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A Symposium celebrating the 90th Birthday of UC Berkeley Jain scholar, Padmanabh S. Jaini THE STUDY OF JAINISM by Alexander von Rospatt, Professor of Buddhist & South Asian Studies, and Director. Group in Buddhist Studies
elebrating Prof. Padmanabh
Jaini's ninetieth birthday and his pioneering contributions to the study of Jainism in the western world, a select group of academics from Europe and the US congregated on Saturday, October 26, 2013 for a day-long symposium hosted by the Center of South Asia Studies (and supported by various other units on cam pus) to share their work on Jainism. This group included Prof. Jaini himself, who in his presentation took the packed audience back to the region of Tulunadu in Karnataka, where he grew up. Focusing on the Digambara Jain temple of the village of Nellikar and its annual chariot procession, he investigated the role of the ritual officiants and traced their origins, demonstrating that they descend from Vedic Brahmanas who converted to Jainism. Staying in Karnataka, Peter Flügel, Chair
On the symposium's occasion of the Centre for Jaina Studies at SOAS, Professor Jaini was honored with the University of London, likewise examined DISTINGUISHED temple rituals and priests. For this he
LIFETIME SCHOLAR turned to the famous Padmavati shrine in the village of Humcha and the rituals
AWARD by the Jains performs there with the assistance
FEDERATION of JAIN (and under the control of the temple ASSOCIATIONS in priests, including rites of prognostication.
NORTH AMERICA in Moving from Karnataka north, John Cort of Denison University focused upon the
recognition of his visionary leadership,
exemplary commitment, & tireless largely unexplored presence of Digambara communities in Gujarat, surveying their
efforts in teaching Jainism to the current spread and history. The engage
North American community ment with the social dimension of Jainism was rounded off by UC Berkeley's Alexander von Rospatt, the convener of the symposium, who expanded upon Prof. Jaini's examination (1980) of why Jainism did not share the fate
From left: Peter Flügel, Kristi Wiley, Alexander von Rospatt, Shobha Vora, Ashok Domadia, Olle of Buddhism in In
Quarrström, Padmanabh Jaini. Shashi Jaini, Phyllis Granoff, Sunita Bajracharya, Paul Dundas, dia and vanish, by
Tara Sethia, Shalin lain. Nirmal Sethia, Glohn Cort probing into the social factors that allowed brought Jain and Buddhist doxographical Mahayana Buddhism in Nepal uniquely to texts, and notably the works of the Jain persist to the present.
Haribhadra Suri and the Buddhist BhaThe other presentations of this care- vaviveka, into conversation by contrasting fully balanced symposium were grounded their respective critique of the Samkhya in the study of literary sources. Phyllis model of cognition. Kristi Wiley, who Granoff of Yale University dealt with the earned her PhD at Berkeley under Prof. 17th century debate on the treatment of Jaini's supervision, dealt with the crudest Jain images and how they encode the life form of life known in Jainism, the one story of the Jina without visually referenc- sensed nigodas, and the doctrinal questions ing particular episodes. Paul Dundas of (and dilemmas) their postulation poses. the University of Edinburgh probed into
The symposium with its rich research the contribution of Jain authors to the papers by leading scholars of Jainism development of allegory in Indian literary captured something of the strength and history, focusing on the celebrated monk breadth that characterizes the study of Hemacandra Maladharin. Robert Gold- Jainism today and that is owed in no small man, who has been Prof. Jaini's colleague measure to Prof. Jaini's immense contribuat Berkeley for the past four decades,
tions to that field. Thus the conference treated the highly charged and ambivalent was a fitting tribute to his achievements as appropriations by Jain authors of promi- a lain scholar, which are matched by his nent figures from the early Sanskrit canon. equally significant accomplishments as a Finally, two papers engaged with particular scholar of Indian Buddhism aspects of Jainism's complex doctrinal his
Videos of papers presented at Southasia tory. Olle Qvarnström of Lund University berkeley.edu/study-jamism
Padmanabh S. Jaini is Professor emeritus of Buddhist Studies and co
founder of the Group in Buddhist Studies. Prof. Jaini has pioneered the study of Jainism in the Eng. lish speaking world. His "The Jaina Path of Purification" has brought the study and knowledge of Jainism
to a broader English speakPadmanabh 5. laini
ing public, and his numerous further publications such as his book "Gender and Salvation: Jaina Debates on the Spiritual Liberation of Women" (1991) and his "Collected papers on Jaina Studies" (2000)-have made him one of the leading scholars in this field. Even as a nonagenarian he continues to work and publish at the forefront of Jain Studies.