DOCSLIB.ORG

A Jaina Svetambara Monk and Scholar, Says That "If We Do Not Acknowledge Things Lasting for a Certain Period, We Cannot Explain the Cau- Sality"

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
A Jaina Svetambara Monk and Scholar, Says That (34) Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies Vol. 55, No. 3, March 2007 Haribhadra Suri on Momentariness HARADA Yasunori 0. Introduction Haribhadra Suri (ca. 8c), a Jaina Svetambara monk and scholar, says that "if we do not acknowledge things lasting for a certain period, we cannot explain the cau- sality". On the contrary, Buddhists think that "things are not eternal"; which makes it a confrontation between two schools. Haribhadra reckons up various conflicts raised from thinking that things are momentary. In this research some of his thoughts are compared with thoughts of another school. The following references are used in this research: Haribhadra's Anekantav- adapravesa (AVP) and Anekantajayapataka (AJP). Furthermore, the Sastravart- tasamuccaya (SVS)by the same author is used for this article1).The similarities and differences of these texts are highlighted in this research. In the comparison it is found that AVP,AJP and SVS, have at least 21 common verses. These texts are very close to each other. In this article referenceswere made also from some non-Jaina,especially Buddhist texts, Santaraksita's Tattvasamgraha (TS), Nagarjuna's Mulamadhyamakakarika (MMK)to make clear the standpoint of Haribhadra. 1.1 Two categories of criticism about momentariness The Buddhist theory of momentariness was the target of criticisms from other schools. Many of these criticisms can be classified into two categories. The first category is a criticism led by the conflict between momentariness and causality which we experience in fact in daily life. Except for assuming an eternal self, we cannot explain these experiences [causality A]. For example, recollection (smrti), recognition (pratyabhijnana),etc. The second one is causality discussed by philo- sophically considering relations between cause and effect [causality B]. For exam- 1062 Haribhadra Suri on Momentariness (Y. HARADA) (35) ple, cause and effect are the same thing or not and they arise at the same time or not. Haribhadra, Santaraksita and Nagarjuna discuss both view points. 1.2 Criticism about momentariness I pointed out that in AVP Haribhadra discussed momentariness, especially in the viewpoint of liberation from transmigration (samsara)4). The discussion about the [causality A] including that problem will be further analyzed. The following event cannot be explained by momentariness,so the eternal self has to be accepted: a. Relationbetween subject and object(grahyagrahakabhava)5). b. Recollection(smrti). c. Recognizingthat this thing is the sameobject as the past thing(pratyabhijnana). d. Cessationof intention(kutuhalaviramana). e. Peoplereceive the effect of their deeds and do not receiveother's deeds'). f. Peoplewho performthe practicecan go to nirvana but those who do not cannotgo there. (a') According to the Buddhist theory, things would disappear immediately after arising. Therefore, we could not recognize an object previously experienced. (b') Even if we would remember the past things, there is extinction between the past consciousness and the present one. Therefore, we cannot remember any thing. (c') When we would recognize the thing which we recognized in the past, we could identify these objects by the establishment of the eternal subject i.e. atman. (d') To be interested in the present object or to hate the same one would be derived from continuance of the past experience.(e') We agree with the discipline that we have to receive the effect of our doing and the doer of the work and the receiver of the ef- fect are the same person. Accordingto the theory of momentariness the act will dis- appear immediately and we have to receive the effect of the act of another person. (f') A person who makes good merit takes salvation from the bondage of this world and who does not make one remains here. If we neglect this rule by the momentari- ness of the self, making good merit will become senseless. Haribhadra discusses causality in these points. Showing these conflicts between real experienceand the theory of momentariness is effective to Buddhists7). 1063 (36) Haribhadra Suri on Momentariness (Y. HARADA) 1.3 Discussion about [causality B] On the other hand, the relationship between cause and effect can be analyzed philosophically.Haribhadra gives the following choices about cause and effect8): (1) Causeand effectare the same thing or not. (2) Causeand effectarise at the same time. (3) Quality(dharma) of the causewill be transferredto the effect. (4) They have the relationshipwith the commonthing. (5) Theymake the one goal. (6) Theyarise froma specificcause. (7) Effectarises immediatelyafter a cause. (8) Causeproduces a specificeffect. (1') If cause and effect are the same thing, we cannot distinguish between them. So, it is not causality. This theory that cause and effect are the same thing is main- tained by Samkhya school. The discussion that they are same or not is also seen in MMK 20.19 and Nagarjuna denies both cases. (2') If we think cause and effect arise at the same time, when there is a cause, there is an effect. We cannot say they are causality because there is no relation between them. (3') If quality of cause moves to effect and there is a specific relation between cause and effect, a part of a cause continues to an effect. This phenomenon is not supported by the theory of momen- tariness. We can see this logic also in MMK 20.9. Though Haribhadra criticizes that quality of the cause moves to effect in AVP, Nagarjuna denies eternal self in MMK. (4') Even if cause and effect have something in common, Buddhists do not acknowledge real universal things. They acknowledge only peculiar characteristics and deny the real commonality. If Buddhists acknowledge the real commonality, they go into conflict with their own thought. Jainas acknowledge changing mode (paryaya) and lasting substance (dravya), so they have no conflict. (5) If cause and effect make the one goal, they have to be at the same time, a moment before reach- ing the one goal. This case goes into the same conflict as "case 2". (6') If they arise from a specific cause, we cannot see preeminence on the cause. It is therefore im- possible to arise from a specific cause. (7') If effect arises immediately after cause, every thing which arises immediately after cause is the effect of a cause. Buddhists do not claim that all things that arise immediately after cause are effects, but claim 1064 Haribhadra Sari on Momentariness (Y. HARADA) (37) that effect arises immediately after cause in hindsight. (8') If cause has special ac- tion towards effect, all things have some action, so we cannot classify the relation- ship. In TSP also, we can see the same claim. In addition to these choices, Haribhadra shows the following possibility. (9) Haribhadra says "aggregate cannot become a cause" but he does not analyze this case in detail. (10) If we think cause gives mental impression (samskara)to effect, Haribhadra establishes whether the alternative vasaka is the same thing as mental impression or not. Haribhadra denies each case. In conclusion Haribhadra showes conflicts between causality and momentariness in the viewpoint of [causality A] and [causality B]. 2. Comparison between AVP and SVS After discussing materialism, kalavadin and God, in SVS chapter 4 and 5, Haribhadra mentions momentariness and causality. In AVP and SVS, he sometimes uses the same method to criticize the Buddhists' thought. I picked up the point dis- cusses only in SVS. Haribhadra discusses [causality A] and [causality B also in SVS. He states that "there is no recollection (v. 242), recognition, and cessation of interest to object (v. 243) if we accept momentarily. Moreover, it is impossible to have fear of it, act on it, and obtain it. A person cannot accept the effect of the ac- tion which he made (v. 244). Even if one practices religious precepts, its effects will disappear at the moment. One cannot get liberation from samsara". A claim that effect arises immediately after cause in AVP case 7 is denied in SVS v.293 also. Claim that aggregate is cause which is discussed in AVP case 9, is denied in SVS v.306 also. According to SVS, Haribhadra uses the method that many things cannot produce one thing. He discusses this problem generally in AVP.The statement that cause gives mental impression to effect is discussed in AVP case 10 and SVS vv.326-328. The viewpoint which is not discussed in AVP but in SVS, is analyzing momen- tariness changing from existing to non-existing (vv.248-275)and from non-existing to existing (vv.276-302).Dharmakirti thinks that changing from existing to non-ex- isting i.e. vanishing is that there is not any thing left (na bhavati).On the contrary Haribhadra thinks that there is "nothing". Even if every thing has vanished, there is 1065 (38) Haribhadra Suri on Momentariness (Y. HARADA) "nothing". So, this idea conflicts with momentariness. Even if we think that non-existing changes to existence, we cannot add ability (sakti)to a non-existing thing. We cannot acknowledge this change. In another case, Buddha had committed a sin of killing another person in former life 91 kalpa ago, so Buddha is hurt in his foot in the present world (v.361). To es- tablish this logic, we have to acknowledge the self which continues from the former life to the present world. There is conflict between this logic and Buddhist's mo- mentariness. 3. Conclusion I compared Haribhadra's AVP and SVS regarding non-momentarinessin Jainism and momentariness in Buddhism. Haribhadra uses the same logic in each text. But in SVS he uses some new logic from the viewpoint of transition from existence to non-existence and vice versa. He points out in SVS that stories of the Buddha's for- mer life conflicted with momentariness.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • An Ethnographic Study of Sectarian Negotiations Among Diaspora Jains in the USA Venu Vrundavan Mehta Florida International University, [email protected]
    Florida International University FIU Digital Commons FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations University Graduate School 3-29-2017 An Ethnographic Study of Sectarian Negotiations among Diaspora Jains in the USA Venu Vrundavan Mehta Florida International University, [email protected] DOI: 10.25148/etd.FIDC001765 Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd Part of the Religion Commons Recommended Citation Mehta, Venu Vrundavan, "An Ethnographic Study of Sectarian Negotiations among Diaspora Jains in the USA" (2017). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 3204. https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/3204 This work is brought to you for free and open access by the University Graduate School at FIU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of FIU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY Miami, Florida AN ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY OF SECTARIAN NEGOTIATIONS AMONG DIASPORA JAINS IN THE USA A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in RELIGIOUS STUDIES by Venu Vrundavan Mehta 2017 To: Dean John F. Stack Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs This thesis, written by Venu Vrundavan Mehta, and entitled An Ethnographic Study of Sectarian Negotiations among Diaspora Jains in the USA, having been approved in respect to style and intellectual content, is referred to you for judgment. We have read this thesis and recommend that it be approved. ______________________________________________ Albert Kafui Wuaku ______________________________________________ Iqbal Akhtar ______________________________________________ Steven M. Vose, Major Professor Date of Defense: March 29, 2017 This thesis of Venu Vrundavan Mehta is approved.
    [Show full text]
  • Ahimsa and Vegetarianism
    March , 2015 Vol. No. 176 Ahimsa Times in World Over + 100000 The Only Jain E-Magazine Community Service for 14 Continuous Years Readership AHIMSA AND VEGETARIANISM MAHARASHTRA GOVERNMENT BANS COW SLAUGHTER: FIVE YEARS JAIL Mar. 3rd, 2015. Mumbai. The bill banning cow slaughter in Maharashtra, pending for several years, finally received the President's assent, which means red meat lovers in the state will have to do without beef. This measure has taken almost twenty years to materialize and was initiated during the previous Sena-BJP Government. The bill was first submitted to the President for approval on January 30, 1996.. However, subsequent Governments at the Centre, including the BJP led NDA stalled it and did not seek the President’s consent. A delegation of seven state BJP MPs led by Kirit Somaiya, (MP from Mumbai North) had met the President in New Delhi recently and submitted a memorandum seeking assent to the bill. The memorandum said that the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Bill, 1995, passed during the previous Shiv Sena-BJP regime, was pending for approval for 19 years. The law will ban beef from the slaughter of bulls and bullocks, which was previously allowed based on a fit- for-slaughter certificate. The new Act will, however, allow the slaughter of water buffaloes. The punishment for the sale of beef or possession of it could be prison for five years with an additional fine of Rs 10,000. It is notable that, Reuters new service had earlier reported that Hindu nationalists in India had stepped up attacks on the country's beef industry, seizing trucks with cattle bound for abattoirs and blockading meat processing plants in a bid to halt the trade in the world's second-biggest exporter of beef.
    [Show full text]
  • On Corresponding Sanskrit Words for the Prakrit Term Posaha: with Special Reference to Śrāvakācāra Texts
    International Journal of Jaina Studies (Online) Vol. 13, No. 2 (2017) 1-17 ON CORRESPONDING SANSKRIT WORDS FOR THE PRAKRIT TERM POSAHA: WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO ŚRĀVAKĀCĀRA TEXTS Kazuyoshi Hotta 1. Introduction In Brahmanism, the upavasathá purification rite has been practiced on the day prior to the performance of a Vedic ritual. We can find descriptions of this purification rite in Brahmanical texts, such as ŚBr 1.1.1.7, which states as follows. For assuredly, (he argued,) the gods see through the mind of man; they know that, when he enters on this vow, he means to sacrifice to them the next morning. Therefore all the gods betake themselves to his house, and abide by (him or the fires, upa-vas) in his house; whence this (day) is called upa-vasatha (Tr. Eggeling 1882: 4f.).1 This rite was then incorporated into Jainism and Buddhism in different ways, where it is known under names such as posaha or uposatha in Prakrit and Pāli. Buddhism adopted and developed the rite mainly as a ritual for mendicants. Many descriptions of this rite can be found in Buddhist vinaya texts. Furthermore, this rite is practiced until today throughout Buddhist Asia. On the other hand, Jainism has employed the rite mainly as a practice for the laity. Therefore, descriptions of Jain posaha are found in the group of texts called Śrāvakācāra, which contain the code of conduct for the laity. There are many forms of Śrāvakācāra texts. Some are independent texts, while others form part of larger works. Many of them consist mainly of the twelve vrata (restraints) and eleven pratimā (stages of renunciation) that should be observed by * This paper is an expanded version of Hotta 2014 and the contents of a paper delivered at the 19th Jaina Studies Workshop, “Jainism and Buddhism” (18 March 2017, SOAS).
    [Show full text]
  • Distinguishing the Two Siddhasenas
    Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies, Vol. 48, No. 1, December 1999 Distinguishing the Two Siddhasenas FUJINAGA Sin Sometimes different philosophers in the same traditiion share the same name. For example, Dr. E. Frauwallner points out that there are two Buddhist philosophers who bear the name Vasubandu." Both of these philosophers are believed to have written important works that are attributed to that name. A similar situation can sometimes be found in the Jaina tradition, and sometimes the situation arises even when the philosophers are in different traditions. For exam- ple, there are two Indian philosophers who are called Haribhadra, one in the Jain tradition, and one in the Buddhist tradition. This paper will argue that one philosopher named Siddhasena, the author of the famous Jaina work, the Sammatitarka, should be distinguished from another philosopher with the same name, the author of the Nvavavatara, a work which occupies an equally important position in Jaina philosophy- 2) One reason to argue that the authors of these works are two different persons is that the works are written in two different languages : the Sammatitarka in Prakrit ; the Nvavavatara in Sanskrit. In the Jaina tradition, it is extremely unusual for the same author to write philosophical works in different languages, the usual languages being either Prakrit or Sanskrit, but not both. Of course, the possibility of one author using two languages cannot be completely eliminated. For example, the Jaina philosopher Haribhadra uses both Prakrit and Sanskrit. But even Haribhadra limits himself to one language when writing a philosophical .work : his philosophical works are all written in Sanskrit, and he uses Prakrit for all of his non-philosophical works.
    [Show full text]
  • Download File (Pdf; 349Kb)
    International Journal of Jaina Studies (Online) Vol. 9, No. 2 (2013) 1-47 A NEGLECTED ŚVETĀMBARA NARRATIVE COLLECTION HEMACANDRASŪRI MALADHĀRIN'S UPADEŚAMĀLĀSVOPAJÑAVṚTTI PART 1 (WITH AN APPENDIX ON THE FUNERAL OF ABHAYADEVASŪRI MALADHĀRIN) Paul Dundas Scholarly investigation into processes of canonisation in religious traditions has reached such a level of productivity in recent years that it may soon be necessary to establish a canon of outstanding works which discuss the formation of scriptural canons. Research on Jainism has readily acknowledged the interest of this subject, and valuable insights have been gained into the rationales informing the groupings and listings of constituent texts of a variety of Śvetāmbara canons which were introduced from around the middle of the first millennium CE and remained operative into modern times. 1 Also of great value has been the identification of practical canons, effectively curricula or syllabi of texts taken from a range of genres and historical contexts, which have provided modern Śvetāmbara renunciants and laypeople with a framework for gaining an informed understanding of the main parameters of Jain doctrine and practice of most direct concern to them. 2 The historian of Śvetāmbara Jainism has an obvious obligation to be sensitive to the significance of established 'insider' versions of canons. Nonetheless, further possibilities remain for identifying informal Śvetāmbara textual groupings which would not readily fall under the standard canonical rubric of 'scriptural' or 'doctrinal'. In this respect I would consider as at least quasi-canonical the group of major Prakrit and Sanskrit novels or romances ( kathā / kahā ) highlighted by Christine Chojnacki, most notably Uddyotanasūri's Kuvalayamālā and Siddharṣi's Upamitibhavaprapañcakathā, which were written between the seventh and twelfth centuries and whose status was confirmed by their being subsequently epitomised in summary form in the thirteenth century.
    [Show full text]
  • Chaturmas 2016 Begins
    Ju ly , 201 6 Vol. No. 192 Ahimsa Times in World Over + 100000 The Only Jain E-Magazine Community Service for 14 Continuous Years Readership CHATURMAS 2016 BEGINS Chaturmas is a holy period of four months (July to October), beginning on Shayani Ekadashi the eleventh day of the first bright half, Shukla Paksha, of Ashadh (fourth month of the Hindu lunar calendar until Prabodhini Ekadashi, the eleventh day of the first bright half of Kartik (eighth month of the Hindu lunar calendar) in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. Chaturmas is reserved for penance, austerities, fasting, bathing in holy rivers and religious observances for all. Devotees resolve to observe some form of vow, be it of silence or abstaining from a favourite food item, or having only a single meal in a day. In Jainism this practice is collectively known as Varshayog and is prescribed for Jain monasticism. Wandering monks such as mendicants and ascetics in Jainism, believed that during the rain season, countless bugs, insects and tiny creatures that cannot be seen in the naked eye would be produced massively. Therefore, these monks reduce the amount of harm they do to other creatures so they opt to stay in a village for the four months to incur minimal harm to other lives. These monks, who generally do not stay in one place for long, observe their annual 'Rains Retreat' during this period, by living in one place during the entire period amidst lay people, observing a vow of silence, meditation, fasting and other austerities, and also giving religious discourses to the local public.
    [Show full text]
  • Newsletter of the Centre of Jaina Studies
    Jaina Studies NEWSLETTER OF THE CENTRE OF JAINA STUDIES March 2017 Issue 12 CoJS Newsletter • March 2017 • Issue 12 Centre of Jaina Studies Members SOAS MEMBERS Honorary President Professor Christine Chojnacki Muni Mahendra Kumar Ratnakumar Shah Professor J. Clifford Wright (University of Lyon) (Jain Vishva Bharati Institute, India) (Pune) Chair/Director of the Centre Dr Anne Clavel Dr James Laidlaw Dr Kanubhai Sheth Dr Peter Flügel (Aix en Province) (University of Cambridge) (LD Institute, Ahmedabad) Dr Crispin Branfoot Professor John E. Cort Dr Basile Leclère Dr Kalpana Sheth Department of the History of Art (Denison University) (University of Lyon) (Ahmedabad) and Archaeology Dr Eva De Clercq Dr Jeffery Long Dr Kamala Canda Sogani Professor Rachel Dwyer (University of Ghent) (Elizabethtown College) (Apapramśa Sāhitya Academy, Jaipur) South Asia Department Dr Robert J. Del Bontà Dr Andrea Luithle-Hardenberg Dr Jayandra Soni Dr Sean Gaffney (Independent Scholar) (University of Tübingen) (University of Marburg) Department of the Study of Religions Dr Saryu V. Doshi Professor Adelheid Mette Dr Luitgard Soni Dr Erica Hunter (Mumbai) (University of Munich) (University of Marburg) Department of the Study of Religions Professor Christoph Emmrich Gerd Mevissen Dr Herman Tieken Dr James Mallinson (University of Toronto) (Berliner Indologische Studien) (Institut Kern, Universiteit Leiden) South Asia Department Dr Anna Aurelia Esposito Professor Anne E. Monius Professor Maruti Nandan P. Tiwari Professor Werner Menski (University of Würzburg) (Harvard Divinity School) (Banaras Hindu University) School of Law Dr Sherry Fohr Dr Andrew More Dr Himal Trikha Professor Francesca Orsini (Converse College) (University of Toronto) (Austrian Academy of Sciences) South Asia Department Janet Leigh Foster Catherine Morice-Singh Dr Tomoyuki Uno Dr Ulrich Pagel (SOAS Alumna) (Université Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris) (Chikushi Jogakuen University) Department of the Study of Religions Dr Lynn Foulston Professor Hampa P.
    [Show full text]
  • Shrimad Rajchandra & Mahatma Gandhi Dr Kumarpal Desai
    Shrimad Rajchandra & Mahatma Gandhi Dr Kumarpal Desai ॐ Shrimad Rajchandra & Mahatma Gandhi Author Dr Kumarpal Desai English Translation Raj Saubhag Mumukshus Shree Raj Saubhag Satsang Mandal Near National Highway 8-A, Saubhagpara, Sayla - 363 430 District Surendranagar, Gujarat, India www.rajsaubhag.org Publisher: Publication Committee Shree Raj Saubhag Satsang Mandal Saubhagpara, Sayla - 363 430 Dist Surendranagar, Gujarat, India * All rights reserved for this book by Publication committee Edition : First Edition V. S. 2073 (2017) ISBN: 978-81-935810-0-1 Printer: Pragati Offset Pvt. Ltd. 17, Red hills Hyderabad 500 004, Telangana, India Available at : Shree Raj Saubhag Satsang Mandal Shree Raj Saubhag Ashram, Saubhag Para, Sayla - 363 430. District Surendranagar, Gujarat, India Tel.: +91 2755 280533 e-mail: [email protected] website: www.rajsaubhag.org Shree Raj Saubhag Satsang Mandal 34 Shanti Niketan, 5th floor, 95-A Marine Drive, Mumbai 400 002, India Tel: +91 22 2281 3618 Institute of Jainology India B - 101 Samay Apartment, near Azad Society, Ahmedabad 380 015, Gujarat, India Tel: +91 7926762082 Gujarat Vishwakosh Trust Near Rameshpark Society, Near Usmanpura, AUDA Garden Road, Ahmedabad 380 013, India Tel: +91 7927551703 Cost: Rs. 400 Contents 1. Shrimad Rajchandra’s Life Sketch 11 2. Shrimad Rajchandra’s Message 23 3. Shrimad Rajchandra & Mahatma Gandhi 87 4. Three Letters 107 5. Some Memoirs about Shrimad Rajchandra 137 by Gandhiji Mahatma 6. From ‘My Experiments’ with Truth’ 159 7. Discussions on Shrimad Rajchandra by 169 Mahatma Gandhi 8. The Divine Touch of a Pre-eminent Personality 187 9. Shrimad Rajchandra’s Life Timeline 204 10. Shrimad’s Final Poem 207 5 Preface The first meeting between Shrimad Rajchandra and Mahatma Gandhi was an event that will be noted in world history.
    [Show full text]
  • Raj Bhakta Marg: the Path of Devotion to Srimad Rajcandra. a Jain Community in the Twenty First Century
    University of Huddersfield Repository Salter, Emma Raj Bhakta Marg: the path of devotion to Srimad Rajcandra. A Jain community in the twenty first century Original Citation Salter, Emma (2002) Raj Bhakta Marg: the path of devotion to Srimad Rajcandra. A Jain community in the twenty first century. Doctoral thesis, University of Wales. This version is available at http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/9211/ The University Repository is a digital collection of the research output of the University, available on Open Access. Copyright and Moral Rights for the items on this site are retained by the individual author and/or other copyright owners. Users may access full items free of charge; copies of full text items generally can be reproduced, displayed or performed and given to third parties in any format or medium for personal research or study, educational or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge, provided: • The authors, title and full bibliographic details is credited in any copy; • A hyperlink and/or URL is included for the original metadata page; and • The content is not changed in any way. For more information, including our policy and submission procedure, please contact the Repository Team at: [email protected]. http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/ © Emma Salter. Not to be reproduced in any form without the author’s permission Rāj Bhakta Mārg The Path of Devotion to Srimad Rajcandra. A Jain Community in the Twenty First Century. By Emma Salter A thesis submitted in candidature for the degree of doctor of philosophy. University of Wales, Cardiff.
    [Show full text]
  • Haribhadra on Property Ownership of Buddhist Monks
    International Journal of Jaina Studies (Online) Vol. 13, No. 5 (2017) 1-12 HARIBHADRA ON PROPERTY OWNERSHIP OF BUDDHIST MONKS Yutaka Kawasaki [0.1] It is a well-known fact that one of the qualities expected of renouncers in ancient India was to have freedom from attachment to worldly concerns. The Jains have treated attachment and ārambha, which means “intentional activity” or rather “violence,” as two of the most fundamental sins.1 They have listed aparigraha “non-attachment” as one of the five mahā- / aṇu-vratas. 2 Although the word aparigraha itself can denote “renouncing any material possessions,” we read in Dasaveyāliya VI 20-21, which is regarded as one of the “seniors” of the Śvetāmbara Jain scriptures:3 Garment, bowl, woolen cloth, or broom — [the Jain mendicants] keep and carry such goods for [their] restraint and the sense of shame. Nāyaputta the savior said that such [a garment etc.] is not parigraha. The great sage said that parigraha means infatuation (mūrcchā).4 This psychological interpretation was inherited by the famous definition of Umāsvāti’s Tattvārthādhigamasūtra VII 12: “mūrcchā parigrahaḥ”. This definition is regarded as authoritative to the present day. * This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Numbers JP24720027 and JP15K16620. 1 On this point, see Dixit 1978: 5, who also argues: “Taken as a whole parigraha signifies attachment for things worldly - where ‘things’ include both the material goods and the social relative and ārambha the acts injurious to others undertaken with a view to satisfying the demands of this attachment” (pp. 18f.). 2 On the five mahā- and aṇu-vratas found in the Śvetāmbara Jain scriptures, see Schubring 1935: 187f.
    [Show full text]
  • Jainism in Medieval India (1300-1800) Prologue
    JAINISM IN MEDIEVAL INDIA (1300-1800) PROLOGUE - English Translation by S.M. Pahedia It is essential to weigh the contemporary social and political background while considering the conditions and thriving of Jainism in mediaeval India. During this period, Indian society was traditionally divided into Hindu and Jain religion. Buddhism had well-nigh disappeared from Indian scenario. The Indian socio-cultural infrastructure faced sufficient change owing to the influence of Islam that infiltrated into India through the medium of the Arab, the Turk, the Mughal and the Afghan attacks. Though the new entrants too were by and large divided into Sunni, Shiya and Sufi sects, they were all bound firmly to Islam. Ofcourse, Islam brought in new life-values and life-styles in Indian life owing to which the inevitability for reconsidering the shape of social structure and traditional-philosophico facets was felt, perhaps very badly. And this very condition caused rise of some new sects like Bhakti, Saint and Sikh invigorated primarily by the Vedantist, Ramanuja, Madhav, Nimbark, Ramanand Chaitanya, Vallabha etc. With this cultural background, centuries old Digambara and Shavetambara amnay (tradition) was telling its own separate tale. Fore more than one reason, these branches were further divided into sects, sub-sects, ganas , gachchas , anvayas , sanghas & C. as time rolled by. Same way, Bhattaraka, Chaityavasi, Taranpanth, Sthanakvasi practices came into view introducing their own religious formalities, life-fashions, code of conduct, and to some extent the philosophical views. Such being the condition, Jainism of medioeval India witnessed its wide extension. At the same time, it met with certain difficulty also.
    [Show full text]
  • Prakrit, Sanskrit, and the Language Order of Premodern India
    Language of the Snakes Prakrit, Sanskrit, and the Language Order of Premodern India Andrew Ollett Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2016 ©2015 Andrew Ollett All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT Language of the Snakes Andrew Ollett Language of the Snakes is a biography of Prakrit, one of premodern India’s most important and most neglected literary languages. Prakrit was the language of a literary tradition that flourished om roughly the 1st to the 12th century . During this period, it served as a counterpart to Sanskrit, the preeminent language of literature and learning in India. Together, Sanskrit and Prakrit were the foundation for an enduring “language order” that governed the way that people thought of and used language. Language of the Snakes traces the history of this language order through the historical articulations of Prakrit, which are set out here for the first time: its invention and cultivation among the royal courts of central India around the 1st century , its representation in classical Sanskrit and Prakrit texts, the ways it is made into an object of systematic knowledge, and ultimately its displacement om the language practices of literature. Prakrit is shown to have played a critical role in the establishment of the cultural-political formation now called the “Sanskrit cosmopolis,” as shown through a genealogy of its two key practices, courtly literature (kāvya-) and royal eulogy (praśasti-). It played a similarly critical role in the emergence of vernacular textuality, as it provided a model for language practices that diverged om Sanskrit but nevertheless possessed an identity and regularity of their own.
    [Show full text]