________________
The Vibrancy of Pudgala: Thinking about the activity of Matter in Jain Philosophy
Michael Anderson
[This paper explores the concept of pudgala (matter) in Jain philosophy. Although traditionally posited as an inanimate substance due to the fact that it lacks the enlivening jiva (soul), I want to look in the ways in which matter has some productive capacity. To do so, I wish to enter into dialogue with Jainism and the work of political theorist Jane Bennett. Bennett's work proposes that matter has a vital, indeed vibrant, existence by arguing that matter possesses 'thing-power," "the curious ability of inanimate things to animate, to act, to produce effects dramatic and subtle" (Bennett, Vibrant Matter, 6). This "thing-power" of matter, I argue, is already apparent within Jain philosophy. For example, matter has an affect on the soul in its unique interpretation as karma.
The enjoining of matter and soul that describes the Jain doctrine of karma is extensively described; it is quite unlike that of other dharma traditions. For Jains, karma is much more than a situation of cause-and-effect, because it is also a material force. It is called 'subtle matter,' visually imperceptible particles that attach upon a jiva. This interaction between matter and soul is similar to Bennett's (following Deleuze and Guattari) idea of an 'assemblage,' an engagement that produces creative effects, for instance, the decision of embodiment a jiva possesses in the next life. Making the intuitive leap in which if karma, a type of matter, has an affect upon the soul, I argue, then, it is very likely that other types of matter (gross and extended matter, for instance) could potentially have similar affects. With Bennett's perceptive notion of vital materialism in mind, I want to dialogue further with the doctrines of ahimsa and aparigraha, non-violence and non-possessiveness, respectively. I argue that this subtle perspectival shift in the thing-power of matter can make Jainism's already expansive ethic of carefulness even more robust.]
As a Western student of Jainism, there is a difficulty for me in grappling with the ideas and concepts of Jain philosophy. Jeffery Long explains this difficulty eloquently in these words, "Jainism, more than any other Indic religious tradition, explicitly and dramatically embodies not only a rejection, but a reversal of the values that are dominant in contemporary Western society." This is perhaps even more so for me as a Western materialist. Indeed, from my socio-theoretical position, matter and not some external (or internal) substance such as the soul, is of critical importance. Jainism proposes a sharp dualism between the substances of (jiva) soul or living beings and (ajiva) non-living beings, the latter of which matter is a part. In my readings of Jain philosophy, (pudgala) matter is constantly put down, demonized in some sense or simply overlooked in favor of the jiva. Granted, this is understandable from the fact that Jainism has origins as and is still, a renunciant tradition. However, for me at least, a healthy concept of matter is incredibly valuable, especially in this contemporary moment of environmental degradation."
Traditionally, both in the West and in Jain philosophy, matter is often viewed as passive and inanimate. Indeed, in Jainism especially, it is precisely because matter or pudgala, lacks the
