Jain Spirit 2005 12 No24

SR No.: 529004
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Jain Spirit UK
Publisher: UK Young Jains
Publication Year: 2005
Total Pages: 102
Language: English
Classification: Magazine, UK_Jain Spirit, & UK
File Size: 21 MB

Page 28

www.IAINSPIRIT.COM
NEWS FEATURES
MILESTONE IN JAIN STUDIES
New Summer School Attracts Top Scholars
A
pioneering International Summer School for Jain Studies has taken place in India to bring together academics and researchers, and to promote a wider knowledge and understanding of the Jain philosophy, culture and way of life. The organisers are a trust known as the International Summer School for Jain Studies which is a project of The Academic Study of Jainism in North America, directed by Professor Cromwell Crawford of
University of Hawaii. It is sponsored by the Mahavir World Vision, Inc., with Dr. Sulekh Jain as Director of the Board. The project focuses mainly on the United States and Canada, where Jain studies are featured little or not at all in the University programme. However, the scope of the initiative is global and the intention is to make one of India's most ancient doctrines accessible to scholars and students in a range of disciplines.
The project is implanted and administered in India by Mr. Shugan Jain of New Delhi. Participating students from North America will receive credits towards their degree courses at Canadian and US universities. It is intended that the Summer School will be an annual event. Already, it has broken new grounds in Jain studies, in collaboration between Indian and North American researchers, secular and religious scholars.
Jam Education International
The Summer School took place between 1 June and 31 July 2005 at a number of Indian venues, most of which had strong historical and cultural ties with Jain tradition. An array of competitively renowned scholars attended, such as Professor James L. Fredericks, PhD of Loyola Marymount University, who is also a Catholic priest in the Archdiocese of San Francisco. His interest in Jain studies arose from a long-term involvement in BuddhistChristian dialogue. Robin Brinkman, a PhD student at Claremont Graduate University, California, has been a spiritual teacher for the International Society for Krishna Consciousness and is working on a comparative study of Jainism and the Hindu Vaishnava tradition. Other scholars included Sarah Hadmack of the University of Hawaii, who aims to promote Jain education in the religious studies departments of
American universities, and Tim Helton of Claremont, who is attracted by the Jain tradition of non-absolutism or anekantvada. Laura Newberry also investigated female Jain monks, Marcel Parent researched comparative analysis of Jain and Buddhist religions primarily, and Christopher Handy on mysticism in Jainism. Students and scholars alike were provided with an extensive reading list, which included Studies in Jain. Philosophy by Nathmal Tatia, Natubhai Shah's two-volume Jainism: The World of the Conquerors, and The Jaina Path of Purification by Padmanabh S. Jaini, and a host of other books considered as canonical literature by Jains.
Despite this heavyweight presence, the Summer School was anything but narrowly academic. Throughout the two months, the highly motivated students were able to balance their academic study with the lived experience of Jainism. They visited Jain homes, witnessed family ceremonies, temple worship, festivals, visual and performing arts. They also talked extensively with Jain monks, nuns and pilgrims from both the Digambara and Shvetambara branches of Jainism. In Delhi, for instance, they visited the Chhoti Dadabari and Samaraks Shvetambara temples, along with Digambara temples including the famous Lal Mandir. Students were shown poojas taking place there, and even had the chance to participate in poojas themselves. One postgraduate student, Laura Newberry of Claremont, California, described her experiences to Shugan Jain in these terms: "Each moment, as I open, deepen and learn, I am so blessed to have been acquainted with all of you, particularly you for your kind nature and immense understanding of the beauty of Jainism.... I am excited to await each new day full of possibility and unfolding bliss."
Laura is a PhD student in the Women's Studies in Religion programme at
SUMMER SCHOOL FOR JAIN STUDIES
Y 2005