Violence, Virtue and Spiritual Liberation: A Preliminary Survey of Buddhist and Jaina Stories of Future Rebirths of Śreṇika Bimbisāra and Kūṇika Ajātaśatru
The Magadhan king Śreṇika Bimbisāra and his son Kūṇika Ajātaśatru are widely featured in both Buddhist and Jaina literature. Previous studies have generally focused on the parallels between Buddhist and Jaina depictions of these two figures. Rather less attention has been devoted to exploring how or why the Buddhist and Jaina stories about them differ. This article contrasts the Buddhist and Jaina accounts of their future rebirths. Whereas the Jainas spoke much of Śreṇika’s eventual jinahood and kept silent on Kūṇika’s future destiny, the Buddhists said little about Bimbisāra’s future destiny, while giving several prophecies of Ajātaśatru’s eventual awakening. Based on a comparative survey of the Buddhist and Jaina accounts, the article argues that the Buddhist and Jaina authors held significantly different understandings of how key religious factors such as karma, the Dharma, the power of the Buddha or Mahāvīra, and an individual’s inherent spiritual potential play out in soteriological discourse. It also argues that the Buddhist prophecies of Ajātaśatru and the Jaina prophecies of Śreṇika share a common idea that moral culpability has no permanent karmic effects, thus constituting no real obstacle to spiritual growth in the long run.
目次
Introduction 150 Future Rebirths of Bimbisara and Ajatasatru in Buddhist Sources 151 Bimbisāra’s Spiritual Attainment in This Life and His Ensuing Rebirth(s) 151 Ajātaśatru’s Future Rebirths and Eventual Awakening 154 Future Rebirths of Srenika and Kunika in Jaina Sources 161 Kūṇika’s Death and Next Birth in Hell 161 Śreṇika’s Future Rebirths and Eventual Tīrthaṅkarahood 164 Comparative Remarks 171 Acknowledgement 174 A Note on Citation and Technical Details 174 Abbreviations 175 References 176
