Buddhism and Jainism

Buddhism and Jainism arose in the sixth century BCE in the Magadha region as heterodox (nastika) responses to Vedic ritualism, varna rigidity and the cost of sacrifice. Both rejected the authority of the Vedas, both denied a creator god, both used popular languages, and both were funded by the new merchant wealth of the second urbanisation.

Why they arose

• Elaborate and expensive Later Vedic sacrifices that only the wealthy could sponsor
• Rigid varna order in which the Kshatriya elite resented Brahmana supremacy - both founders were Kshatriyas
• Animal sacrifice damaged the new agrarian economy, where cattle were productive assets
• Rising vaishya merchants sought a faith that did not rank trade and usury as impure
• Use of Pali and Ardhamagadhi rather than Sanskrit made the message accessible

Buddhism: the core doctrine

Siddhartha Gautama was born at Lumbini (Nepal) into the Shakya clan, attained enlightenment at Bodh Gaya under a pipal tree, delivered his first sermon (Dharmachakrapravartana) at Sarnath, and attained mahaparinirvana at Kushinagar. The teaching is compressed into the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path.

Four Noble Truths: dukkha → samudaya (cause) → nirodha (cessation) → magga (the path)

The Eightfold Path - right view, resolve, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness and concentration - is a middle path between extreme indulgence and extreme asceticism. Buddhism denies a permanent soul (anatta), holds that everything is impermanent (anicca), and explains rebirth through dependent origination (pratityasamutpada) rather than through a transmigrating self. Nirvana is the extinction of desire, not a heaven.

Jainism: the core doctrine

Jainism recognises twenty-four Tirthankaras. Rishabhadeva or Adinath is the first, Parshvanatha the twenty-third (a historical figure of the eighth century BCE who taught four vows), and Vardhamana Mahavira the twenty-fourth. Mahavira was born at Kundagrama near Vaishali, attained kaivalya at Jrimbhikagrama on the Rijupalika river, and died at Pava.

Mahavira added brahmacharya to Parshvanatha's four vows, making the five mahavratas: ahimsa, satya, asteya (non-stealing), aparigraha (non-possession) and brahmacharya. Jain philosophy rests on anekantavada (reality has many aspects) and syadvada (every judgement is conditional). Unlike Buddhism, Jainism accepts a soul (jiva) and extends it to plants and even particles of earth and water, which is why its ahimsa is stricter.

✗ Mahavira founded Jainism  |  ✓ Mahavira reformed and organised an existing tradition as its twenty-fourth Tirthankara

Why Buddhism declined in India

Monasteries grew rich and remote from lay life; the language shifted to Sanskrit, weakening the popular appeal; Vajrayana practices blurred the difference from folk Hinduism; Brahmanical revival under the Guptas and later Bhakti absorbed the Buddha as an avatar; loss of royal patronage after Harsha; and the destruction of monastic universities such as Nalanda in the late twelfth century removed the institutional base. Jainism survived because it stayed lay-oriented, kept merchant patronage and did not depend on large monastic complexes.

FAQ

What are the Triratna of Jainism?

Right faith (samyak darshana), right knowledge (samyak jnana) and right conduct (samyak charitra). Together they form the path to liberation. Do not confuse them with the Buddhist Triratna, which is Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha.

What is the difference between Digambara and Shvetambara?

Digambara monks remain unclothed, hold that women cannot attain liberation in the same birth, and reject the canon compiled at Valabhi. Shvetambara monks wear white, accept women's liberation and accept the Valabhi canon. The split is traditionally traced to a famine-driven migration south under Bhadrabahu.

Was the Buddha's teaching originally atheistic?

The Buddha did not deny gods outright but treated them as irrelevant to liberation. He rejected a creator god, rejected the authority of the Vedas and rejected the efficacy of sacrifice, focusing instead on ethical conduct and mental discipline as the way out of suffering.