3.4 Buddhist
and Jain Sanghas:
Both Buddha and Mahavira instituted the sanghas for
their followers which slowly gained significant importance in both religions.
In Jainism, sangha can mean the assembly of monks, nuns, lay men and women
(termed caturvidha sangha) of a region. It can also mean an order of monks and
nuns, along with its branches. In Buddhism, the sangha of monks and the sangha
of nuns were originally established by the Buddha in order to provide a means
for those who wish to practice the dharma full time in direct and highly
disciplined way, free from the restrictions and responsibilities of the
household life. He ordered his pupils to design the Buddhist Sangha on the
basis of the Lichchhavi santhagara sangha. The members of the sangha were known
as bhikkus (beggars) who had to lead a rigorous life devoid of all desires.
Their daily needs were limited to those items which were necessary for physical
survival. Their only possessions were a begging bowl, yellow colored loin cloth,
a walking stick and a pair of sandals if necessary. They were to sustain
themselves by the alms they received but were forbidden from expressly begging
for it. Alms were to be accepted only if given willingly and if not, the
bhikkus were to move on to the next house. In later period, these sanghas also
fulfilled the function of preserving the Buddha’s original teachings and of
providing spiritual support for the Buddhist lay-community. The Buddhist and
Jain sanghas were above the caste and creed of individuals.
Inclusion of Barber Upali in Buddhist Sangha:
The story of inclusion of barber Upali in Buddhist sangha is an important
part of history which throws light on the fact that how Buddha avoided
supremacy of caste overshadowing the members of sanghas. Nearly after 7 years
of his awakening, Buddha visited Kapilvastu on the invitation of his father.
His only son Rahul was then 7 years old. There he initiated Rahul for
pravajja and thus stopped his family chain there itself. He then went to Anupiya
town in Malla territory. There around hundred Shakya adults were waiting for
him to initiate pravajja for them. The Shakyans also brought their barber Upali
to take back the clothes and ornaments once the pravajja is over. Soon Upali
thought that if these high clan Shakyas can leave their home, then why not he.
So he requested Buddha to initiate his pravajja too. Buddha for a moment
thought that these Shakyas are proud of their race so if he initiates Upali
first, they will be forced to give respect to Upali. He, therefore, initiated
Upali first and thus within no time barber Upali became superior to many
Shakyans like Ananda, Bhadidya, Aniruddha, Bhirugu, Mimbil and Devdatta.
3.5 Followers
of Buddha and Mahavira
The stress of Buddha and Mahavira on nonviolence and abandoning the sacrifices
involving cattle, struck the chord with the agriculturist society of 5th
century BC that was heavily dependent on animals for agriculture and other
purpose in the absence of any other technique. Loss of bulls, cows and buffaloes
in masses in Vedic yajnas was equivalent to death penalty for agriculturist
human population. Since both sages voiced against it, they got huge followers
in society. Further, both sages were born towards the eastern side of Aryavrata
which had a considerable population of aboriginals (Dravidians** and
Mongoloids). The majority population of aboriginals was already assimilated in
Aryan dominated society at the level of shudras or labor class and their
position was becoming miserable due to more stress on birth based position in
society. Since both sages voiced against discrimination done on birth basis,
these populations became their followers. The population of Aryans too, who
were looked degraded because of their service oriented occupation, became their
followers. (**Till today Malto, Kurukh and some other tribes, having a
population of 10-12 lakh each in Bihar, West Bengal and Terai belt of Nepal,
are found speaking Dravidian languages, though most other aboriginal
populations have adopted the Indo-Aryan language Sanskrit and Prakrit after
assimilating into broader society.)The followers of both sages were not
restricted only to lower strata of society but considerable number of
Kshatriyas and Brahmins also became their followers. Since both sages were of
Kshatriya origin, they had a lasting impact on the republican Kshatriyas as
well as the Kshatriyas of monarchical Kosala and Magadha. In republics, the
Malla and Lichchhavis are mentioned very frequently in both Buddhist and Jain
texts as their followers. The Shakyas and Koliyas largely remained the follower
of Buddha only as they do not figure in the Jain text. The main religion of
Malla, Shakya and Koliya republics became Buddhism though some of the Mallas
still followed their old faith Brahmanism. One story is very significant in
this regard. According to the Kusinara Sutta, Buddha once visited the place on
the invitation of Kusinara Chief Vajrapani Malla. He stayed in the forests of
Baliharan with his 250 disciples. The chief then ordered to assemble one person
per family to receive the Lord Buddha in the town failing which they would be
fined 500 pieces (of money). The order clearly indicates that not all Mallas
and the other population living in the Malla republic were followers of the
Buddha or his teachings by this period. Similarly the Mauryas of Pipphalivana
were also the ones who showed less or no inclination towards both Buddha and
Jaina. Some Kshatriya personalities of these republics whose name frequently
appears in various Buddhist texts are – From Shakya clan: Ananda, Bhadidya,
Aniruddha, Bhirugu, Mimbil, Devdatta, Rahul (son of Buddha), queen
Mahaprajapati Gautami, princess Tishya, Abhirupa Nanda, princess Mitra,
princess Sundari Nanda alias Janpad Kalyani Nanda etc. From Malla clan: Pukkush
Malla Putra, Dabba, prince Siha, prince Yashdant, prince Godhik, prince Subahu,
prince Wallilya, prince Uttaim, prince Suman etc [3]. From Lichchhavi clan:
Mahali Lichchhavi, Mahanam Lichchhavi, Abhaya Lichchhavi, Mandak Lichchhavi,
Maddip Lichchhavi and Ottha Lichchhavi were main upasakas of Buddha. Prince
Bodhi, prince Abhaya, prince Jaysena, King Udayan and King Papasi also figured
as the upasakas of Buddha.
The prominent monarchical Kshatriyas such as King Pasenadi of Kosala, King
Bimbisara and King Ajatshatru of Magadha and Kasi and King Udyan of Avanti were
also the followers of Buddha and his teachings. After the Buddha’s death, King
Ajatashatru facilitated the first meeting of the Buddhist sangha, The First
Buddhist Council, on the Vaibhas hills in the capital of Rajgriha (present
Rajgir, Bihar). In Brahmin class too, Buddha influenced many in the region of
Kosala and Magadha. The Nipata Sutta mentions that how Brahmins of Sravasti
were moved by the Buddha's words and refrained from future animal sacrifices.
The Brahmins of Vethadipaka too followed Buddha. They got 1/8th of his relics
and built stupa over it. It is evident from the Buddhist texts that during the
lifetime of Buddha, many bhikkhus were of Brahmin origin. Some held prominent
position and got mentioned by Buddha himself while his visit to Jetvana in
Sravasti. They were -
- Aagya Kondinya of village DronaVastu near Kapilvastu
- Matryayani Putra of village DronaVastu near Kapilvastu
- Sariputra of village Nalaka in Magadha
- Mahamaugllayan of village Kolil in Magadha
- Mahakashyap of village Mahatrith Brahaman in Magadha
- Pindol Bharadwaja of capital Rajgriha in Magadha
- Radh of capital Rajgriha in Magadha
- Mahakatyayana of Ujjayani
- Rewat Khadir Vaniya of village Nalak in Magadha
- Upasen BangantPutra of village Nalak in Magadha
- Vakkali of Sravasti, Kosala
- Kund-dhan of Sravasti, Kosala
- Vangish of Sravasti, Kosala
- Bilind Vatsya of Sravasti, Kosala
- Mahakothittha of Sravasti, Kosala
- Shobhit of Sravasti, Kosala
- Swagatt of Sravasti, Kosala
- Moghraj of Sravasti, Kosala
- Uruwel Kashyap of Kasi
During the same visit, he also listed his followers from other classes holding
good positions in the sanghas and they were -
In case of bhikkhus:
- Lakuntak Madhiyya of Sadhana* kula from Sravasti
- Chullapanthak of Shresthis* kula from Magadha
- Mahapanthak of Shresthis kula from Rajgrih, Magadha
- Sumuti of Vaisya kula from Sravasti, Kosala
- Kankha Rewat of Mahabhog* kula from Sravasti, Kosala
- Shrona Kodivis of Shresthis kula from Champa Nagar, Anga desha*
- Sondha Kuti Kanna from Vaisya kula from Kurarghar, Avanti desha
- Rashtrapal of Vaisya kula from Kuru desha
- Bakkul of Vaisya kula from Kosambhi
- Daruchiriya of Vaisya kula from Hoshiyarpur
- Upali of barber kula from Shakya desha
- Nandak of Geha kula from Sravasti
In case of bhikkhunis:
- Uttapalavarna of Shresthis kula from Kosala
- Patachara of Shresthis kula from Sravasti, Kosala
- Dhammaditra of Shresthis kula from Rajgriha, Magadha
- Sondha of Geha kula from Sravasti, Kosala
- Kudal Kesha of Shresthis kula from Rajgriha, Magadha
- Krisha Gotami of Vaisya kula from Sravasti, Kosala
- Shringal Mata of Shresthis kula from Rajgriha, Magadha
(* Sadhana – means prosperous, Shresthis - means bankers who used to lend
money, Mahabhog – means rich family, kula – clan, desha – country [4])
The residents of Vaishali who were mainly the followers of Jaina, also got
influenced from Buddha and many joined his sanghas. Some bhikkhunis from
Vaishali, elevated to the status of the arahat, were Vatsa, Jayanti, Vimla,
Siha, Vasishthi, Rohini and the famous Amrapali. In bhikkhus too, many reached
to the status of the arahat and some of them were Buddhaman, Anjana-Vaniya,
Kuti Vihar, Ramniya Kuttik, Kosal Vihari, Vajji Putta, Suyaman, Piyajjahha,
Valliya and Vajjiya Putta (II). On the other side, Mahavira had a large number
of followers in Vaishali. His followers were also from the neighboring
countries of Videha, Malla, Kasi and Kosala. However within the two, Buddha had
more followers due to his simple rules to get nirvana and also due to not
rejecting the caste system fully except while becoming a member of the Buddhist
sanghas.
3.6 Death of Jaina and Buddha - click here to read
********************************************************************************************************************
********************************************************************************************************************
References:
[3]
Buddhamitra, T. M. B. (1999). Bhagwan
Buddha ke samkalin anuyayi tatha Buddha Kendra, pp. 171-173. Gorakhpur: Rahul
Sankrityayan Sansthan.
[4] Buddhamitra, T. M. B. (1999). Bhagwan Buddha ke
samkalin anuyayi tatha Buddha Kendra, pp. 128-131. Gorakhpur: Rahul
Sankrityayan Sansthan.
****************************************************************************************************************************************************
****************************************************************************************************************************************************
Index Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10
Give your feedback at gana.santhagara@gmail.com
If you think, this site has contributed or enriched you in terms of information or knowledge or anything, kindly donate to TATA MEMORIAL HOSPITAL online at https://tmc.gov.in/
and give back to society. This appeal has been made in personal
capacity and TATA MEMORIAL HOSPITAL is not responsible in any way.
********************************************************************************************************************
********************************************************************************************************************