Early Monastic Buddhism v1.c14.s5.t2.2

v1.c14.s5.t2.2

Nigaṇṭha Nāṭaputta, the reformer of Jainism, belonged to a distinguished family of the Nāṭa clan with wide influence in the land of the Licchavis. There are accounts of a few adherents of Nigaṇṭha Nāṭaputta either disputing with Buddha or coming into contact with him or his followers in the course of their missionary work. Saccaka, who as a disputant was held in high respect by the Licchavis, sustained a defeat in a religious disputation with Buddha. It is not clear whether he became a Buddhist convert as the result of the defeat.¹ Abhaya and Paṇḍitakumāraka enquired of Ānanda about the means of destruction of dukkha as pointed out by Buddha and were not satisfied with the answer.² On another occasion the former approached Buddha with the question whether ogha (flood of passions etc.) could be overcome either by moral purity or severe penance, to which Buddha replied in the negative and said that it was only by controlling mind, body and speech that a person could save himself from ogha.³