TerapanthSvetambara lain Tradition

T The movement'sheadquarters, or Honbu-regarded as fettersonly through the renunciation of all violence-that the spiritual home of the peopleof the world-are located is, all action.The DharmadasaSthanakavasis, like most ex- 4266 in the village of Tabusein YamaguchiPrefecture, close to tant Jain traditions, also propagate compassion, or the village where the founder was born and reared.The anukampa,as a religiousvalue and emphasizethe positive presentspiritual head is Himigamisama,her granddaugh- karmic consequencesof charity (dana-daya)and the pro- ter and the daughterof her son, known asWakagamisama. tection of life (jiva daya).ln contrast,Bhiksu argued that The latter performs the role of administrativehead of the because ultimately both bad karma (papa) and good movement. karma (punya)obstructs the liberation of the soul, a salva- Overseasbranches exist in the United States,the largest tion seekermust avoid both. Becausehe privileged this centerbeing in Hawaii,where the activemembership is less perspective,he even regarded acts of compassion per- than one thousand. formed for the purpose of accumulating punya as sinful (papa).The most concisediscussion of this issuefrom the Peter B. Clarke Terapanthpoint of view can be found in Bhiksu'streatise AnukampaRi Caupai,written rn 1787in the Iocal Marvari Sources; language.Bhiksu distinguishesthere (and elsewhere)be- Clarke,Peter B. "Modern JapaneseMillenarian Movements."In tweenrelative or worldly compassion(laukik daya) and ab- JapaneseNew Religionsin Global Perspective,edited by Peter B. solute or religious compassion (lokottara or Clarke,129-182. Richmond, Surrey: Curzon, 2000. daya)-that is, absolute nonviolence.He argues that al- Hamrin, Tima. "Illness and Salvation in TenshoKdtai Jingukyd." though material actsof charity are positivefrom the social In JapaneseNew Religionsin Global Perspective,edited by Peter point of view (vyavaharanaya), they are negative from the B. Clarke,240-257. Richmond, Surrey: Curzon,2000. (niscaya Nishiyama,Shigeru, and Fujii Thkashi."The Propagationand religious point of view naya). ln his conception, Spreadof Tenshd Kdtai |ingukyd within lapaneseAmerican punya can be gainedonly asa sideeffect of actsof renunci- Society on Hawaii Island." ln New Religions:Contemporary ation, not independentlythrough acts of material help or Papersin JapaneseReligions, edited by Inoue Nabutaka, other "mixed" actions. His criticism of the la-xity of the 125-161.Tokyo: Kokugakuin University,1991. Posted at Sthanakavasimendicants and other Jain traditions is di- http://www.kokugakuin.ac.jpI ijcclwp I cpjrI newreligions/ rected againsttheir nonrecognition of the differencebe- nishiyama.html.Accessed November 26, 2001. tweenreligion and worldly morality. TheProphet ofThbuse.Tabuse: Tensho Kotai Jing[ky6, 1954. The terminology of AcaryaBhiksu's teaching of absolute renunciation is influenced not only by the writings of the AcaryaKundakunda (c. second to third cen- Terapanth Svetambara JainTradition turies C.E.) and the Digambara commentaries of The TerapanthSvetambara Jain Tradition was founded by Umasvati'sTattvartha-sutra (c. third to fifth centuriesC.E.) Muni Bhikhan (1726-1803),who was later called Acarya but also by the tabbas(vernacular commentaries) of the Bhiksu. Bhikhan was born in India in the village of Kan- Acarya Dharmasinha (1599-167I), the founder of the taliya near fodhpur. His parents were Bisa Osvalsof the Dariyapuri Sthanakavasi tradition. Dharmasinha also Sanklecagotra (clan) and followed the Murtipujak Jaintra- taught the futility of compassionatehelp and noninterven- dition. After the death of his wife, Bhikhan renouncedthe tion on the grounds that from the absolutepoint of view world and becameinitiated into the itinerant mendicant the moment of deathof everyliving being is predetermined order of AcaryaRaghunath (1706 or 1708-1790)of the by its life-span (ayusya)karma, evenif the causesof death Dhanna Dharmadasa Sthanakavasitradition in 1751. appearto be accidental,and thereforepreventable, from a However, on fune 28, 1760, he split from the "lax" conventionalpoint of view. For other Sthanakavasisthe Sthanakavasiswith four other monks and founded his own name Terapanth indicates that Acarya Bhiksu's views are mendicant order in Kelva near Rajsamand.In the begin- akin to those of the proponentsof the image-worshipping ning, his group had only thirteen male members,and his lay movementof the DigambaraTerapantha (which should opponents scornedit as the path of the thirteen, or terah otherwise not be confusedwith the aniconic Svetambara panth. Bhiksu later paraphrasedterah panth as terapanth, Terapanthorder), whose adherentsalso claim to practice or your path, and interpretedthe number thirteen in terms fainism from an absoluteperspective-or niscayanaya. The of the principal rules of conduct for Iain ascetics,the five denialof the necessityof the practicalpoint for a nonomni- great vows, or mahayratas;the three restraints,or guptis; scientliving being is, for them, a form of ekanta-vada(the- and the five comportments, or samitis-which he at- oretical absolutism) that contradicts the fain theory of tempted to follow by the letter. anekanta-vada (nonabsolutism). The causeof the schismwas a disagreementover a tech- Although the principal outlook of the Terapanthhas not nical point of Jainkarma theory. The Jain canonicalscrip- changedduring its 240-yearhistory, its forms of application tures teach that the soul can be liberated from its karmic and its institutions have changed.To prevent schismsand Thai Forest Monks laxity, Acarya Bhiksu made the rule that there should be Address; T (teacher-cum-group only one acarya leader) and that he |ain VishvaBharati 1267 should be chosen by his predecessor.On that basis,the Ladnun 341 306 fourth acarya, Iitmal (layacarya;1803-1881), created an Rajasthan elaborateinstitutional frameworkfor the growing monastic India order from 1852 onward. The ninth acarya,Tulsi (1914- 1997),ruled the orderfrom 1936.He modernizedthe Tera- Peter Fltigel panth and turned it from a world-negating mendicant Sources: order into a world-transforming religious movement by Pratham Terapanth emphasizingthe significanceof education,worldly moral- Budhmal, Mrn| TerapanthKa ltihas. Khand: Ke PrathamCar Acarya.4th rev.ed. Calcutta:Jain Svetambar ity,and socialreform.In 1949he createdthe "nonreligious" TerapanthMahasabha Prakasan, 1964, 1995. arulvrat(smali-vow), movement for the implementationof Fliigel, Peter."Tl.re Ritual Circle of the Terapanth Svetambara nonviolenceand morality in social life. In 1952 he abol- lainsl' BulletinD'Etudes Indiennes I 3 ( I 995-l 996): 117-176. ished the dogma of nonaccidentaldeath and later pro- Mahaprajna,Yuvacarya. Preksha Dhyana: Theory and Practice.2d moted "worldly" charity for his educationalprojects. The rev.ed., edited by Muni MahendraKumar. Ladnun: Tulsi communal good-will rnovement in 1954 was followed in AdhyatmaNidam, 1992. 1960by the naya mod (new turn), initiative that sought to Nathmal,Muni [AcaryaMahaprajna]. Bhiksu: The Man eradicate"outdated" social customsamong the Terapanth and His PhilosophT.Translation of Bhiksu Vicar Darsan by N. laity,such as rituals, casteism,and femalepurdha. In 1970 Sahal.Curu: AdarsSahity Sangh Prakasan, 1959, 1968. thefain VisvaBharati was opened and gainedthe statusof a Tulsi, Acarya.Anuvrat: A Shieldagainst Immorality. Ladnun: Jain "deemedto be University"in 1991.Itis locatedin Ladnun, VishvaBharati, 1989. ed..Bhiksu-Granth Ratnakar Khand 1-2. Sanghrahakarta: thebirthplace of AcaryaTulsi, and it functions today asthe Muni Cauthmal. PrabhandhSampadak: Sricand Rampuriya. physicalcenter of the Terapanth,though all important deci- Calcutta:Jain Svetambara Terapanth Mahasabha, 1960-196I. sions are taken by the permanently itinerant acarya.In Tulsi, Acarya, and YuvacaryaMahaprajna, comps. Terapanth: 1980,Acarya T\rlsi introduced a new categoryof novices, Maryada Aur Vyavastha.Santp adak: Muni Madhukar. Jayacarya the saman(i)s,who are permitted to use public transport SeriesVol. 9. Ladnum: JainVisva Bharati,1983. and to travel abroad on missionarytours. For many fains living outside India, the samansand samanisare the only Jainmendicants they can meet. The presentleader of the Terapanthis Acarya Mahaprajna (b. 1920),who was inau- Thai Forest Monks guratedin 1994.Mahaprajna contributed greatly to the Ter- The secondhalf of the nineteenthcentury in Thailand wit- apanth edition of the canonical scriptures, or agama nessedan efflorescenceof asceticforest-dwelling monks (1974ff.),andthe publication of the Terapanthliterature in dedicatedto the practiceof meditation.These monks led an Rajasthani.Under the impressionof the successof Goenkas eremiticlif'e-sometimes alone,sometimes in smaiigroups. vipassana(meditation) classesin Rajasthan,he introduced They wereheirs to a classicaldivision within the Theravada a Jainversion of insight meditation,preksa dhyana, in 1975. (monastic order) between forest dwellers (in Pali And in 1980he introduced the scienceof living program, arannavasi)and town dwellers (gantavasi).This division inanavijnana, a step-by-stepguide for a nonviolent way of correlatesloosely with a further categorizationof monks life for children and adults,intended for schoolsand uni- into those who devote themselvesto meditation (vipas- versitiesin particular.The chosensuccessor of Mahaprajna sanadhura)and those whosevocation is more inclined to- isYuvacarya Mahasraman (b.1962). ward studyin g texts (ganthadhura). At present,the Terapanthhas about 250,000followers all Austereactivities undertaken in addition to the monks' over India (including non-Jain members of the anutrata rules(vinaya) came to be associatedwith the path of medi- movement);several thousand in Nepal, the UK, and the tation. Thirteen in number, thesepractices are known as UnitedStates; and a few familiesin many commercialcen- dhutanga, and they include the practice of sleeping in tersaround the world. Most Terapanthlay followersbelong forestsor cemeteries.In Thailand monks who follow all or to the traditional businessfamilies of the Osval castes.Be- some of the dhutanga practices are known as thudong causeof the influenceof the missionarytours of the samans monks. and samanis,the influence of the Terapanthis currently Scholarspropose that the revitalizationof the thudong spreadingworldwide, though primarily among expatriate tradition can be regarded as a reaction to nineteenth- Jains.The principal religious practicesof the Terapanthis century ecclesiasticalreforms and the emergenceof a new arefasting, meditation, and study.Because image worship is monasticfraternity (nikaya),the Thammalut, promoted by rejected,lay people veneratethe mendicantsof the Tera- the royal monk and eventualmonarch, Mongkut (1851- panthorder assymbols of fain ideals. 1868). The Thammanrt reformers engineered a more