worldly goods, including family and possessions and instead live a life of wandering and hardship, for example, fasting, enduring physical hardships and gleaning or foraging for food. It is the belief of the ascetic that by doing this, they will achieve moksa, or liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth. Out of the three main religions of South Asia, Jains and Hindus observe the practice of asceticism whist Buddhists do not.
In this essay I will endeavour to explain the practice of asceticism within these religions and ascertain why in Jainism, asceticism is so distinct. …show more content…
Jainism is a religion which originated in northern India at approximately the same time as Buddhism, around the sixth century BCE, ‘before common era’, although this has never been corroborated. It emerged toward the end of a time of great social conversion, in which many people reacted against the hierarchical tradition and formal rituals of Hinduism. This period is usually referred to as the Vedic period, during which there was the materialisation of city states and a creation of surplus wealth.
Although the origins of Jainism are disputed, what is known is that the religion was named after the jinas, or ‘conquerors’ the name given to the twenty four distinguished teachers, tirthankaras, or ‘ford makers’ through whom their religion was formed. (patheos.com)
Mahavira, the final tirthankara, is considered to be the founder of Jainism and he is traditionally believed to have lived from 599 to 527 BCE although some scholars have suggested he was a contemporary of the Buddha and believe he lived in the fifth century BCE. Parsva, the twenty third tirthankara also features prominently in the foundations of Jainism. It is believed that Parsva and his followers had formed a small Jain community in the seventh century BCE, based on the renunciation of the world. (Jainworld.com)
Mahavira is said at the age of thirty, to renounce all his worldly belongings and become a wandering naked ascetic, unlike Parsva, who remained clothed, and throughout his thirteen years of wandering he acquired eleven converts, all former Brahmin, who became his disciples. Mahavira is said to have fasted himself to death, a practice called salekhana, at Pavapure, India. Before he died, he established a monastic community of fourteen thousand Monks and thirty six thousand Nuns, all of whom followed the example set by Mahavira, and renounced all their possessions to become ascetics.
These ascetics were required to take the Five Great Vows. The first of which required that the Monk or Nun ‘rejects the act of killing any life forms whatsoever’, in the second the ascetic is to ‘refrain from lying’, the third demands that the Monastic ‘not take what has not been given’, the forth states that the ascetic ‘refrains from sexual activity’ and the fifth Vow entails the ‘renunciation of any attachment’. A further sixth Vow was added to the list. It demanded that the devotee ‘not eat after dark’. (Dundas, P 2002)
Whilst it was imperative for the Monastics to adhere to the Five Great Vows, it was also understood that not everyone wished to renounce at a young age, or indeed, could renounce so a further five vows were put in place in order for the Lay Community to still lead a Jain lifestyle whilst not leading an ascetic life. These Five Lesser Vows were, ‘to avoid pointless destruction of life forms’, a vow of ‘truth’, ‘non theft’, ‘chastity, with the intention of partaking in sexual activities with the purpose of procreation’ and lastly, ‘to restrict one’s possessions, live a simple life and dispose of any surplus money by religious giving’. A further three ‘subsidiary vows’ which augmented the Lesser Vows concerned the restriction of unnecessary travelling to restrict the destruction of other life forms, the evasion of extreme enjoyment of possessions and the desertion of harmful forms of activity, for example, tedium or decadent practices. (Dundas 2002)
It is imperative that all Jains lead strict vegetarian diets, in some extreme cases, Jains will have a vegan diet. Jains believe everything has a soul, vegetables included, so only certain vegetables can be eaten. Root vegetables such as garlic or onions are to be avoided as to eat them kills the whole plant whereas apples, berries or anything that grows on the plant is fine as eating the fruit from the tree does not kill the tree.
It was at this time a schism appeared within the religion which many scholars believe to be attributed to the differences between the views of Mahavira and Parsva and it was concerned with the question ‘can one achieve omniscience without giving up clothing?’ The religion split into two sects, the Digambaras (sky clad) and the Svetambaras (white clad). The former chose not to wear clothes and believed that liberation was not possible without the renunciation of everything, clothes included, whereas the latter wore white robes and believed it to be possible to attain omniscience whilst still clothed.
This split also questioned women’s ability to attain liberation, the Digambaras believe that since it is impossible for a woman to remain naked, it is therefore impossible for her to truly be an ascetic, whilst the Svetambaras believe it is not necessary to be naked to be a renouncer and therefore women could achieve liberation.
Another reason it is believed that women cannot be full ascetics, is that they cannot possibly adhere to the first Great Vow, and the fundamental tenet of Jainism, the idea that one must never harm any life forms. By the very nature of their bodies, Digambaras believe women to be himsic (harmful) it is believed women cannot help but harm the life forms which live under the breasts. They believe that menstrual blood also kills micro-organisms and that a woman’s tie to her family means that she cannot possibly renounce everything.
Jains also believe that asceticism is necessary to achieve samvara or the act of ‘stopping the influx of karmic matter into the soul’. Asceticism is regarded as an essential act by which they can achieve nirjara or ‘the shedding of karmic matter from the soul’ which is necessary for the attainment of moksa.
There are eight types of karma according to Jains, four of which are harmful and four are neutral. The four harmful ones are ‘perception-obscuring, obstacle-obscuring, knowledge-obscuring and deluding’ and the four neutral are those which ‘determine the body, lifespan, status and feeling’.
According to the Jain scriptures, there are twelve types of austerities, Bahya tapa, or external austerities and Abhyantara tapa, or internal austerities. The six external austerities are; ‘periodical fasting, eating less than the capacity of the stomach, putting restrictions in regard to food, daily renunciation of one or more out of six food types (viz, ghee, milk, curds, sugar, salt and oil), sitting or sleeping in isolation and mortification of the body’. The six internal austerities are; ‘expiation, reverence, service of the saints or worthy people, study, concentration of mind and giving up attachment to the body’. These external and internal austerities are undertaken with the intention of ridding the soul of any karmic impurities. These are usually practiced by ascetics but householders have been known to practice them to the best of their abilities. (jainworld.com)
With regard to asceticism in other religions at that time, Jainism is the only one in which it is believed that women cannot become ascetics and attain liberation. In Buddhism, a contemporary of
Jainism, asceticism is thought to be pointless and futile. It was believed that before the Buddha appeared in the world, there were two practices in which people could partake, the practice of asceticism or the practice of over indulgence. It has been suggested that the historical Buddha rejected those paths and claimed there was only one path to follow, the middle path which would lead to the ‘development of wisdom and the right knowledge of reality’. Buddha allegedly tried the ascetic lifestyle but did not believe it lead to enlightenment. (dhammadana.org)
In Hinduism, asceticism is usually regarded as something one practices at the end of their lives although this is not always the case.
Hindu followers live their lives according to the asrama system, whereby there are four stages to one’s life; Student, householder, forest-dweller and finally, ascetic.
It is important to remember that Hinduism, unlike Jainism and Buddhism, adheres to a strict Caste system and Hindu’s live their lives depending upon into which Caste they were born.
Dharma, the set of rules by which people live their lives, law, duty, religion, propriety, morality, justice to name a few for example, ‘it is a woman’s Dharma to serve her husband’, ‘or it is the sun’s Dharma to shine’, and varnas, the four different Castes of Hinduism, brahmana (Brahmin, priests or holy men), ksatriya (warrior, wealthy land owner), vaisya (skilled workers) and Sudra (workers) dictate how one lives one’s life.
There are different dharmas depending from which Varna and asrama one comes. However, all Hindu’s adhere to the sadharana dharma, or universal dharma which is the term used for honesty, non-harm or the fundamental rules of life.
Hindus, like Jains, believe the key to liberation is renunciation and that austerities lead to ‘great worldly power’, including the capability to enter Heaven. It is their belief that once one reaches the stage of householder and has made enough money and has fathered or given birth to a son, he or she then retreats to the forest to become a forest dweller where they renounce, giving up family, possessions, sex, social order to lead an austere lifestyle.
It is believed that only people who follow an ascetic lifestyle can achieve
moksa.
So on the subject of the question posed in the title of this essay, ‘In what ways is the role of asceticism in Jain religious practice distinct from that of other religions in early south Asia?’ I will endeavour to answer it with the following conclusions:
The name Jainism itself implies asceticism as it is derived from the word ‘Jaina’, meaning defeating the senses. By its definition, the followers of the religion are required to lead an austere life. Samyana, or the art of self-restraint is the very basis for Jain asceticism and by comparison, the other main religions lead a relatively opulent lifestyle, choosing to become ascetics if and when they want to. The role of women ascetics in Jainism sets it apart from the other religions too with the digambara and svetambara split making it impossible for some women followers to become ascetics and achieve liberation.
The Jain interpretation of karma and how it affects lives is distinct too, with Jains believing that only an ascetic lifestyle can cleanse the soul of bad karma whereas the other two main religions, Hinduism and Buddhism believe that karma can be controlled through other means.
By comparison, asceticism in Jainism is regarded as something which must be undertaken in order to lead a pure life. Even for Jain laypeople, austerity is regarded as something fundamental to their religion which, if not adhered to will have a negative impact on their future.
References
Author unknown http://www.patheos.com/Library/Jainism.html (Accessed 30th October 2013)
Author unknown Jainism http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/jainism/ (Accessed 27th October 2013)
Author unknown Jainism Global Resource Centre http://www.jainworld.com/jainbooks/asceticism/ch16.asp (Accessed 30th October 2013)
Author unknown The 13 ascetic practices http://en.dhammadana.org/sangha/dhutanga.htm (Accessed 31st October 2013)
Dundas, P: 2002 The Jains 2nd edition
London and New York: Routledge
Flood, G: 1996 An Introduction to Hinduism
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press