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Celebrating Jain Society of Houston Pratishtha Mahotsav 1995
THE SAMAYASARA OF KUNDA-KUNDA
The author of the SAMAYASARA, attributed to one Kunda-Kunda, is an obscure figure. This work is one of a number of texts written in a Prakrit language known as Jain Sauraseni and said to be written by the same author. (The Prakrits were based on the popular speech of their time are contrasted with the more formal Sanskrit.) However it is nowadays accepted that they cannot all be by the same writer. Even the date of Kunda-kunda is a matter for dispute by scholars: there are some biographical details available but they are so late as to be unreliable. Probably he lived and wrote in south India around the first century BC or the first century AD. His works, and perhaps particularly the Samayasara, have been widely read and studied. They have been translated into several Indian languages, and some of them (including the Samayasara) into English. They have attracted many traditional commentators of whom one very important was Amritacandra around 1000 AD, who wrote in Sanskrit. A commentary in Kannada (a major south Indian language) was written by Balacandra about the thirteenth century AD.
An edition of the Samayasara with English translation and with an English commentary (largely based on Amritacandra) and introduction by the late Professor A. Chakravarti, of Madras, was published by Bharatiya Jnanapith, Delhi (second edition 1971). Samaya means "self" and is used in the same sense as "atman" in Hindu philosophy. it can be very loosely rendered "soul". Professor Chakravarti in his lengthy introduction deals with the concept of the Self in many Western and Indian schools of thought.
After a sentence of homage to the Siddhas, the liberated souls, the Samayasara commences by pointing the difference between that jiva (or individual soul) which rests on the "three jewels" of Right Conduct, Faith and Knowledge, which pure soul is the real Self, in contrast to that which is contaminated by the material of karma. (Jains see karma as a sort of cloud of dust which clouds over the blissful all-knowing qualities of the pure soul). This is the basic message of the Samayasara and in the subsequent chapters it is fully developed. The true Self is pure. However emotional states such as attachment to things, lead to the bondage of karma, The realization of one's true nature leads to repentance and renunciation and eventually to liberation and moksha.
The Samayasara is easy to read, at least in the English translation, and the reasons for its success are clear. It describes simply and basically the processes by which we are bound by the effects of
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our actions and attitudes, and the path of understanding and self-control which can lead us to our full potentiality, unfettered by the things of the world.
(Reprinted from The Jain, July 1983)
THE LOST PURVA TEXTS
The sacred scriptures of the Jains are of great antiquity. Inevitably, with writings of great age there is a lot of dispute amongst scholars about their age, their authorship and of course their authenticity. With books which may have been originally compiled over two thousand years ago, it can be very difficult to know whether the text which we have today is a faithful copy of the ancient version. Even if we have a very early manuscript, say a thousand years old, that is still many centuries after the compilation of the original work. In that time all sorts of changes could have been made, pieces added or taken out, mistakes made in copying and so on. Indeed these difficulties have led some Jain scholars to be very cautious about the authenticity of writings which are accepted by others: by and large the Digambara are not happy about the scriptures of the Svetambara as they exist today.
Some people are afraid to apply scholarly research and criticism to their sacred writings: it is quite natural to be upset at the possibility that scholars will come to conclusions which are different from the traditional views. This is true of other religions as well as Jainism. When scholarly research began to be applied
to the Christian Bible, large numbers of more conservative Christians were upset by the results. But in fact, now that the fuss has died down and the conclusions of the experts have been shown to be generally right the fact that Christians know the way in which their sacred writings were compiled, which parts were added later, which are interdependent on each other or come from a common source, which can be regarded as genuine history and which are only edifying stories (but not necessarily less valuable for that). After this the value of the Bible has been strengthened not weakened. We must believe that there is no conflict between modern scientific research methods and true religion. This is a fact which should be particularly evident to Jains, whose religion is particularly well able to fit in with modem scientific world.
"Man's life is a mine of precious stones: Vision, Knowledge, and Character are the three most important gems"
(Author Unknown)
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