A Critical Re-Evaluation of Higher Criticism for the Study of Early Jainism and Buddhism

Beginning in the 1990s, several tranches of ancient Gāndhārī texts from Afghanistan and Pakistan came to light, illuminating a Middle Indic literary tradition previously known only from a single copy of the Dharmapada. However, the recently discovered Gāndhārī texts remain a yet untapped resource for the study of early Buddhism within the broader community of wandering mendicants (śramaṇas). The Gāndhārī texts, which date back as far as the second century BCE, hold the promise of providing key insights into the development of both Buddhism and Jainism as śramaṇa movements. Their dialect is close to that of the Ācārāṅga Sūtra, the earliest Jain scripture, facilitating comparison between traditions. An examination of the Gāndhārī texts not only helps clarify obscure terms in the Ācārāṅga Sūtra, it also shows that Early Buddhists and Jains shared a common śramaṇa ideology, often expressed in identical terms. The common ideology and language most likely date from the formative period of each tradition. Warder’s and Lamotte’s versions of higher criticism promised to illustrate Early Buddhism before the division of Buddhism into schools, but the inclusion of Jain and Gāndhārī materials helps to illuminate the earliest days of Jainism and Buddhism when they formed as competing śramaṇa movements.