ISJS Jainism Study Notes E5 Vol 03

Author(s): International School for Jain Studies
Publisher: International School for Jain Studies

Page 200

Often the highest type of death is a reserved designation for the death of a liberated being, or a death which results in liberation from saṁsāra, the cycle of existence. The worst type of death is described by Mata Jnanamati as "[t]he death of a wrong-faithed living beings and death by suicide and accident etc." It would problematic in modern bioethics, where even the word 'accident' has been replaced by terminology such as 'collision', to associate events causing sudden death with foolishness. This would be unfair to a pedestrian struck by no fault of their own. Additionally, 'wrong-faith' needs to be qualified because such logic would not survive outside of a Jaina context if it meant 'non-Jain.' Betraying the above description of the worst type of death are other indications in Jaina thought which show that, in fact, the last moments of life continue to hold the redemptive opportunity to improve one's death by way of supplementary purification practices, such as confession. A sudden, traumatic death would, indeed, make dying more problematic. However, even if there is little time to prepare and only mere moments of consciousness remaining, Jaina death practice allows for the continued potential to transform the mind.
Fasting (anaśana) and bodily turmoil (kāyakleśa) austerities (tapa) in Jaina Voluntary Death Austerities, particularly fasting and immobilization are a crucial part of understanding Jaina voluntary death practice. Generally, we can categorize fasts into three types: (1) instrumental; (2) protest; and (3) purificatory / liberative. The first would be those aimed at achieving a specific worldly end, the second would be those associated with social activism, and the last would be concerned with karma.
Instrumental fasting and that used for protest are rejected in Jaina thought and practice. "[F]orms of instrumental fasting (vrata) are invariably criticized by the Jains?.", and it is also felt that "[f]asting unto death for specific purposes has an element of coercion which is against the spirit of non-violence." They are distinguished as inappropriate types of fasting because they keep one "caught in the wheel of saṁsāra 19, rather than being a cause of liberation from the cycle of existence.
6 Jaina Bharati, 1981: p. 240. 7 Flugel, Jainism and Society 2006: f: 30. 8 Kalghatgi, Jaina View of Life, p. 185 9 lbid. p.185.
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