Jaina Philosophers On Nature Of Liberation

Publisher: Unknown

Page 13

Article Navigation
motion does not have it, is motion in a straight line (avigraha-gati). Whose motion is it? [It is the motion] of jivas. What kind (of jivas)? Liberated ones.16 TBh 2.28 emphasises that this is always the motion of the liberated jiva: 'The jiva's motion of the one achieving perfection (sidhyamána-gati) is always (niyatam) in a straight line.165
Liberated jivas, then, move upwards and in a straight line, but at a certain point they stop. Jaina philosophers understand that the stopping of the jivas might seem illogical. SS 10.7 $934, for example, asks: 'If the upward movement is the own-nature (ürdhva-gati-svabhava) of the liberated being, why does it not soar upwards from the border of the cosmos?
other words, if the jiva's innate motion is upwards, why does the liberated jiva not move, potentially eternally, in the upward direction beyond the top of the cosmos? In SS this question is followed by Umäsväti's reply: 'Owing to the absence of the extensive substance of the medium of motion (dharma-astikaya). SS 10.8 $935 elaborates: 'In acosmic space (aloka) there is no movement (gamana), because up there there is no extensive substance of the medium of motion, which is the supporting cause of motion (gati-upagraha-kāraṇa). And if there was, there would be no difference between cosmic and acosmic space. According to this explanation, the substance of the medium of motion is the supporting or instrumental cause of motion, meaning that it does not directly cause motion to occur but rather enables it to do so. In TS 5.17 Umäsvāti pairs the medium of motion with the medium of rest (adharma), the substance that enables moving existents to come to a stop. The media of motion and rest are single substances that are extremely vast, but nevertheless limited, and their limits define the borders of cosmic space. Travelling upwards, any substance would, thus, eventually hit the border beyond which motion (and rest) is no longer possible.
TBH 10.6 neatly links the stopping of the liberated jiva to the example of the gourd in the water, water being a common example that Jaina philosophers use for illustrating the operation of the medium of motion:
Why is there no motion of the liberated one upward from the border of the cosmic space? This is explained here. Because of the absence of the extensive substance of the medium of motion. Because the extensive substance of the medium of motion offers assistance by supporting the motion of jivas and material substances. It [i.e. the medium of motion] does not exist there. Thus, owing to the absence of the Skip to supporting cause of motion (gati-upagraha-kāraṇa), there is no motion beyond
[cosmic space], like [in the case of] the gourd in the water. It has been said: "Not downwards, not sidewards." Therefore, the liberated being, whose movement is in a