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Ājīvakas
Ājīvakas (Skt.). A heterodox sect founded by Makkhali Gosala, a contemporary and rival of the Buddha. Makkhali was for six years the itinerant companion of the Jain (see Jainism) leader Mahāvīra, before they parted company after a disagreement. There are similarities in the practices of both sects: initiation (abhiṣeka) is by tearing out the hair, and the lifestyle is one of extreme austerity involving nakedness, penances, and ordeals. In matters of belief, however, they differ: whereas the Jains, along with the Buddhists, accept the doctrine of karma, the Ājīvakas denied the existence of free will. Makkhali compared the course of a human life to a ball of string which, when thrown down, rolls along unwinding in a preordained course until it reaches its end. At the time of the Buddha the Ājīvakas were an important sect and remained so for several hundred years. After this they declined, and by late medieval or early modern times had disappeared altogether, perhaps reabsorbed into Jainism or the south Indian devotional cults in which Makkhali enjoyed an ephemeral deification.
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DAMIEN KEOWN. "Ājīvakas." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. DAMIEN KEOWN. "Ājīvakas." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O108-jvakas.html DAMIEN KEOWN. "Ājīvakas." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O108-jvakas.html |
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Ājīvaka
Ājīvaka (Skt., ‘one who practises a way’ (?)). A heterodox sect founded by Makkhali Gosala, a contemporary and opponent of the Buddha. According to Buddhist sources, Makkhali was a determinist who compared the course of a man's life to a ball of string which, when thrown down, rolls along unwinding in a preordained course until it reaches its end.
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Cite this article
JOHN BOWKER. "Ājīvaka." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN BOWKER. "Ājīvaka." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-jvaka.html JOHN BOWKER. "Ājīvaka." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-jvaka.html |
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