With reference to the religious history of India, consider the following statements: 1. Sautrantika and Sammitiya were the sects of Jainism. 2. Sarvastivadin held that the constituents of phenomena were not wholly momentary, but existed forever in a latent form. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

QUESTION

Hard

Art & Culture

Prelims 2017

With reference to the religious history of India, consider the following statements:

Sautrantika and Sammitiya were the sects of Jainism.
Sarvastivadin held that the constituents of phenomena were not wholly momentary, but existed forever in a latent form. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Select an option to attempt

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect. Sautrantika and Sammitiya were not sects of Jainism but rather were Buddhist philosophical schools. Sautrantika was a Buddhist philosophical school that relied primarily on the sutras (discourses) of the Buddha, as opposed to the Abhidharma (the Buddhist systematic philosophy). Sammitiya was a Buddhist school that held the view that the self (atman) exists, which was in contrast to the mainstream Buddhist view of anatta (non-self).

Statement 2 is correct. Sarvastivada was a major Buddhist philosophical school that held the view of "sarvam asti" or "everything exists". The Sarvastivadins believed that the constituents of phenomena (dharmas) did not merely exist in the present moment, but had a real and permanent existence in the past, present, and future. This was in contrast to the Theravada Buddhist view of momentariness, where all phenomena are considered to be constantly arising and passing away.

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