Buddha and Mahavira

Gautama Buddha and Mahavira are the two greatest preachers in Indian history. Gautama Buddha, known as Siddhartha in his pre-Enlightenment days, is the founder of Buddhism. On the other hand, Mahavira is one of the founders of Jainism. The stories of both Buddha and Mahavira were told to the next generations through verbal and written literature. Mahavira was born into royalty and was a prince of the Lichchhavis. He left his royal palace in the search of the ultimate truth when he was just 30. After 12 years of hardships, he finally got enlightenment after which he propounded the Doctrines of Jainism. Like Mahavira, Buddha too left his home to seek knowledge and enlightenment at a young age.

What did Buddha preach?

• Buddha’s preachings are around humanity, principles, and ways to lead a peaceful and truthful life

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Doctrines of Buddhism

Dukkha

• Through his doctrines of Buddhism, Gautama Buddha explains that life is full of suffering, i.e., Dukkha
• Dukkha refers to the sadness we have in our lives due to anxiousness and lack of satisfaction. We are always desperate and feel uneasy due to various reasons

Trishna

• Trishna means desires like lust, greed, and other selfish things we want for ourselves
• It is the reason behind all the suffering
• Trishna is not just selfish or nasty desires. It also includes the worldly desires which motivate us to help others and change the world

Nirvana

• Towards the end of sadness, anxiety, and suffering, we realize the truth
• The phase during which we realize the truth is called Nirvana in Buddhism
• When we observe the truth without being partial or judgemental, our actions are free from emotions and desires
• We act spontaneously and try to seek the ultimate truth or goal of our lives

Ashtanga Marga

• Finally, Buddha preaches the ‘Ashtanga Marga’ or the Eightfold Path that leads us towards enlightenment
• According to Buddha, Dukkha, Trishna, Nirvana, and the Eightfold Path are the four noble truths of our lives
• In the Eightfold Path, Buddha had asked his disciples to follow his teachings
• These teachings revolve around purity in view, thought, speech, behaviour, livelihood, efforts, mindfulness, and meditation
• Symbolically, it is represented as a wheel of dharma or righteousness and is also referred to as Dharmachakra

Both Buddha and Mahavira are considered enlightened beings

• However, they tried to teach others only from the experiences and truths that they discovered by themselves
• The art of teaching oneself is quite popular in Buddhism. Buddha gives the message or teachings to his disciples through different stories
• These stories have many meanings or thoughts hidden carefully in them. His teachings were associated with compassion and equality
• There have been many Buddhist Preachers till date
• However, none has been able to achieve the level of greatness, popularity, and acceptability in all societies that Buddha has

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Doctrines of Jainism

• The doctrines of Jainism revolve around Ahimsa, i.e., non-violence, Satya, i.e., truth, faith, and knowledge
• As many Tirthankaras were born before Mahavira, they have made significant contributions to the doctrines
• For example, the five vows of Jainism are:

Ahimsa

• To avoid hurting or harming any living being

Satya

• To be truthful irrespective of the hardships or tough challenges that you are going through in your life

Asteya

• Never steal anything from anyone. One who remains Asteya does not harm anybody’s property or possession

Aparigraha

• To never own any material thing or property in life. If we own something, we invest our emotions and greed in them. It disturbs us from attaining the ultimate truth

Brahmacharya

• Brahmacharya means a state of being chaste or pure. In India, people observe chastity by leaving material things, avoiding marriage, and leading a simple life by eating simple food and wearing simple clothes
• Only the fifth vow was added by Mahavira
• The first four vows were added by Parshwanath who is credited to be one of the founders of Jainism
• He is the 23rd Tirthankara among the 24 Tirthankara, i.e., propagators of dharma or righteousness in Jainism
• People who believe in Jainism have to exist by observing the Triratna or three gems of Jainism

Samyak Shraddha or Right Faith

• The people who follow Jainism must have faith in all the Tirthankaras
• They should not have any doubts about their teachings and preachings

Samyak Jnana or Right Knowledge

• It refers to the complete knowledge of the universe
• It includes knowledge of 5 substances and 9 truths revealed in Jainism

Samyak Karma or Right conduct or Acharana

• It relates to practising the five vows of Jainism that are discussed above

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Teachings of Mahavira

• The teachings of Mahavira revolve mainly around equality
• He did not believe in God or his existence
• He asked his disciples to only believe in Karma and focus on equality
• He also outrightly rejected the superiority of Vedic rituals and the Vedas

The essential teachings of Mahavira are:

Strong Belief in Karma and Soul

• Mahavira believed that all the elements have spirituality and physicality attached to them
• While the physical factors tend to perish with time, the soul keeps evolving
• To set the soul free from the Karma or actions taken by the physical body, one has to get rid of all the desires

Nirvana

• The term Nirvana is found in the teaching of both Buddha and Mahavira
• While Buddha terms it as the truth, Mahavira considers it salvation that one can attain by avoiding all the bad karmas in life

Non-Belief in God

• According to Mahavira, God did not create the universe nor is he responsible for regulating it
• The world has always existed and will continue to exist but it may change its form. The effect of the Samkhya philosophy can be seen clearly in this principle

Rejecting Vedas

• Jainism and Mahavira challenged the teachings of Vedas and did not consider the rituals offered by the Brahmans as important

Ahimsa

• Ahimsa means non-violence. Himsa or violence is not only physical but also verbal
• It means that one cannot harm others through incorrect or violent speech

Freedom to Women

• Mahavira believed that women have the right to salvation as they have equal rights to attain salvation

Conclusion

The teachings of Buddha and Mahavira are for everyone. While doctrines of Jainism and Buddhism are different, they assist in attaining enlightenment or salvation. Many books on the teachings of Buddha and Mahavira have been published so far. These books talk about the teachings of these true enlightened beings in great detail. These teachings are often explained through short stories. People read them to understand the reason behind their suffering and to reach the ultimate truth.

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