The last ten years have seen interest in Jainism increasing, with this previously little known Indian religion assuming a significant place in religious studies.
Studies in Jaina History and Culture breaks new ground by investigating the doctrinal differences and debates amongst the Jains rather than presenting Jainism as a seamless whole whose doctrinal core has remained virtually unchanged throughout its long history. The focus of the book is the discourse concerning orthodoxy and heresy in the Jaina tradition, the question of omniscience and Jaina logic, role models for women and female identity, Jaina schools and sects, religious property, law and ethics. The internal diversity of the Jaina tradition and Jain techniques of living with diversity are explored from an interdisciplinary point of view by fifteen leading scholars Jaina studies. The contributors focus on the principal social units of the tradition: the schools, movements, sects and orders, rather than Jain religious culture In abstract.
Peter Flugel provides a representative snapshot of the current state of Jaina studies that will interest students and academics involved in the study of religion or South Asian cultures.
Peter Flugel is currently at the Department of the Study of Religion at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. He has published extensively on the history and ethnography of contemporary Jain schools and sects, Jain stupas, Jaina-Vaisnava syncretism, and the social history of the Jain tradition.
Most contributions to this first volume of the Routledge Advances in Jaina Studies series emerged from research papers presented at the annual Jaina Studies Workshop at the London School of Oriental and African Studies between 1999 and 2002, notably John E. Cort’s third Annual Jain Lecture on March 16, 2002, "A Fifteenth Century Digambar Mystic and His Contemporary Followers: Taran Taran Svami and the Taran Svami Panth." The contributions of Piotr Balcerowicz, Willem Bollée, and Royce Wiles were solicited especially for this volume. Willem Bollée’s article "Adda or the oldest extant dispute between Jains and heretics (Sdyagada 2, 6): Part One" is also published in Jamba-jyoti (Munivara Jambavijaya Festschrift), Edited by M. A. Dhaky and J. B. Shah, 48-84 (Ahmedabad: Shardaben Chimanbhai Educational Research Centre, 2004). Part Two of this article appeared in the Journal of Indian Philosophy 27 (1999) 411-37. No attempt was made to impose a homogeneous style on the contributions to this book.
This volume of essays is clear proof that the study of Jainism has assumed its rightful place in the academic study of Indian religion. Indeed, it is hard to imagine a more vibrant field today in Indian religious studies than this once-neglected area. Written by scholars in North America, Europe, and Asia, the essays deal with diverse topics, ranging from the history of the Jain samgha, to subtle points of philosophy and doctrine; they are written by anthropologists concerned with contemporary practice and art historians who see in ancient monuments evidence of religious change. They also reflect trends both new and old: some of the essays involve a close reading of texts in a continuation of the best of nineteenth-century philology, whereas others speak a more contemporary language and deal with issues that are newer to academic debates, for example, the role of women in the religious community, defining personhood, and structures of authority. Together, the essays offer a comprehensive picture of Jainism. They allow us to see Jain studies today as a lively field that engages scholars of many different disciplines on issues that span the entire range of scholarly debates in religious studies. The next challenge for all of us will be to make use of the insights gained from scholarship on Jainism to achieve a broader understanding of Indian religions as a whole. "Jainology," as a relative newcomer on the academic scene, can learn from "Buddhology," its better-established older sister. There is everything to be gained by communicating between our "ologies," and much to be lost by the creation of artificial boundaries. The study of Jainism must now be an integral part of the study of Indian religions, as the study of Indian religions must be an integral part of the academic study of religion. Volumes such as the present one will go a long way toward generating an awareness of the importance of the study of Jainism for the larger scholarly community.
**Contents and Sample Pages**
Hindu (908)
Agriculture (121)
Ancient (1082)
Archaeology (755)
Architecture (551)
Art & Culture (907)
Biography (706)
Buddhist (522)
Cookery (169)
Emperor & Queen (532)
Islam (221)
Jainism (308)
Literary (848)
Mahatma Gandhi (366)
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