Jain Journal 2001 04

SR No.: 520142
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Jain Bhawan Publication
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication
Publication Year: 2001
Total Pages: 92
Language: English
Classification: Magazine, India_Jain Journal, & India
File Size: 4 MB

Page 32

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JAIN JOURNAL : Vol-XXXV, No. 4 April 2001 deep insight and critical interpretation of Jainism, full of astounding creative mind and speculative daring.
Later works which I can appreciate most among Jaina studies in our country are Dr. H. Ui and Dr. Е Kanakura. Both of them have contributed much to introduce real aspects of Jainism to the Japanese Academy.
In the two treatises on Jainism, Dr. H. Ui makes the utmost critical use of Chinese, Tibetan, Sanskrit and Pali sources of Buddhist canons resorting to Jaina ancient texts too. According to his opinion expressed in these articles, the main current of Indian thought at the time of Mahavira and Buddha, can be broadly divided into two, the so-called Brahmanical and non-Brahmanical. The author, by setting up a presupposition of two categories, the so-called Tapasism (Cugyo-shugi) and Yogism (Sujo-shugi) tries to characterize each of these nonBrahmanical 'six heretical schools' with thorough-going refereces giving an exhaustive investigation into the topics of ātman, kriyā, akriyā, karman, moksa, and ethical and cosmological problems, etc. Another work by H. Ui treats the similar problem of 'sixtytwo heretical thought the origin of which is found in Buddhist canons (just like the classification of three hundred and sixty-three schools' found in Japanese agamas) and tries to give a theoretical background of each of them.
Dr. E Kanakura, the Head of Indology Department, Tohoku University, studied under Dr. Takakusu and Dr. H. Ui and was once the pupil of Dr. H. Jacobi. He published two books for the study of Jainism. His scholastic attitude is extremely synthetic and steady, paying much attention to the works of European orientalists and Indian scholars.
Prof. S. Matsunami, Taisho University, has also specialised in Jainism and he has been continuing to make a critical study of the historical relations based on the internal and external evidences between Jainism and Buddhism. His chief source of studies in this respect is confined to Jaina and Buddhist canonical works.
Dr. H. Nakamura, Professor of Tokyo University, also published so far several treatises in some journals and referred to some points in his books.
I am afraid whether I could do justice to all Japanese scholars on Jainism, because I have based my opinion on the scanty material at my disposal.