| Read the following excerpt carefully and answer the questions that follow: |
| The world beyond the palace |
| Just as the Buddha's teachings were compiled by his followers, the teachings of Mahavira were also recorded by his disciples. These were often in the form of stories, which could appeal to ordinary people. Here is one example, from a Prakrit- rexi known as the Uttaradhyayana Sutta, describing how a queen named Kamalavati tried to persuade her husband to renounce the world: |
| If the whole world and all its treasures "were yours, you would not be satisfied, nor -would all this be able to save you. When you die. 0 king and leave all things behind, dhamma alone, and nothing else, will save you. As a bird dislikes the cage, so do I dislike (the world). I shall live as a nun without offspring, without desire, without the love of gain, and without hatred....... |
| Those who have enjoyed pleasures and renounced them, move about like the wind, and go wherever they please, unchecked like birds in their flight...... |
| Leave your large kingdom........ abandon what pleases the senses, be without attachment and property, then practice severe penance, being firm of energy .... |
| (i) Who compiled the teachings of Buddha and Mahavira? |
| (ii) Explain how did the queen try to convince her husband to renounce the world. |
| (iii) Describe any three principles of Jainism. |
Answer:
(i) Teachings of Buddha and Mahavira were compiled by their followers and disciples.
(ii) The queen Kamlawad tried to persuade her husband to renounce the world. She said ?The treasures of whole world will be able to save you. When you die, 0 King and leave all things behind, dhamma alone, and nothing else, will save you. As a bird dislikes the cage, I do dislike the world. I shall live like a nun without offspring, without desire, without the love of gain, and without hatred?.
(iii) The three principles of Jainism are:
A. Life exists even in rocks and stones normally considered as non-living.
B. The principle of non-violence is practised in extreme form in Jainism. No harm should be caused to anyone including non-living.
C. The cycle of birth and re-birth is shaped through karma, one must practice ascetism and penance. It is possible when one renounces the world. So one has to live in monastery to attain salvation.
D. Jain monks have to take vows to observe the following:
(i) Not to kill anyone.
(ii) Not to steal anything.
(iii) Not tell lies.
(iv) Not to possess property.
(v) To observe celibacy.
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