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A note on the Jaina Conception of Substance
"Of the conditioned entities, monks, the origin is conceived, even so
their decay and their stability (persistence)."'10 Nagarjuna, however, directed his dialectical attack against the notion of the conditioned (samskfla) and concluded
“Since the notion of origin, persistence and decay cannot be established. the conditioned does not exist And if the conditioned 18 not established, how will the unconditioned be established ?"20
But why then did the Buddha speak about the triple character of the conditioned entities ? Nagarjuna replied :
"Just as the magic, the dream cloud-castle are unreal (but nevertheless, are spoken about) 40 also the origin, stability and decay have been described."21
In fact, the triple character that describes the Jaina conception of substance has been dwelt upon by many later authors. Samantabhadra points out that origin and decay relate to the specific nature of the substanco and stability to the generic nature 22 Thus, if a golden pot is destroyed and a golden crown 19 made out of it, destruction, origination and continuity happen simultaneously and give rise to sorrow, joy and indifferent attitude respectively in the minds of three different kinds of people, those in favour of the pot, those in favour of the crown, and those in favour of the gold stuff Kumarıla stated the point more elaborately :
If the (gold) plate is destroyed and (instead) a (gold) necklace 19 made, then the person who wanted the plate will grieve, and he who wlahca the latter will be happy, but he who wishes for the gold stuff (only) will neither grieve nor be happy. Thus, the triple nature of an entity is proved "99
Turning to the second conception of substance in the Tattvarthasūtras ( according to which substance is the substratum of qualities and modes ), we can say that it was probably derived from the Vaiseșika school. In fact Tativürthasutra 541 defines quality
“Qualities are located in substances, and are themselves devoid of qualities,"24
This seems to be an echo of the Vai esika definition of guna or quality. It is also significant that one of the most important Jaina concepts, mode
19 Quoted by Candrakirti, see Nagürjuna, Madhyamika-sastra, p 73. 20 Nagarjuna, Madlıyamaka-istra, Ch. VIT, 33 21 Ibid., verso 34 22 Samantabhadra, Aptamimūmsū, Ch III, serge 57. 23 Kumánla, Mimūnsäślokavārtika, p. 613 24 "Dravya raya nirguna gunah " Tattvarthasutra 5 41
Sambodh! 5.2-3
