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It is much older than Buddhism, which took its rise about 543 to 477 B.C. Jainas boast that Buddhism is nothing more than a mere heresy of Jainism, Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, having been a disciple and follower of one of the Jaina Gurus. The customs, rites, and philosophical conceptions of Jainas place them midway between the Brahmanists and the Buddhists.
The Patimokha or order of discipline, and the beginning of the Mahavagga, containing an account of the opening of the ministry of the founder. Vol. xvii. Vinaya Texts ii. Mahavagga continued. Kullavagga or discipline as established by the Master. Vol. xx. Kullavagga continued. Vols. xxii., xlv. contain Suttas of the religion of the Jainas. Vols. xxxv., xxxvi. Was there a Personal Founder?
There are a few millions of Jainas in Gujerat, Bombay, Konkan, and some other places. The Bombay Pinjarapala occupies a whole quarter of the town, and is separated into yards, meadows and gardens, with ponds, cages for beasts of prey, and enclosures for tame animals. This institution would have served very well for a model of Noah's Ark.
The Pinjarapala is the Bombay Hospital for decrepit animals, but a similar institution exists in every town where Jainas dwell. Being one of the most ancient, this is also one of the most interesting, of the sects of India.
Release, finally, is the manifestation of the Self in its essential nature, free from all afflictions such as passion, and so on. The Jainas further hold that the whole complex of things is of an ambiguous nature in so far as being existent and non-existent, permanent and non-permanent, separate and non-separate.
Things which stand to each other in the relation of mutual non-existence cannot after all be identical. Hence the theory of the Jainas is not reasonable. Moreover it is liable to the same objections which we have above set forth as applying to all theories of atoms constituting the universal cause, without the guidance of a Lord. And likewise non-entireness of the Self.
The few Buddhist communities who remained in India and deserted the pure, though, maybe for a shallow observer somewhat atheistic teachings of Gautama Siddhartha, never joined Brahmanism, but coalesced with the Jainas, and gradually became absorbed in them.
Enkay-Tenkay is a worse difficulty for them than even Nassik; they find it as hard to conquer as the Persians found Thermopylae. We passed by Maleganva and Chikalval, where we examined an exceedingly curious ancient temple of the Jainas.
Their priests, like the Buddhists', never marry, they live in isolated viharas and choose their successors from amongst the members of any social class. According to them, Prakrit is the only sacred language, and is used in their sacred literature, as well as in Ceylon. Jainas and Buddhists have the same traditional chronology.
Inscriptions may still be seen showing that all these temples were built by Buddhists, or, rather, by Jainas. This disagreement is very embarrassing when people try to conjecture the antiquity of this or that vihara or chaitya.
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