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JAINA STUDIES IN FRANCE
Madame Colette Coillat, Paris University, France In France, Jainism constantly aroused a great interest among the scholars dealing with the history and culture of India. Early in the 19th century, all encyclopaedias and general reference books give comparatively long accounts on the origins and development of the Community and the Jaina doctrine; they provide informations concerning their artistic achievements and, also, concerning the contemporary status and customs of the sects and believers.
Most of the authors pointed to similarities between the Jaina and Buddhist early history, to their common denial of the authority of the Vedas and hostility against animal sacrifice, to the parallelisms in the lives of Buddha and Mahāvira, or again, in the laksaņas of the Saviours to the analogies and differences) in the organization of the Buddhist and Jaina Orders, and, further, in the technical vocabulary of both the Churches (Burnouf, Senart, S. Levi). Hence, the question of their mutual relationship has been much debated (Barth); on the other hand, the fundamental Indian character of the two systems has also been emphasised, and the connections, the possible links between these and Brahmanism have been pointed out. Thus, though the importance of Jainism was in no way ignored (cf. the collection of manuscripts assembled by Senart, a catalogue of which has been edited by Jean Filliozat, "Etat des manuscrits de la collection Emile Senart," Journal Asiatique 1936, p. 127-143), the comparative approach appears to have always fascinated the French scholars, among whom are some of the most brilliant e. g. Sylvain Levi (La doctrine du sacrifice dans les Brāhmanas, 1898, Introduction “Observations sur une langue precanonique du bouddhisme, Journal Asiatique, 1912), Louis Renou, who devoted to Jainism the sixth and last of the Jordan Lectures in Comparative Religion which, in May 1951, he delivered to the London School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London (published in Religions of India, 1953, p. 111-133).
Also the histories of Indian philosophy often choose to present together, to compare and oppose, the Jaina and Buddhist tenets (P. Masson-Oursel, Histoire dela philosophie indienne, 1923, parts 3 and 7; the same, in L'Inde antique et la civilisation indienne, 1933, part 3, chapter 2). Moreover, various monographs jointly use the data supplied by the Scriptures of both Communities (L. Silburn, Instant et cause. Le discontinu dans la pensee philosophique de l'Inde, chapter 4).
The importance of Jaina contribution in the fields of science and literature was underlined, especially by scholars interested in the Tamil kävyas, like J. Vinson
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