Essays in Jaina Philosophy and Religion.

• Author: Kelting, M. Whitney
• Position: Book review

Essays in Jaina Philosophy and Religion. Edited by PIOTR BALCEROWICZ and MAREK MEJOR. Lala Sundarlal Jain Research Series, vol. 20. Delhi: MOTILAL BANARSIDASS, 2003. Pp. iv + 306. Rs. 495.

This volume arose out of the "Aspects of Jainism" international seminar held at Warsaw University in September 2000. It is divided into four sections: Philosophy and Anekanta; Early Jainism, Buddhism and Ajivikism; Ethics and Monastic Discipline; and Mediaeval Mysticism and Sectarian Divisions. The first and largest section includes a series of five articles that intersect in their discussion of the Jain epistemology (Albrecht Wezler and Kristi Wiley) in light of the Jain stance of philosophical relativism or anekanta (Jayandra Soni) and of Jain notions of time (Christoph Emmrich) as represented in their in-depth discussions of the Jain naya method (Piotr Balcerowicz). These five as a group illustrate the complexity of the Jain contributions to Indian philosophy as well as the sort of internal debate that fueled this efflorescence of epistemological thought. The second section comprises four articles that explore the links between Jains and other communities, including evidence of contact between Jains and Buddhists (Padmanabh Jaini), the value of studying Jain materials to understand Buddhism (Kenji Watanabe), a frame of Ajivika doctrine drawn from Buddhist, Jain and, perhaps most interestingly, Hindu sources (Johannes Bronkhorst), while Muni Jambuvijay's piece--in Sanskrit--gives a short overview of Jainism, which is interesting as an example of the manner in which a learned Jain mendicant integrates his knowledge of Jainism with those fleeting references to Jainism in the writings of others. The third section contains three articles loosely centered...