Salvation, Civilization and Social Ethos
An Issue in Historic Buddhism/Jainism Vis-A-Vis Brahmanism
Keywords:
Buddhism, Jainism, Brahmanism, PhilosophyAbstract
In this article the author discusses a very important issue, i. e., how the basic concept of human nature and destiny that prevailed in the Buddhist Jaina and (together constituting the Sramaf,la) tradition and the Briihmaf,lic tradition affected their ability to provide for the development of civilizational structure and social ethos. These two, it is argued, diverged very significantly all through history. The article does not deal with any actual encounter in the sense of confrontation. It deals with something more basic, i, e., the course of historic Buddhism and Jainism projected against the background of Brahmanism. While Buddhism and Jainism ran their course as movements, Brahmanism remained the all-embracing, defining social and civilizational presence in India. At least, Buddhism and Jainism historically encountered themselves against that presence.
References
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