RAYAT COLLEGE OF LAW,
RUPNAGAR
PROJECT OF HISTORY
ON
TOPIC: “Origin, Decline, and Principles of Buddhism
and Jainism”
SUBMITTED BY: SUBMITTED TO:
SULTAN SARFRAZ KHAN Dr. MAHENDER SINGH
ROLL NO. 24046
COURSE: BALLB (HONS.)
1ST SEMESTER
CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY
I am pleased to declare that this Project file titled “Origin, Decline, and
Principles of Buddhism and Jainism” is my original work which is assigned
to me as per the syllabus under the supervision of Assistant Professor Dr.
Mahender Singh.
All sources used for this Project file has been fully and properly cited. It
contains no material which to a substantial extent has been accepted for the
award of any other such paper by any college or any university, except where
due acknowledgement is made in this Project file
Names Roll no.
Dr. Mahender Singh Sultan Sarfraz Khan, 24047
Assistant Professor B.A.L.L.B. Sem 1
Rayat College of Law
Railmajra S.B.S Nagar (Punjab)
CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the project entitled “ Origin, Decline,
and Principles of Buddhism and Jainism” has been done by:
Sultan Sarfraz Khan, of B.A.LLB (HONS) during
semester I from RAYAT COLLEGE OF LAW,
RAYAT GROUP OF INSTITUTION under the
supervision of Dr. Mahender Singh
Teacher’s Signature Date:
Acknowledgement
It is indeed a matter of great pleasure, proud and privilege to be able
to submit this project on "Origin, Decline, and Principles of
Buddhism and Jainism". The satisfaction and euphoria that
accompany the successful completion of any task is incomplete
without the mention of people who made it possible. So, I take this as
a great opportunity to pen down a few lines about people to whom my
acknowledgement is due.
It is with the deepest sense of gratitude that I wish to place on my
sincere thanks to my project guide and my professor Dr. Mahender
Singh for providing me inspiration, encouragement, guidance, help
and valuable suggestions throughout the project. It is due to his
enduring efforts, patience & enthusiasm that has given a sense of
direction to this project & ultimately made it a success.
My special gratitude to my college Rayat College of Law for their
constant guidance and motivation for completing this work to my best
possible ability. Finally I would like to render my sincere thinks to my
family and friends groups for their support and best wishes
throughout the project.
Sr. INDEX Page No.
No
1. Introduction 1
2. Early Life of Lord Buddha 2-4
3. Death of Lord Buddha 4
4. Teachings of Lord Buddha 4-6
5. The Tripitikas or Three-Fold Basket 6-7
6. Decline of Buddhism 7-8
7. Foundation of Jainism 9
8. Early Life of Lord Mahavira 9-10
9. Teachings of Lord Mahavira 10-11
10. Jain Sects (Digambara & 10-12
Svetambara)
11. Decline of Jainism 13
12. Difference between Buddhism & 14
Jainism
13. Conclusion 15
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Introduction
The early life of Lord Buddha, known as Siddhartha Gautama before his
enlightenment, is a profound journey marked by privilege, introspection, and
eventual renunciation. Born in 623 or 567 BCE in Lumbini, near Kapilvastu,
Siddhartha was a Kshatriya prince, the son of King Shuddhodana and Queen
Mahamaya. His upbringing was filled with luxury, yet it was characterized by a
deep-seated restlessness and contemplation concerning the nature of suffering in
human life. Witnessing the stark realities of existence—old age, sickness, death,
and the pursuit of truth—Siddhartha embarked on a transformative journey.
This quest for understanding the nature of existence ultimately led to his
enlightenment and the establishment of Buddhism, a spiritual path dedicated to
alleviating suffering and promoting compassion and wisdom.
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Early Life of Lord Buddha
BIRTH AND PARENTAGE:
Gautam Buddha was the son of Shuddhodana, the Raja of Kapilvastu.
Historians have expressed different views about the date of birth of Lord
Buddha.
According to Dr. V.A. Smith, C.V. Joshi and Dr. R.K. Mookerji, Gautam was
born in 623 BCE. The majority of historians accept 567 BCE as the date of birth
of Lord Buddha. He was born in Lumbini village, a few miles from Kapilvastu.
He was named Siddhartha . Later on, he came to be known as the Buddha. As
he belonged to the Sakya clan, he is also called ' Sakya Muni', His family name
was Gautam. His mother Mahamaya was the princess of Koliya family. She
died seven days after the birth of Siddhartha. He was brought up by his
stepmother Gautami Parjapati , the younger sister of Mahamaya. Mahatma
Buddha is called Gautam after her name.
Childhood :- Gautam was brought up in the lap of luxury with great love and
affection. Like other Kshatriya princes he received high education and was
taught horse riding and archery. But he was always absorbed in thoughts and
liked to remain in loneliness. The sight of sufferings made him sad and restless.
Marriage:- All this made his father worry a lot about Gautam, who decided to
change his state of mind. Accordingly, at the age of 17 he was married to a
beautiful princess Yashodhara. But even the bliss of married life did not change
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him in any way. His interest remained in spiritual matters as ever before and
was not attracted towards worldly ways.
Four Great Signs:
Siddhartha used to tour the city with his charioteer Channa. On different
occasions, Gautam happened to see the sight of four different sphere of life and
realized that human life is full of suffering, miseries and sorrows.
Sight of a man of old age
A sick man by roadside
A dead body being cremated
A saint who was a seeker of truth
Attainment of Divine Knowledge or Enlightenment:
After renouncing his home, Gautam wandered in search of truth. At first he
reached Rajgriha. Here he became a disciple of two hermits and learnt what
they could teach him. But this did not satisfy him. Then for six years he
practiced severe penance in the jungles of Urvela along with five Brahmans
without taking food so that he was reduced to a skeleton. He gave up rigorous
penance and started taking regular food. His fellow five sadhus accused him for
life. But he left for Sarnath. At last, he sat down in meditation under a pipal tree
near Gaya . Here on the full moon day of the month of Baisakh, he discovered a
new light and he thought that he had now found a way to free mankind from the
sorrows, sufferings and miseries of human . This is known as the Great
Enlightenment . From this time, he came to be called as Buddha or the
Enlightened One Sakya Muni. At this time he was 35 and also years old. The
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tree under which he attained enlightenment in Gaya, came to be known as
Mahabodhi tree and Gaya came to be known as Bodh Gaya.
After attaining the Divine Knowledge :
Mahatma Buddha began to preach his new religion. He delivered his first
sermon in the Deer Park at Sarnath. Here, those five Brahmans became his first
disciples who were at first his companions. They are known as the Five Elders .
Buddha's followers began to increase and Buddha founded a powerful Buddhist
Sangha or Order of Bhikshus . These people spread his religion far and wide.
Buddha spent 45 years of his life in preaching his religion in Magadha (Bihar),
Oudh and the surrounding districts. The Emperor of Magadha Bimbisara and his
son Ajatashatru; the ruler of Kosala, his wife Malika and many more great
personalities adopted Mahatma Buddha as their spiritual leader, Buddha's
father, his mother Gautami, his wife, and son embraced his religion too.
Death:
At the age of 80 Mahatma Buddha reached Pava. Here he took his meals in the
house of a goldsmith. After this he got ill and suffered from dysentery.
However, he continued with his mission of preaching his teachings and reached
Kushinagar, (Gorakhpur district, Uttar Pradesh). Here, he delivered his last
message to his disciple Ananda along with other followers and breathed his last
in 487 BCE on the day of Vaishakh Purnima. This event is known as the
Mahaparinirvana (The Great Salvation). It was on the full-moon day of the
month of Baisakh that he was born; it was on this day that he attained the
Divine Knowledge and it was on this day that he breathed his last.
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Teachings of Lord Buddha
The teachings of Mahatama Buddha were very simple, lucid and clear. He laid
emphasis on pious life, noble deeds and universal brotherhood. He preached his
teachings in Pali which was the language of the common people.
1. Four Noble Truths (Arya Satya)
The Four Noble Truths are the essence of Buddhism.
They are:
(a) This life is full of misery, sorrows and sufferings.
(b) The cause of this misery and sufferings is desire.
(c) Misery and sufferings can be averted by killing desire.
(d) Desire can be killed by following the Eight Fold Path.
2. The Eight Fold Path (Astangika Marga)
According to Buddha, the Eight Fold Path leads to the ending of sorrow or
suffering and helps one to attain liberation. The Eight Fold Path of Buddha
consisted of:
The Eight Fold Path is also called the Middle Path or Madhyama marga,
because Buddha thought that a man should avoid a life of luxury on the one
hand and a life of severe penance.
3. Ahimsa (Non-Violence)
Buddha gave much emphasis to Ahimsa and this is his most famous and
greatest doctrine. He said that men should love both men and animals and that
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he should not kill them. However, like Mahavira, he did not take the principle
of Ahimsa to extremes. He did not teach that trees, leaves, stones etc. all had
life and should be protected. What he wanted was that love and amity should
prevail among all living beings and there should be no violence amidst them.
4. No Belief in Hard Penance
Lord Buddha had no faith in hard penance and was against torturing one’s body
by severe penance. He had himself practised hard penance for six years but
found it to be of no use. According to him one could attain salvation by
following the ‘Eight Fold Path’ or the Middle Path and by living a pure and
noble life.
5. No Faith in Rituals, Sacrifices and Yajnas
Mahatma Buddha did not believe in sacrifices and meaningless ceremonies. He
considered yajnas, havanas, sacrifices, and false rituals in Hinduism as useless.
According to him, a man could not get rid of his sin by giving to prayer or
Yajnas and so he did not consider these necessary for attaining Nirvana. He
advised his followers to do noble deeds and lead a pure life because these made
the attainment of salvation easy.
The Tripitikas or Three-Fold Basket
The earliest records of Buddhist tradition were orally transmitted for several
centuries. However, later on, the monks had to define and explain Buddha's
teachings in order to defend themselves in debates and discussions with the
disciples of other schools of thought. In this process they were compelled to
work out the implications of his fundamental teachings and formulate them
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properly into important doctrines. The oldest surviving written records were
preserved in the Pali language and found written on palm leaves.
Buddhist Literature Tripitakas, meaning three-fold basket, is the traditional term
for the Buddhist scriptures. These include:-
• Vinaya Pitaka:- contains rules of discipline in Buddhist monasteries.
• Sutta Pitaka:- the largest Pitaka, contains Buddha's sermons.
• Abhidhamma Pitaka:- contains philosophical principles of Buddha's
religion.
Jatakas, the fables about the different births of Buddha.
Vinaya, Sutra, Abhidharma
Decline of Buddhism
1. Decline of Buddhist Sanghas:- The important cause of the decline and fall
of Buddhism was the decline of Buddhist Sanghas. The Sanghas became centres
of corruption. The monks and nuns began to lead lives of pleasure and ease. The
Mahayanist and Hinayanist quarreled with each other. Internal conflict proved
to be the ruin of Buddhism.
2. Revival of Brahmanism:- The revival of Brahmanical Hinduism also served
as a cause for the decline of Buddhism. The rites and rituals of Hinduism were
simplified. The Gupta rulers were great patrons of Brahmanical religion and did
a lot for it.
3. Loss of Royal Patronage:- With the gradual march of time, Buddhism lost
the royal patronage which it received during the period of Asoka, Kaniska and
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Harshavardhana. Royal patronage helped a lot for the spread of Buddhism
earlier. But due to the lack of royal patronage, Buddhism met its end.
4. Division among Buddhists:- Buddhism was divided into a number of groups
like “Hinayana”, “Mahayana” “Vajrayana”and “Sahajayana” and ultimately it
lost its originality.
5. Emergence of Rajput’s:- Most parts of Northern India were ruled by the
Rajput’s from eight to twelfth century who found great pleasure in fighting.
They discarded the Buddhist principle of non violence. They patronized
Hinduism which was a martial religion. The Buddhist monks feared persecution
and shed from Northern India. So Buddhism practically disappeared from
Northern India.
6. Muslim Invasion:- The Muslim invasion practically gave a death blow to
Buddhism in India. The riches of Buddhists Viharas attracted the attention of
the Muslim invaders. The Buddhists monks couldn’t resist the Muslim attack.
Many Buddhist monks were killed, some of them were converted to Islam and
others fled to Nepal and Tibet and took shelter there. Ultimately Buddhism died
away in India, the land of its birth though it continued to flourish in countries
beyond India for centuries.
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Foundation of Jainism
Vardhamana, popularly known as the Mahavira, is considered as the founder of
Jainism. Followers of Jainism are called "Jains". In Jain religion a spiritual
teacher or Acharya is called 'Tirthankara'. The word tirthankara means the
builder of a fordable passage across the sea, or in a wider sense it refers to one
who helps and guides a person to take him across the ocean of life. According to
Jain traditions, there were twenty-four Tirthankaras or saints who taught this
religion.
The Jain tradition refers to Rishabha as the first Tirthankara' whose name
appears in the Rig Veda. He was born in Ayodhya. He was the father of the
King Bharata- the first 'Chakravarti' king of India. However, we have a very
meager knowledge about the first twenty-two prophets (Tirthankaras) of
Jainism.
Early Life of Lord Mahavira
Birth and Parentage:- There is a lot of controversy about the date of birth of
Mahavira. It is said that he was born in 599 BCE at Kundagrama near Vaishali
while some historians accept 540 BCE as his date of birth. The original name of
Mahavira was Vardhamana . His father Siddhartha was the head of a Kshatriya
tribe, santrika. His mother Trishala was the sister of Chetak, ruler from
Lichchavi family.
Childhood and Marriage:- Mahavira was a precocious child and wanted to
gain complete knowledge regarding truth and salvation. His father became
P a g e | 10
worried when he found Mahavira absorbed in spiritual matters. So his father
married him to a beautiful princess named Yashodha.
Renunciation and attainment of Divine Knowledge:- When Mahavira was 30
years old his parents died. He took leave from his elder brother Nandivardhan
and left his home in search of truth. He passed 12 years in hard penance. During
this period he subjected his body to rigorous sufferings and troubles. The people
laughed at him and some threw stones on him, while others left dogs to annoy
and trouble him. Every possible effort was made by the people to disrupt the
course of his penance but he bore it calmly and patiently and continued his
efforts in search of the truth. Finally at the age of 42, he attained the highest
spiritual knowledge under a Sal tree on the bank of the river Rijupalika. He then
came to be called Mahavira he had faced all the hardships with courage to attain
the Divine Knowledge.
Teachings of Mahavira
1. Tri-Ratna or Three Fold Path Mahavira advocated the observance of the
three-fold path consisting of: Right Faith, Right Knowledge, Right Conduct
2. Nirvana
According to Jainism, the ultimate aim of human life is the attainment of
salvation (Moksha). A person can get freedom from the cycle of life and death
when he attains salvation. After this he is free from the sufferings and troubles
of life. This Nirvana can be achieved by following the three fold path or Tri-
Ratna- Right faith, Right knowledge and Right conduct.
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3. Non-Violence (Ahimsa)
Non-Violence is the greatest commandment of Jainism and the Jains have laid
great stress on the observance of this principle. They have carried this to such
extremes that they consider it a sin to kill or injure even small insects. It accepts
the existence of life not only in men and animals but in trees, plants and stones
etc. This is the reason why some Jains walk about barefoot and tie a piece of
cloth round their mouth so that they should not inhale the small insects in the
air.
4. Theory of Karma and Transmigration of Soul
Like the Hindus and the Buddhists the Jains also believe in the theory of Karma
and transmigration of soul and it occupies an important place in Jainism.
According to this theory, as you sow so shall you reap i.e. good deeds bear good
results and bad karma causes misery. There is no escape from the effects of
one's actions. So according to Jainism, man is the architect of his own destiny
and he could attain salvation by pursuing a life of virtue and purity.
5. No Faith in Sanctity of Vedas and the Sanskrit Language :
The Jains do not acknowledge the authority of the Vedas and the purity of the
Sanskrit language. Mahavira was of the opinion that all the languages are
sacred. He believed that the recitation of Vedic mantras could not make the
attainment of enlightenment possible. He preached in the local language, that
was Prakrit.
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JAIN SECT : - (Digambara & Svetambara)
Of all the Sects of Jainism, Digambara and Svetambara sects are of paramount
importance. It is believed that when severe famine struck the Magadha region in
Bihar, then Chandra Gupta Maurya, renounced his throne and he along with
Bhadrabahu went to Shravan Belgola in the south. Thousands of Jains too
migrated to Mysore, where through the efforts of Chandra Gupta Maurya and
Bhadrabahu, Jainism spread and Shravan Belgola became a great centre of
Jainism.
Those Jain Bhikshus who were left behind in Magadha chose Sthulabhadra as
their religious leader. These Bhikshus held an Assembly at Patliputra and
composed new literature called Anga. Apart from it, these Bhikshu give up the
custom of living naked and started to wear white clothes. After a gap of 12
years when Bhadrabahu along with his disciples returned to Magadha, he
refused to accept the changes in Jainism brought out by Sthulabhadra. This
resulted in the division of Jainism into two sects which came to be known as
Digambaraand Svetambara.
The main differences between these two sects were as follows:
1. The followers of Digambara sect remain naked whereas those of Svetambara
sect wore white clothes.
2. The Digambara sect believe that women cannot attain salvation where as the
followers of Svetambara Sect do not believe in such a doctrine and believe that
even women can attain salvation in the present life.
3. The Digambara does not permit women to join Jain Sangha while the
Svetambara does not impose any such restriction.
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4. The idols of Digambara sect are kept naked and they worship naked idols, on
the other hand, the Svetambara clothe their idols in white.
Decline of Jainism
1. Lack of Royal Patronage:- Firstly, the initial tempo of royal patronage of
Jainism by Bimbisara, Ajatasatru, and Kharavela was not kept up by kings and
princes of later times. As such, lack of sincere and determined royal patronage
came to relegate Jainism.
2. Severity of Jainism:- The severity of Jainism boomeranged against it to
bring about its decline. Unlike the ‘middle path’ of Buddhism, Jainism stood for
severe penance, meditation, fasting and restraint etc. People soon became
disillusioned with it. In course of time, Jainism, once adored, became alienated
from the people.
3. Unintelligible Philosophy:- Most of the Jaina philosophy was unintelligible
for the masses. The concepts of Jeeva, Ajeeva, etc. could not be understood
properly by the people. Many could not accept the view that stone, water, tree
or earth had a soul of their own. There was, thus, a gradual decline in popular
faith for Jainism.
4. Lack of Efforts:- There was also a decline in the missionary zeal and
sincerity of the Jaina mendicants. They were no more particular in undertaking
the strain of spreading Jainism in villages and towns.
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5. Factionalism in Jainism:- Factionalism among the Jainas after the death of
Mahavira was the fifth cause of the decline of Jainism. Some now advocated to
literally follow the teachings of Mahavira, while others wanted to tone down the
severity of Jainism. As such, the rift led to a division in Jain ranks. They were
now divided into ‘Digamvara’ and ‘Swetamvara’ groups.
6. Spread of Buddhism:- Lastly, Buddhism came as formidable obstacle in the
path of the spread of Jainism. Buddhist was simple and intelligible. There was
no severity in it. Even a householder could follow it.
Similarities between Jainism and Buddhism
(i) The founders of both the religions were Kshatriya Prince. Both of
them left their houses and meditated a lot. In this way, they both were
enlightened.
(ii) Both the religions emerged in the form of reaction of Hinduism. Both
Lord Mahavira and the Buddha opposed the prevailing evils of
Hinduism and kept very simple rules of religion in front of public.
That is why the teachings of both took form of different religions.
(iii) Both the religions gave stress on non-violence. According to them,
giving physical or mental pain to any living being is a sin.
(iv) Both the religions denounced caste system. According to them, no one
is inferior or superior on the basis of caste.
Dissimilarities between Jainism and Buddhism
1. Both the religions have different adopting non-violence. According to
Buddha should not physically or mentally hurt any being. But Jainism
took very strict for violence. According to it, hurting any living being is
against non-violence.
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2. Both the religions have different views regarding the methods to be
adopte salvation. According to Buddhism one should follow the Eight
Fold Path to attain nibbana. On the other Jainism believed in strict
meditation to a salvation.
3. Both the religions have different religious texts. Popular texts of
Buddhism are ‘Tripitak’ and ‘Jataks'. But popular texts of Jainism are
‘Ang’ and ‘Upang’.
4. Buddhism greatly spread in foreign countries and even today one third of
world's population follow this religion. But Jainism is confined only
within limits of India.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the early life of Lord Buddha serves as a testament to the
universal human quest for meaning in the face of suffering. Siddhartha’s
experiences shaped his teachings, emphasizing the significance of
understanding suffering, the impermanence of life, and the importance of
compassion and ethical living. His journey from a life of privilege to spiritual
awakening not only transformed his own life but also laid the foundation for
one of the world's major religions, which continues to inspire millions.
Ultimately, Buddha's life reiterates the profound truth that enlightenment arises
from deep reflection and the pursuit of compassion, bridging the gap between
suffering and liberation, both for oneself and for all sentient beings.
