耆那教
第六位外道教師是 Nirgrantha Jnatiputra (公元前540- 468)。正如佛陀一樣，他是剎帝利 （Kshatriya）階級一位尊貴的王子。他生於 Jnata 家族，於 Vaishali 城的市郊。他名為 Vardhamana （成長與增加）之意。他結過婚，生有一女。父親過世之後他就出家修苦行。十三年之後，由於行這些苦行，他得開悟。他的隨從者尊稱他為阿羅漢－－即征服者(梵文)。他最普為人知的稱號是摩訶瓦熱(大丈夫)。他是一位Fordmaker 。將以前的Fordmakers 之理論系統化的耆那教的創造人之一。耆那教即一種征服者的宗教。Nirgrantha一詞意即不受束縛，並指專修苦行的 Nirgrantha 宗。二百多年前，由 Par-shva 創立。後來Nirgrantha 一詞遂為耆那教所使用。一些學者說詹寧教原本是從 Ajivikas 宗分化出來的；另一些學者倒換其說。他們認為 Maskari Goshaliputra 是 Mahavira 的弟子，是他分離出去的。
耆那教初始規模很小，但在摩利安時代，力量大為壯大。根據耆那教的一個堅固傳統 Candragupta Maur-ya（在位於公元前 322-298），為阿育王的祖父摩利安王朝的創建者。在他遜位之後，即加入耆那教。耆那教從未傳播出印度，但是卻在其本土承順下來，並有兩百萬人的信眾。大部分都是西印度的富有商人階層。在阿布山金碧輝煌的耆那教寺廟，即可證明中世紀耆那教民間團體的饒富與虔誠。
耆那教不接受吠陀經的權威，對印度教神殿亦不加膜拜。他們的行苦行熱誠可謂到了極點，亦可以說他們對極端的苦行為很執著。他們的許多執著在佛教看來是非常有害的，例如相對於白衣教 (Svetambara) 而言 Digambara（天體派）的男眾棄衣裸身，獨居山林。耆那教承認業力、因果、輪迴、道德規範的必要性。與 Ajivikas 不同，他們強調意志之自由，對於耆那教徒來說，解脫之道在於正信、正知、正行。正行在於遵守五德或五願－－不殺、不偷、真語、貞潔、離世執著。耆那教寺廟嚴行這些清規，在家人則沒有這麼嚴格。禁食肉，他們非常注意不殺生。耆那教僧侶面帶面紗，手執拂塵清掃道路，以免傷生。力求不驚擾自然元素，如水與空氣的原子。因此詹寧教徒不能務農，以免傷害寄生於土壤中的生命。這些例子皆說明詹寧教的不殺、不害之戒律之推行，是在任何印度宗教之前，是第一個將此清規融入生活的宗教。
耆那教教理發展完整，其經藏保存至今。就其探討科學與思想起源方面而言，耆那教在印度學術思想史上是一個很有趣的發展。如同其他外道教師一樣，耆那思想家摒棄一個古典邏輯－－棄中定理。耆那教中不只有「有」與「無」兩種可能性，而是有七種。這一種立論的七面體系稱之為「或然教理(syadvada)」，或者是「七分理」。此外，耆那教還有另一套立論的七分體系，及各種學科的學習方法論。耆那思想，甚是寬容。其倡揚多元論，或不極端論，包括了以上所提的觀點。此外，耆那教在許多義理與術語上與佛教有相同之處，雖然其解釋不同。例如，耆那教徒亦稱呼一位開悟者為佛。
根據耆那教之觀念，人是要對他的行為負責的；但是一旦事情已經做了，事情的本身就是一種外在的東西，因為人已無可能去避免或減輕他所做之事的後果。也可以說人成為他的行為的受害者。最後，耆那教徒之行為表現了事物後果對他們的處罰。他們修極端之苦行，以求贖罪。以通過無為而求避免積累更多的業。耆那僧侶的最後一個境界是稱 kaivalya (Ajivikas 亦使用這一術語）。翻譯過來有許多意思：隔離、絕對之獨立、絕對之自由、一體化隔離、一體化之全體。這暗指了心靈的遺失功能的復原，業的徹底洗滌，與最終的解脫。
耆那教接受無常是「有」的一部分，但是相信永恆心靈之有。內在之清淨心靈業為塵埃所覆，正如一層油光表面為塵埃所遮蓋一樣。在人的日常生活之中，業開始黏到清淨自心之上，暗淡了它的光明。由此可知，耆那教對於業的解釋相當地唯物化與機械化。耆那教稱業流入或遮蓋心靈的這一過程為 asrava －－流。惡業流惡，善業流善；惡業暗重，即便是善業，亦將靈魂讓世界牽扯著。業之層疊，使得心靈先獲得一個精神體，然後取得一個物質體。只有通過修極端之苦行，才能使心從束縛之中獲得解脫。只有將各種各樣的或善或惡的「流」擋住，心靈才能得以解脫。去業這個過程，既緩慢又艱辛。耆那教認為許多靈魂永遠都沒法解脫，只得不斷輪迴。
B.佛教與這六種外道的比較
以佛教分來講，眾生之欲望分三類：（1）感官快樂之欲。（2）「生」之欲。（3）「滅」之欲。以有種種求感官之樂之欲望，眾生輪迴欲界。對「生」之欲望，使那些已超越欲界之眾生輪迴於色界與無色界。對「有」絕望，遂生求「滅」之欲。以及深信一切事物終止於死亡，以至更為極端的形式，遂有生自殺之念的傾向。
執著於「有」的人，會欣然相信在身體死後，某一種心靈或自我仍然繼續存在。他陷入「生」的不正見，聲稱萬物皆生，這就走向「常」見之極端論。或者是相信一種永恆不變的自我。「滅」之不正見，聲稱「無有生者」這一邪論，就走向「斷」見－－堅持肉身一死則永死矣。以修梵行而言，執著於「我」的，則陷於於私欲之中。但是如果相信有來生者，就比較會守規矩和接受戒因，因為他怕受地獄之果報。擯棄自我的人，則比較會成為斷見論者，並否認任何道德規範與明德之教。他們說：「善惡不結果。既無來世，亦無父母。無有得道僧侶、婆羅門，已了悟今世、來世，可為眾生演說真理。」
待續 |
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The Jainas
The sixth heterodox teacher was Nirgrantha Jnatiputra (c. 540-c. 468 BC). Like the Buddha, he was a privileged prince of the kshatriya class. He was born in the suburbs of the city of Vaishali to the Jnata clan and was named Vardhamana ("Growing, Increasing"). He married and had a daughter, but after the death of his parents he left the home life to practice asceticism. After thirteen years of these practices he became enlightened, and was honored by his followers as an Arhat, a Conqueror (in Sanskrit, jina), and a Ford-maker. He is best known as Mahavira ("Great Hero"), one of the founders of Jainism, or "Religion of the Conquerors," who systematized the doctrines of the previous Ford-makers. The term Nirgrantha means ‘being freed of fetters’ and refers to the ascetic Nirgrantha school, founded some 200 years earlier by Parshva, to which he originally belonged. Later the term Nirgrantha became to be used for the members of the Jaina order as well. Some scholars suggest that the Jainas may have originated by secession from the Ajivikas, while others reverse the issue and say that Maskari Goshaliputra was a disciple of Mahavira and was the one to break away.
The Jainas were a small community to start with, but they gained strength during Mauryan times. According to a firmly held Jaina tradition, Candragupta Maurya (ruled c. 322-298 BC), Ashoka's grandfather and the founder of the Maurya dynasty, joined the order of Jaina monks on his abdication. Jainism never spread beyond India, but it has survived in its native land and has now some two million followers, mostly well-to-do merchants in Western India. Magnificent Jaina temples such as those at Mount Abu in Rajasthan testify to the great wealth and piety of the medieval Jaina lay community.
Jainas do not accept the authority of the Vedas, nor do they pay homage to the Hindu pantheon. They have carried the practice of ascetic fervor to extremes, and so could be said to adhere to the extremist view of self-mortification. Many of their ascetic practices would be considered unwholesome by Buddhists. For example, the male members of the Digambara ("sky-clad" or "space-clad") sect, as opposed to the Svetambara ("white-clad") sect, renounce all clothing and go about naked, living in seclusion in the mountains. The Jainas recognize rebirth, karmic causes and effects, and the necessity of moral behavior. Unlike the Ajivikas, they assert free will. For Jainas the path to liberation is constituted by right belief, right knowledge, and right conduct. Right conduct means following the five virtues or vows of non-violence, non-stealing, truthful speech, chastity, and non-attachment to worldly things. These vows are followed quite strictly by monastics, more leniently by laypeople. Eating meat is forbidden, and great care is taken to avoid killing living beings. Thus, when walking outdoors, Jaina monks will wear veils before their mouths and sweep the pathways in front of them with a duster to avoid killing insects. Even disturbing the elements, atoms of water and air, with rash or violent movements is avoided. Jaina lay followers cannot become farmers since this would necessitate harming the plant and animal life of the soil. As these examples show, the Jainas have carried the principle of ahimsa, non-violence or non-harming, further than any other Indian religion, and were the first to make it into a rule of life.
The doctrine of the Jainas is highly developed and their canon has survived until today. Jaina epistemology is an especially interesting development in Indian thought. Jaina thinkers, like some other heterodox teachers, rejected what in classical logic is called the law of the excluded middle. For the Jainas there were not only two possibilities of existence and non-existence, but seven. This system of seven aspects of predication is known as syadvada ("the doctrine of 'maybe'"), or saptabhangi ("the sevenfold division"). The Jainas also had another sevenfold system of predication known as nayavada, the theory of standpoints, which were ways of approaching an object of study. Jaina philosophy is tolerant, advocating the doctrine of many possibilities or 'non-extremism,' which includes all the above-mentioned standpoints. It is also syncretistic, sharing many of the same doctrines and technical terms as Buddhism, though interpreting them differently. For instance, the Jainas will call any enlightened person a Buddha.
According to the Jaina concept of karma, man is responsible for his actions and behavior, but once an action is performed, it becomes something external to him because he is absolutely unable to avoid or alleviate the consequences of his actions. It could be said that man thus becomes a victim of his own actions. Consequently, the Jainas usually characterize the results of actions as ‘punishments.’ They try to expiate past actions by the practice of severe austerities, and prevent accumulation of future karma by nonaction. The final state of a Jaina monk is that of kaivalya (the term was also used by the Ajivikas) which has been variously translated as "isolation," "absolute independence," "absolute freedom," "integration-isolation," or "completeness through integration." This implies a restoration of the soul's lost faculties, total cleansing of all karma, and final release.
Jainas accept impermanence as a part of existence, but also believe in the existence of permanent souls. These inherently pure souls are covered over by karmic particles in the same way a bright oily surface is clouded over by motes of dust. As a result of activity, karma starts to adhere to the pure soul and dulls its brightness. From this we see that the Jainas interpret karma rather materialistically and mechanically. Jainas call the process of karma flowing into or covering the soul asrava, or influx. Evil deeds cause an influx of evil karma, good deeds an influx of good karma. Bad karma is naturally darker and heavier, but even good karma keeps the soul linked to the world. The layers of karma cause the soul to acquire first a spiritual and then a material body. The soul can be freed from its bondage to existence only by extreme self-mortification, by overcoming the physical body. Influxes of every type have to be blocked if the soul is to be liberated, and this can only be done by abstaining from all action, both good and bad. This process of shedding one's karma is slow and difficult, and the Jainas believe that many souls probably never accomplish it, but will continue to transmigrate for all eternity.
B. BUDDHISM CONTRASTED WITH THE SIX HETERODOX SCHOOLS
According to Buddhism, the desires of living beings can be divided into three groups: (1) the desire for (sensual) pleasure, (2) the desire for existence, and (3) the desire for non-existence. The desire for sensual and other pleasures ties beings to rebirth in the desire realm. The desire for existence causes even those who have transcended the realm of desire to be reborn in the form and formless realms. Disillusionment with existence may give rise to the desire for non-being, and the conviction that everything ends at death. In its more extreme forms, this view may even give rise to suicidal tendencies.
Someone attached to existence will willingly believe that some kind of a soul or self survives the death of the body. He falls into the false view of existence, claiming “everything exists.” This leads to the extreme of eternalism, or belief in an eternal self. The false view of non-existence, the declaration “nothing exists,” leads to the extreme of nihilism or annihilationism, the insistance that physical death means total annihilation. In terms of moral conduct, one who believes in a self will naturally be attached to the self, and so fall prey to selfish desires. But as he believes in afterlife, he is likely to follow moral rules and accept moral causation. Since he would fear retribution in the hells, he would at least try to avoid bad actions. One who rejects the self is likely to become a nihilist and deny the existence of any moral laws or enlightened teachings, saying:
[G]ood and bad actions do not incur maturation; the future world does not exist; there is no mother or father; nowhere can there be found any enlightened monk or Brahmin who has truly understood the present or future world and who can explain them to others.
To be continued |
