Jain Philosophy

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Jain Philosophy
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Mahavira
Kevala Absolute knowledge Omniscience
Cosmic Consciousness Anekanta Relative
imperfect knowledge Karmically conditioned
imperfect knowledge
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Jain Cosmology

• Jivas animate beings bound or liberated by karma
• Invisible microbes (nigodas), plants,
  insects, animals, humans, gods.
• Ajivas inanimate things
• Motion
• Rest
• Space (akasha)
• Time (kala)

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• Body (pudgala)
• material atoms (anu) of earth, water,
  fire, air
• Fine particles of karmic dirt (karma varana)
• Metaphors of dust, dirt, staining,
  contamination, and coloring are used to explain
  how karma flows into (asrava) the pure
  consciousness of the jiva.

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The Jain Universe
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• Realist Ontology
• Persons and things are real.
• The universe (loka) is real and material.
• Karma is a form of material substance.
• The world is eternal.
• There is no one supreme omnipotent creator god.

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• Jainism is trans-theistic rather than atheistic.
• Many devas of a higher karmic attainment.
• Jivas are the master of their own destiny.
• No gods grace can save them from their the
  karmic choices.
• Jivas are infinite in number. Their true nature
  is infinite awareness, perception, bliss, energy.

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Jaina Theory of Knowledge

• Indirect fallible, karmically limited knowledge
  jnana
• Mati opinion
• Sensory perception vyavaharika
  pratyaksha
• empirical perception
• Memory smrti
• Recognition pratyabhijna (combination
  of
• memory and perception)
• Logic (inference induction) tarka
• Shruta verbal knowledge

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• Direct karmically purified supra-empirical
• knowledge
• Avadhi purified but still limited
  cognition of spatio-temporal objects, remote
  viewing, clairvoyance
• Manahparyaya Even more purified
  cognition of other minds, telepathy
• Kevala pure infinite knowledge of
  everything by the siddhas, omniscience

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• Jain epistemology and logic as the principle of
  ahimsa applied to thought.
• Intellectual non-violence.

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Svetambara Monk on Pilgrimage
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• The Jain Theory of Relativity
• Anekantavada Ontology of Relativity.
• Nayavada Epistemology of Relativity.
• Syadvada Logic of Relativity.

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• Anekantavada
• An-eka-anta Not one sided, the many-sidedness of
  reality.
• All things have infinite aspects. As such they
  cannot they perceived and cognized by the
  ordinary human mind with its karmic limitations.
  Only omniscient kevalins can see the total
  reality.
• Reality is infinitely and irreducibly complex.

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• Intellectual humility and respect for other
  points of view recognizing all are limited.
• Avoid ekantata (absolutism) egotistical,
  sectarian, or dogmatic clinging to a point of
  view

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Nayavada

• The partial standpoints or perspectives.
• Truth of any judgment or view depends on the
  perspective, the naya.
• Apparently contradictory statements can be made
  about anything from different nayas.
• Truth claims are based on valid nayas.

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• Nayas are kinds of knowledge accessible to
  humans.
• Nayas are theoretically infinite.
• But there are seven basic ones.
• Not modern relativism or skepticism that there is
• no truth or truth is a convention.
• There is an absolute truth and Jinas know what it
  is.

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• Jains vigorously defend Jain principles against
  attack and critique other philosophical systems
  as one-sided.
• Other philosophical views are stuck on one naya,
  true from a one point of view.
• The Jain view is simply more comprehensive and
  inclusive.

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• Jainism saw itself as the true middle way between
  the radical impermanence of the Buddhists no self
  doctrine and the permanent enduring self of the
  Vedantists and Naiyayikas.
• Nyaya proofs for God were also targets for much
  rigorous refutation.

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• Jain Logic
• Dialectical logic of conditional predication
• Transcends either/or binary logic and the
  disagreements that arise from partial, onesided
  judgments.

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Syadvada Maybe Logic

• Syat vada
• Syat let it be or it may be
• Multi-value logic
• Syadvada is a seven-valued logic
• Saptabhangiseven-fold predication

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• 1. From one point of view it is exists, true, or
  blue.
• 2. From one point of view it is not.
• 3. From one point of view it and it is not.
• 4. From one point of view it is and it is
  indescribable.
• 5. From one point of view it is not and it is
  indescribable.
• 6. From one point of view it is, it is not, and
  it is indescribable.
• 7. From one point of view it is indescribable.

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• From one perspective he is bad.
• From one perspective he is not bad.
• From one perspective he is bad and not bad.
• From one perspective he is bad and indescribable.
  
• From one perspective he is not bad and
  indescribable.
• From one perspective he is bad, not bad, and
  indescribable.
• From one perspective he is indescribable.

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• Gautama Lord. Is the soul permanent or
• impermanent?
• Mahavira The soul is permanent as well as
  impermanent. From the point of view of the
  substance (dravya) it is eternal. From the point
  of view of its modes (paryaya) it is undergoes
  birth, decay, and destruction and hence is
  impermanent.
• Bhagavati
  Sutra 758-59

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• Mahaviras Inclusive Middle Path
• Mahavira answered profound metaphysical
  questions with yes and no
• Existence and non-existence of the soul
• Eternity and non-eternity of the universe
• Being and non-being
• Unity and plurality
• Permanence and impermanence
• Identity and difference
• Materialism and idealism
• Necessity and freedom

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• Founders of Jain philosophy who set the trend
  for later Jain thinkers
• Umasvati
• Kundakunda
• Siddhasena Divakara

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• Emergence, perishing, and endurance
  characterize all entities.
• 
  Tattvarthasutra
• Meaning of the Fundamental
  Principles
• Umasvati
  2nd-4th centuries CE,
• First work in Sanskrit to systematize the
  basics of Jain philosophy. Touchstone for all
  later authors who write commentaries on it.

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• Kundakunda Digambara thinker
• 2nd or 3rd Century
  CE
• Two Truths
• Mundane perspective Anekanta-Ordinary
• Vyavahara naya cognition from
  the point of
• 
  view of the seven nayas.
• Ultimate perspective Kevala-perfect
  knowledge
• Niscaya naya of a Jina.

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• Siddhasena Divakara the Sun
• Svetambara logician, circa 5th century CE
• Nyayavatara Introduction to Logic
• Sanmatirtarka Logic of True Doctrine
• Divides the seven nayas into
• Dravyastika Permanent substances
• Paryayastika Changing modes
• Identifies the nayas with different philosophical
  darsanas.

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• Permanent substances (dravyas)
• 1. Common Vaisesika, Sankhya
  
• 2. General Mahayana Buddhism, Vedanta
• Changing modes and qualities (paryayas)
• 3.Practical Carvaka
• 4.Momentary Sautrantika
  Buddhism
• 5. Verbal Grammarians
• 6. Subtle
• 7.Actual Mimamsa

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• Haribhadra 8th century CE
• Saddarsanasamuccaya
• Compendium of the Six Philosophical Systems
• (Buddhism, Nyaya, Sankhya, Jainism, Vaisesika,
• Mimamsa, Carvaka)
• Yogadrstisamuccaya
• Compendium of Views on Yoga
• Victory Flag of Relativity (Anekanta)
• Satirizes Hindu Classics in his A Tale of
  Scoundrels

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• Akalanka 8th c.
• Haribhadra 8th c.
• Hemacandra 12th c.
• Ripper Apart of Other Systems of Thought
• Yasovijaya 17th c.
• Jain were great builders of libraries and
  collectors of manuscripts.

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Religions are different roads converging upon
the same point. What does it matter if we take
different roads so long as we reach the same
goal.
Gandhi