Purana Kassapa (;

Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...

: ''Pūraṇa Kassapa'') was an Indian

ascetic Asceticism (; from the el, ἄσκησις, áskesis, exercise', 'training) is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their p ...

teacher who lived around the 6th century BCE, contemporaneous with

Mahavira Mahavira (Sanskrit: महावीर) also known as Vardhaman, was the 24th ''tirthankara'' (supreme preacher) of Jainism. He was the spiritual successor of the 23rd ''tirthankara'' Parshvanatha. Mahavira was born in the early part of the 6t ...

and

the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...

Biography

Purana taught a theory of "non-action" ( Pāli, Skt.: ''akiriyāvāda'') whereby the body acts independent of the soul, merit or demerit. In the

Pali Canon The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from the Tamrashatiya school. During th ...

, Purana (along with the ascetic

Makkhali Gosala Makkhali Gosala (Pāli; BHS: Maskarin Gośāla; Jain Prakrit sources: Gosala Mankhaliputta) or Manthaliputra Goshalak was an ascetic teacher of ancient India. He was a contemporary of Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, and of Mahavira, t ...

) is identified as an ''ahetuvadin'', "denier of a cause" (of

merit Merit may refer to: Religion * Merit (Christianity) * Merit (Buddhism) * Punya (Hinduism) * Imputed righteousness in Reformed Christianity Companies and brands * Merit (cigarette), a brand of cigarettes made by Altria * Merit Energy Company, a ...

). As an example of Purana's beliefs, in the Samannaphala Sutta ( DN 2) it is reported that Purana said: :"... acting or getting others to act, in mutilating or getting others to mutilate, in torturing or getting others to torture, in inflicting sorrow or in getting others to inflict sorrow, in tormenting or getting others to torment, in intimidating or getting others to intimidate, in taking life, taking what is not given, breaking into houses, plundering wealth, committing burglary, ambushing highways, committing adultery, speaking falsehood — one does no evil. If with a razor-edged disk one were to turn all the living beings on this earth to a single heap of flesh, a single pile of flesh, there would be no evil from that cause, no coming of evil. Even if one were to go along the right bank of the Ganges, killing and getting others to kill, mutilating and getting others to mutilate, torturing and getting others to torture, there would be no evil from that cause, no coming of evil. Even if one were to go along the left bank of the Ganges, giving and getting others to give, making sacrifices and getting others to make sacrifices, there would be no merit from that cause, no coming of merit. Through generosity, self-control, restraint, and truthful speech there is no merit from that cause, no coming of merit.' The Anguttara Nikaya also reports that Purana claimed to be omniscient. The

Dhammapada The Dhammapada (Pāli; sa, धर्मपद, Dharmapada) is a collection of sayings of the Buddha in verse form and one of the most widely read and best known Buddhist scriptures. The original version of the Dhammapada is in the Khuddaka ...

commentary claims that Purana died by drowning himself.Bhaskar (1972).

Notes

Sources

* Bhaskar, Bhagchandra Jain (1972). ''Jainism in Buddhist Literature''. Alok Prakashan: Nagpur. On-line http://jainfriends.tripod.com/books/jiblcontents.html. * Ñāṇamoli, Bhikkhu (trans.) and Bodhi, Bhikkhu (ed.) (2001). ''The Middle-Length Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Majjhima Nikāya''. Boston: Wisdom Publications. . *

Rhys Davids Rhys Davids as a surname may refer to: *Thomas William Rhys Davids, British scholar, founder and president of the Pāli Text Society, husband of next * Caroline Augusta Foley Rhys Davids, British scholar, second president of the Pāli Text Society, ...

, T.W. & William Stede (eds.) (1921-5). ''The Pali Text Society's Pali–English Dictionary''. Chipstead: Pali Text Society. On-line version http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/pali/. * Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1997). ''Samaññaphala Sutta: The Fruits of the Contemplative Life'' ( DN 2). On-line http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.02.0.than.html. * Walshe, Maurice O'Connell (trans.) (1995). ''The Long Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Dīgha Nikāya''. Somerville: Wisdom Publications. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Kassapa, Purana Spiritual teachers Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Agnosticism 6th-century BC Hindus 6th-century BC Indian philosophers

Biography

See also

Notes

Sources