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Review
Dr. Joshi himself refers to four Right Efforts of Buddhism, one of which relates to the process of removing impure roots of Karm in. Later Hinduism also stressed such a process under the nam, of karmakşaya or prayascitta.
. The theme of Anyatvānūprekșa (IL. V) is explained by some Jaina texts as 'I am different from my family members, attendents, wealth ani body,' or as implying that different [unrelated] souls become father, son, wife, etc. in this world'- (: cf. p. 26). This mutual distinction and unrelatedness of souls, however, forms the lagitimate theme of Ekatvānuprekśa (cf. II. iv) p. 24-5). One wonders, therefore, as to why Dr. Joshi offers no comm. ent to this effect.
In the last para on p. 36, Dr. Joshi rightly points out that the most important teaching of Buddhism is the practice of karuņā (interchangeable with Ahimsa), upon which are founded all other social virtues (: Maitri, Dāna, Seva etc.) and the entire system of moral restraint & ascetic disci. pline. But as a point of correlation and synthesis with discussions in the preceding lecture, he could also have mentioned Karuņā as one of the four Brahma vihara-8 (cf, p. 10). On p. 10, again, one expects a brief elucidation of the Buddhist Brahma in comparison with Brabminical Brahman, but is disappointed. Nor is it clarified whether the 4 Buddhist Brahmavihāra-s form sources of the four Bhavana-s prescribed in yogasätra 2.33. 4 (cf p. 9, para 1)
At the beginning of section III. iv (p. 58), Dr. Joshi expresses disapproval of Walther Schubring's remark that the Siddha-s are soul, pure and simple". Neverthless, his own remarks that Siddhas are released souls (p. 52) "free from all traces of karma, change and unrest (p. 59), decribed in entirely negative words as being without any shape, size, colour smell and taste", "devoid of body", "neither male nor female" (p. 58)..., reminds one of the characterization of soul os neti neti by the Upanişads in general and as naiva stri na pumän esa in Svetāśvatara Up., etc. However Dr. Joshi takes no note of these striking parallelisms.
Section III. v gives two Jaina synonyms for acārya : gañadhara and guru. At the end of III. vi, ācārya seems to be equated with sūri also. The latter is, in any case, a very common appendage with names of Jaina monks, and its exact connotation ought to have been given here.
Apart from the few minor points made above, the book makes a very interesting and revealatory reading. Dr. Joshi has ingeniously explained unbelievably large numbers in the texts as being symbolic (p. 64, para 3)
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