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Abstract Early Statements Relating to the Lay Community in the Svetambara Jain Canon Andrew More 2014

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Abstract Early Statements Relating to the Lay Community in the Svetambara Jain Canon Andrew More 2014 Abstract Early Statements Relating to the Lay Community in the Svetambara Jain Canon Andrew More 2014 In this thesis I examine various statements relating to the Jain lay community in the early Svetambara texts. My approach is deliberately and consistently historical. The earliest extant Svetambara writing presents an almost exclusively negative view of all non-mendicants. In the context of competition with other religious groups to gain the respect and material support of members of the general population, the Svetambara mendicants began to compose positive statements about a lay community. Instead of interpreting the key terms and formulations in these early statements anachronistically on the basis of the later and systematized account of lay Jain religiosity, I attempt to trace how the idea of lay Jainism and its distinctive practices gradually came into being. The more familiar account that is often taken as the basis for understanding earlier sources in fact emerges as the end product of this long history. This historical reconstruction poses numerous challenges. There is little reliable historical scholarship to draw from in carrying out this investigation. In the absence of a widely accepted account of the formation of the Svetambara canon, the dates of the canonical sources that I examine remain uncertain. I argue that by focusing on key passages relating to the Jain lay community it is possible to establish a relative chronology for the composition of some of these passages and for the compilation of some of the texts in which they appear. I thus suggest it is possible to observe development in the strategies employed by the mendicants as part of their effort to establish and maintain relations with a community of householders who respected and regularly supported them. What I offer here is a preliminary but important step toward writing a critical and comprehensive history of lay Jainism. More broadly, scholars of monastic religious traditions may be interested in this account of how one group of ascetics in ancient India garnered lay support and developed a role for non-monastic members of the community. Early Statements Relating to the Lay Community in the Svetambara Jain Canon A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Yale University in Candidacy for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Andrew More Dissertation Director: Phyllis Granoff December 2014 UMI Number: 3582168 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Di!ss0?t&iori Publishing UMI 3582168 Published by ProQuest LLC 2015. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 © 2015 by Andrew More All Rights Reserved Contents Front Matter Abstract i Title Page iii Copyright Notice iv Contents v Acknowledgments ix Introduction 1 Chapter One: The Logic of the Legitimating of Jain Lav Life in Suvaaadamaa 2.2and the Uvavaiva Introduction 23 The Legitimating of Lay Life in Suyagadamga 2.2 31 The Uvavaiya and the Legitimating of Lay Life 54 The Importance of Doctrine and Correct Understanding in the Viyahapannatti 83 Conclusion 87 Chapter Two: The Standard Description of the Samanovasaga in the Ahaas and Uvahaas of the Svetambara Canon Introduction 90 The Term Samanovasaga 102 The Characters Identified as Samanovasaga 115 The Standard Description of the Samanovasaga in the Suyagadamga 126 Interpretation and Analysis of the Standard Description of the Samanovasaga 130 Part One: Doctrine 134 Part Two: Faith 138 Part Three: An Obscure Phrase 141 Part Four: Observance of the Posaha Days 149 Part Five: Giving to Jain Ascetics 158 Part Six: An Obscure Phrase Referring to Lay Ascetic Practice 159 Variation in the Final Part of the Standard Description of the Samanovasaga 17 0 The Dropping of the Sixth Section of the Standard Description of the Samanovasaga and the Emphasis on Giving Only to Jain Mendicants in the Uvasagadasao 174 Buddhist Criticism of the Formal Promise to Donate Alms Only to Jain Ascetics 182 Conclusion 186 Chapter Three: Development of the List of Twelve Lav Vows Introduction 192 The Standard Adoption of Lay Vows 206 Some Relationships Between the Adoption of Lay and Mendicant Vows 214 Variation in the Number of Lay Vows 217 Adoption of Lay Vows in Nayadhammakahao 1.5 217 Adoption of Lay Vows in the RayapasenaTya 220 Adoption of Lay Vows in the Uvasagadasao 222 Variation in the Number of Mendicant Vows 224 Nayadhammakahao 1.5: Lay Jain Practice is Ascetic Practice 232 An Early Expression of the Lay Vows in Suyagadamga 2.7 239 Reference to theAnuvratas in Suyagadamga 2.2 247 Part Six of the Standard Description of the Samanovasaga 248 Reference to theAnuvratas in Nayadhammakahao 1.13 250 The Lay Vows in the Tattvartha Sutra 252 The Seven Siksavratas 254 Viyahapannatti 7.2.2 256 Explanation of the Lay Vows in the Uvasagadasao 259 The Lay Vows in the First Part of the Uvavaiya 273 The Terms Gunavrata and Siksavrata 278 The Term Anuvrata 284 The First Anuvrata and the Vow to Avoid Harming Mobile Beings in Suyagadamga 2.7 287 Suyagadamga 2.7 and the Terms Samaiya, Desavagasiya, and Anattha-danda 295 The Distinction Between Lay and Mendicant Practice in Suyagadamga 2.7 303 Lay People Can Adopt the Lay Vows in Various Ways 308 Conclusion 311 Conclusion 315 Works Cited 338 I dedicate this work to my parents and the rest of my family. I want to thank my supervisors for helping me to develop as a scholar and to improve this thesis. Thank you in advance to the professors who have agreed to be my dissertation readers. I also want to thank all of the professors and colleagues I have had throughout my academic career, all of the scholars whose work I have built upon, all of my friends, and everyone who has helped me during my time as a student or who has had a positive influence in my life to this point. I am honored that through this work I have associated myself with the Jain religion. Introduction In this thesis I discuss passages relating to the Jain lay community1 that are preserved in many of the Arigas and Uvahgas of the Svetambara canon.2 My approach is deliberately and consistently historical. I present a hypothetical 1 We find various terms used for "non-mendicants" and "the Jain lay community" in the Svetambara canon. The subject of the passage discussed in my first chapter (which I take to be one of the earliest extensive statements about the Jain lay community) is "some men" (samtegaiya manussa). The subject of the passage discussed in my second chapter is the "follower of the samanas" ( samanovasaga) and I argue that this term represents the ideal member of the lay community. In some other passages lay Jains are referred to as "householders" ( agara) in contrast to Jain mendicants who are referred to as “houseless" (anagara). I will discuss these and other terms used for the Jain lay community in my second chapter. Hoernle suggests that a translation of the term uvasaga with the English term layman "imports a set of ideas foreign to Jainism." (Hoernle 1885-90,1, note 1) I use "lay person" in want of a better term for the householders who respected and supported the Jain mendicants. 2 The early Svetambara texts are usually listed as 45 in number, divided among the following categories: 12 Arigas (11 extant), 12 Uvarigas, 6 Cheyasuttas, 4 Mulasuttas, 10 Painnaga, and 2 Culiyasuttas. In my study I have examined the following Arigas and Uvarigas: Ayaramga, Suyagadamga, Viyahapannatti, Nayadhammakahao, Uvasagadasao, Amtagadadasao, Vivagasuyam, Uvavaiya, Rayapasenafya, Jambuddivapannatti, and Nirayavaff. I have thus read 7 of the 11 extant Arigas and 8 of the 12 Uvarigas. Note that the eighth Uvariga, the Nirayavaff, consists of five texts (i.e. it also contains the ninth through twelfth Uvarigas). This body of material (with the exception of theAyaramga and Suyagadamga) can basically be considered the "story- literature" of the canon. I set out to study the "story-literature” because, as I will note again below in this introduction, scholars have previously associated this literature with the Jain lay community. I included the Ayaramga and Suyagadamga because these texts contain the earliest extant Jain writings and are considered the most authoritative Svetambara texts. In addition to these Arigas and Uvarigas I read other early Svetambara texts that seemed relevant for a study of the lay community and that were easily accessible, including the Uttaradhyayana and the Ayaradasao. The Uttaradhyayana is listed as one of the Mulasuttas. The Ayaradasao (also called the Da£adrutaskamdha) is one of the Cheyasuttas. It contains the Kalpa Sutra of Bhadrabahu, one of the most important early Svetambara texts. At times I also mention Umasvati's Tattvartha Sutra, a text claimed by both Svetambaras and Digambaras (Dundas 2002, 86-87). Though I have included only 17 of the 45 texts usually found in a listing of the early Svetambara literature, in making general statements about the texts I have studied as a group, mainly for the sake of convenience, I sometimes refer to "the Svetambara canon”. I ask the reader to keep in mind that my conclusions apply only to the texts I have studied. I will note below that I believe it appropriate to describe the texts included in this study as being part of a "canon" even though there are various listings of authoritative Svetambara texts showing significant variation.
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