Jainism Precepts and Practice

Author(s): Puranchand Nahar, Krishnakant Ghosh
Publisher: Caxton Publications

Page 62

AN EPITOME OF JAINISM.
(s) Generic qualities
the sensations of colour, taste, smell, weight, we say that it has the qualities of colour, smell etc, for which reason qualities are understood to be inherent in or to constitute the nature of the thing in as much as they are but different ways in which the self-preservative power which is the real essence of the thing manifests itself outwardly.
But qualities of things appear to us as as being of two kinds, so different that one may be described as essential and the other as 1101-essential For, some of the qualities which perception reveals appear to constitute the very essence of things qualities without which there cannot be any conception whatsoever of things as extramental realities and these are called generic (1917) qualities which are common to all things and beings.
The Jain sages hold that the generic qualities without which a thing becomes wholly inconcivable to us are ten in number VIZ,
(1) Entity (ufca)which may be described as having the characteristics of
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