The concept of soul and consciousness was well established in ancient India.Western philosophy faces several problems in explaining consciousness.Consciousness and intelligence is the property of soul in Jainism.Jaini...The concept of soul and consciousness was well established in ancient India.Western philosophy faces several problems in explaining consciousness.Consciousness and intelligence is the property of soul in Jainism.Jainism is a comprehensive system describing the role of karma,relation between the soul,mind and the body,and the cognition processes.The paper describes the Jain system,examines the issues on consciousness in western philosophy and shows that these issues do not arise in the Jain scheme.展开更多
There is no manual on masculinity in early India and yet the idea of perfect man runs through Sanskrit,Pali,and Prakrit texts.That the Sanskrit traditions should construct an image of perfect man is understandable.The...There is no manual on masculinity in early India and yet the idea of perfect man runs through Sanskrit,Pali,and Prakrit texts.That the Sanskrit traditions should construct an image of perfect man is understandable.There is thrust on virility and procreation;procreation of a son who would inherit land and carry the lineage further.Strong and healthy men were needed to protect society and for the purpose of production.While this is understandable in a tradition that emphasizes life of a householder,one does find the concept of a complete man a little paradoxical in literature of monastic traditions that promote celibate existence for their monks.The monks were also kept away from both productive activities as well as from the responsibility of providing security to others.The focus was clearly on acquisition of knowledge and spiritual ascension.So what could push the construction of the notion of a perfect man?A closer exploration of Buddhist and Jain texts makes the complexity comprehensible as would be revealed by the study.展开更多
Ethos and logos of the Jain thought and practice （world view） is based on reality perceived by senses. Atheistic roots of Jain Dharm have nourished growth, maintained viability and vitality, and kept it relevant for...Ethos and logos of the Jain thought and practice （world view） is based on reality perceived by senses. Atheistic roots of Jain Dharm have nourished growth, maintained viability and vitality, and kept it relevant for over the last five millennia. Unlike Judeo-Christian-Islam or Brahminical faith, it does not rely on omniscient supreme or god. Its atheistic and anti-theistic thrust is generally known, yet its followers do not call themselves Nastik （non-believers）. They emphasize action-consequence relations as guide for successful behaviors with ethical conduct. The basis of their arguments follows from the Jain logic （Saptbhangi Syad Nay） of evidence based inference with multiple orthogonal affirmed assertions （Jain 2011）. It conserves information by acknowledging the remaining doubt in an inference. It does not assume binary complementation to force closure for deduction with incomplete knowledge which leads to self-reference and loss of information. This approach offers a rational and practical alternative to conundrum of western atheism even though its arguments are logical and consistent with available evidence. It also obviates need to extract religious morality from social mores. Objective truth and knowledge of established generalizations is necessary but not sufficient for subjective searches to shape desires and for what the future ought to be.展开更多
文摘The concept of soul and consciousness was well established in ancient India.Western philosophy faces several problems in explaining consciousness.Consciousness and intelligence is the property of soul in Jainism.Jainism is a comprehensive system describing the role of karma,relation between the soul,mind and the body,and the cognition processes.The paper describes the Jain system,examines the issues on consciousness in western philosophy and shows that these issues do not arise in the Jain scheme.
文摘There is no manual on masculinity in early India and yet the idea of perfect man runs through Sanskrit,Pali,and Prakrit texts.That the Sanskrit traditions should construct an image of perfect man is understandable.There is thrust on virility and procreation;procreation of a son who would inherit land and carry the lineage further.Strong and healthy men were needed to protect society and for the purpose of production.While this is understandable in a tradition that emphasizes life of a householder,one does find the concept of a complete man a little paradoxical in literature of monastic traditions that promote celibate existence for their monks.The monks were also kept away from both productive activities as well as from the responsibility of providing security to others.The focus was clearly on acquisition of knowledge and spiritual ascension.So what could push the construction of the notion of a perfect man?A closer exploration of Buddhist and Jain texts makes the complexity comprehensible as would be revealed by the study.
文摘Ethos and logos of the Jain thought and practice （world view） is based on reality perceived by senses. Atheistic roots of Jain Dharm have nourished growth, maintained viability and vitality, and kept it relevant for over the last five millennia. Unlike Judeo-Christian-Islam or Brahminical faith, it does not rely on omniscient supreme or god. Its atheistic and anti-theistic thrust is generally known, yet its followers do not call themselves Nastik （non-believers）. They emphasize action-consequence relations as guide for successful behaviors with ethical conduct. The basis of their arguments follows from the Jain logic （Saptbhangi Syad Nay） of evidence based inference with multiple orthogonal affirmed assertions （Jain 2011）. It conserves information by acknowledging the remaining doubt in an inference. It does not assume binary complementation to force closure for deduction with incomplete knowledge which leads to self-reference and loss of information. This approach offers a rational and practical alternative to conundrum of western atheism even though its arguments are logical and consistent with available evidence. It also obviates need to extract religious morality from social mores. Objective truth and knowledge of established generalizations is necessary but not sufficient for subjective searches to shape desires and for what the future ought to be.
