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The Lessons of Ahimsa and Anekanta For Celebrating Mahavira’s Teachings TheThe LessonsLessons ofof AhimsaAhimsa. andand AnekantaAnekanta forfor ContemporaryContemporary LifeLife The ancient teachings of Vardhamana Mahavira (c. 599-527 BCE), and in particular two of its core elements –– the principle of Ahimsa. (Non-violence) and the philosophy of Anekanta (Non-absolutism) –– appear to have an extraor- dinary timeliness as well as great practical significance at the dawn of the twenty-first century. In this conference an international group of scholars and practitioners will share their research and insights on the teachings of Mahavira and Jainism, and approaches to education about Jainism. Conference Program Venue: California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, Music Recital Hall (24-191) Saturday, January 19, 2002 Sunday, January 20, 2002 9:00 a.m. Registration 8:30 a.m. Registration 9:45 a.m. Introduction 9:00 a.m. Panel 3: Ahimsa. and Anekanta in Jain Tradition Tara Sethia, Cal Poly Pomona “Exemplars of Anekanta and Ahimsa:. The Case of the 10:15 a.m. Welcome Remarks Early Jains of Mathura in Art and Epigraphy” Sonya Rhie Quintanilla, University of California at Irvine Bob H. Suzuki, President Cal Poly Pomona “Religious Dissonance and Reconciliation: The Haribhadra Story” Barbara Way, Dean Christopher Key Chapple, Loyola Marymount University CLASS, Cal Poly Pomona “Anekanta, Ahimsa. and the Question of Pluralism” 10:45 a.m. “Mahavira and Reverential Ecology” Anne Vallely, McGill University Satish Kumar, Schumacher College, UK 10:30 a.m. Break 11:45 a.m. Lunch 11:00 a.m. Panel 4: Towards Greater Understanding through 1:15 p.m. Panel 1: Ahimsa and Non-violence . Ahimsa. and Anekantavada “Ahimsa. and Non-violence: A Comparison of Religious “The Tremendous Practicality of Anekantavada” and Cultural Values” Gabriel E. Figueroa, American Vegan Magazine John E. Cort, Dennison University “Modern Effective Social Service Practice through Ahimsa. and “Ahimsa. and Compassion” Anekantavada” Kristi Wiley, University of California at Berkeley Brian Truncale, Chicago Health Outreach Clinic “Jain Responses to Terrorism” 12:00 noon Lunch Kim Skoog, University of Guam 1:30 p.m. Panel 5: Education About Jainism 2:45 p.m. Break “Unifying Jain Concepts with Day-to-Day Thinking and 3:15 p.m. Panel 2: Anekantavada and Beyond Behavior” “The Ontological and Epistemological Significance of Pallavi Gala and Biren Mehta, Southern California Jain Center Anekantavada” “Jain Education in the Twenty-first Century” John M. Koller, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Sudhir Shah, Anekanta Education Foundation “Mahavira, Anekantavada and the Contemporary World” “Jainism in the College Curriculum” Samani Charitrapragya, Jain Vishva Bharti, India Tara Sethia, Cal Poly Pomona “Multi-dimensional Significance of Anekanta in 3: 00 p.m. Conference Summary and Response Present-day Social Life” Padmanabh S. Jaini, University of California at Berkeley Kamla Jain, College of Jesus and Mary, Delhi University 3:45 p.m. Conclusion “Beyond Anekantavada: A Jain Perspective on Tolerance” Paul Dundas, University of Edinburgh 5:00 p.m. Bhajans Paresh Shah and Jammy Shah 6:00 p.m. Dinner.
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