Difference Between Buddhism and Jainism

Jainism vs Buddhism: The prevalent social, economic, and religious circumstances during the sixth century B.C. gave rise to new religious churning in Indian society. The Vedic ritualistic, orthodox ideas and the prevalence of rigid caste realities were coming under increasing attack during this period. As a result, numerous heterodox religious movements eventually emerged. Amongst them, Buddhism and Jainism were the most important ones that successfully evolved into the well-organised popular religions.

Differences between Jainism and Buddhism

The emergence of Jainism and Buddhism shares some similarities in their principles; however, they differ significantly in some fundamental aspects.

Founder of Jainism and Buddhism

• Buddhism: Buddhism was founded by Siddhartha Gautama (‘the Buddha’).
• Jainism: There are 24 Tirthankaras who are credited with founding and developing Jainism and its philosophy; however, Parsvanatha and Mahavira are more noteworthy owing to their historical records and effect on the two main sects of Jainism.

Core Teachings

Schools

Buddhism: 

• Mahayana Buddhism (The Great Vehicle)
• Vajrayana Buddhism (The Way of the Diamond)
• Theravada Buddhism (The School of the Elders)

Jainism:

• Digambara
• Svetambara

Position of Women in Jainism vs Buddhism

Buddhism:

• The Buddha initially opposed allowing women to join the Sangha.
• But after repeated requests from Mahapajapati Gotami, his foster mother, and his chief disciple Ananda, he finally agreed to bring them in.
• Hinayana and Mahayana do not give high regard to women. They consider that the woman’s body is not suitable for enlightenment (Nirvana) or becoming a Buddha.
• But Vajrayana (and Tibetan Buddhism) places high importance on women, manifested by the female Bodhisattvas, such as Tara, Manjushree, etc. It provides equal opportunities to men and women.

Jainism:

• Jainism gives women a central role in its ethical and spiritual patterns. For example, the fourfold community that is the foundation of Jain’s daily life includes laywomen as well as laymen, nuns, and monks.
• Among Svetambara sects, we can also find female mendicants, other than males.
• Traditional sources reveal several distinguished women who played important roles in the tales of the Jinas, and goddesses are significant cultural and religious figures.
• In addition, the soḷa sati, or 16 virtuous women of Svetambara, are female role models whose stories highlight desirable religious qualities.

Views on the Varna System

• Buddhism: Buddhism condemns the Varna system.
• Jainism: Jainism does not condemn the Varna system.

Canons

• Buddhism: The Buddhist canon (collection of teachings) is divided into tripitakas (three sections), namely: Sutta Pitaka, Vinaya Pitaka, and Abhidhamma Pitaka. All these canons are in the Pali language.
• Jainism: Jain literature is classified into two major categories: Digambara literature and Svetambara literature.
  • The Digambara canon, or Siddhanta, comprises numerous texts. Two are believed to be all that remains of the original Purvas, composed in the 2nd to 3rd centuries.
  • The canons of Svetambara are composed of twelve Angas, twelve Upangas, ten Prakirnakas, four Mulasutras, six Chedasutras, and two Chulika sutras.

Art and Architecture of Buddhism and Jainism

• Architecture:
  • One can observe elaborate architectural and sculptural styles in Buddhism, such as Gandhara Art, Mathura Art, and Amravati Art.
  • Unlike Buddhism, Jainism did not create any distinctive style of architecture; rather, Jains adopted local architectural traditions wherever they went.
  • Due to its extensive patronage, Buddhist architecture in India is more widespread.
  • Both Buddhists and Jains built rock-cut caves, but Jains caves are smaller.
• Paintings:
  • Buddhism has been able to create distinctive paintings based on Bodhisattvas and Jataka tales. Paintings in Jainism, on the other hand, could not evolve as extensively as in Buddhism.
  • For example, Padmapani and Vajrapani Bodhisattva paintings at Ajanta and Sittanavasal cave paintings of Jainism.
  • The miniature painting also evolved in India due to Buddhism, such as the Pala miniature. However, Jainism has also contributed to the miniature paintings in India.
• Literature: The Jain canons were written in Ardhamagadhi (Prakrit), while Buddhist canons were written in Pali.
  • Non-canonical literature of both Buddhism and Jainism is written in Sanskrit and other languages.
  • The Buddhist literature is more extensive than that of Jainism due to royal patronage and contributions by Buddhist monks.

Spread of Jainism and Buddhism

• Patronage: Royal patronage was the deciding factor that helped Buddhism spread inside and outside of India, whereas Jainism did not have such advantages.
  • Both Jainism and Buddhism were given patronage by traders and artisans.
• Spread:
  • Due to the concept of the moderate path, Buddhism proved to be more adaptable as compared to Jainism, which adheres to a strict code of conduct and non-violence principles.
  • Unlike Buddhism, Jainism never had religious leadership beyond the frontiers of India because the orthodox Jains did not travel by vehicle.

While Buddhism has practically vanished from India, the land of its birth, Jainism is still a prominent religion, albeit in small numbers.