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Chapter 12 Definition of Living
The three-level universe of the Jainas (lower, middle and upper) is the play-ground of all the entities found in it. It is its middle portion termed as middle, circularly flat or tiryaka universe which is important to us. The humans and animals reside in it. It is innumerable island-oceaned. The animals are collectively called as 'Tiryañcas' or transverse movers. They are said to be crooked, instinctive and load-carriers having 1-5 senses1. They include plant and animal kingdoms. In contrast, human beings are 5-sensed and have highly conscious, active mental faculty. The following sections will deal with them. However, before we deal with them, it is pertinent to learn about their characteristics.
There has always been a visualisation about the existence of two distinct types of mutually supporting entities in the world with different characteristics. They are designated as non-living and living. However, both of these entities have faced difficulties in their proper origin and definition. First, there has been an unitary concept regarding their origin based on common-sense approach. Accordingly, one entity seems to be the specific form of the other. This approach has taken two faces animistic and inanimistic. Acāränga starts with animistic approach2. Everything in the world is living primarily, changed into non-living only by weapon-operation on it as pointed out in Daśavaikālika3. Thus, the non-livingness originates form the living ones due to their operation or death. This view coincides with the terminal Upanisadic and Vedantic thoughts.
The inanimistic approach is reverse. It holds that livingness arises through specific inanimistic combinations. It is a
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