An Introduction to Jain Philosophy
By Parveen Jain
Foreword by Professor Rita Sherma
Prologue by Professor Jeffery D. Long
Edited by Cogen Bohanec
Publication Date: December 10, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-7332236-0-7
It is well known that the Jain tradition has been extremely influential in the development of Indian thought and culture. The Jain tradition teaches that there is an interdependence of perception, knowledge, and conduct unified by an axiomatic principle of non-violence in thought, speech, and action. In this way, non-violence defines the core of the Jain tradition, which has had a profound effect on other dhārmic traditions originating in India. Jain Dharma is so significant that in some ways it may be incomplete to attempt to understand other Indian tradition (such as Buddhism or Hinduism) without knowing the basics of the Jain tradition, since these other traditions developed in an ongoing dialogue with the insights and wisdom of Jain respondents and visionaries.
An Introduction to Jain Philosophy enables the reader to enjoy a comprehensive journey into the intricate world of Jain thought and culture in a way that is philosophical in its compelling rationality, deeply spiritual in its revelations, yet accessible in its language. The organization of this book allows the reader to engage in an overview of the central teachings of the Jain tradition, but also to ascertain the profundity of its depths. It can be read with equal efficacy in succession from beginning to end, or pursued by individual topics of interest to the reader. Either strategy will have the same effect: a systematic understanding of what the timeless teachings of Jain thinkers have to say about the universal issues of the human condition — and how we might understand our harmonious relationship with other living entities as a powerful and effective spiritual journey.
Scholar Reviews
Professor Christopher Key Chapple
In the eminently readable summary of Jain thought and practice, Parveen captures the essentials: history, philosophy, and key terminology. The pursuit of nonviolence is the highest of human endeavors: this book explains why life must be protected, and illuminates the ways to accomplish this goal, individually and as a society. For a practicing Jain, this book provides foundational resources for inspiration. For someone new to the tradition, this book provides a highly useful overview.
— Christopher Key Chapple, PhD, is Doshi Professor of Indic and Comparative Theology, and Director, Master of Arts in Yoga Studies, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, California.
Professor Jeffery D. Long
Parveen Jain has done a great service to the Jain tradition, and to scholars and students of Jainism, by making the teachings of Acharya Sushil Kumar, until now accessible mostly to Hindi-speakers, available to the English-speaking world. This book will no doubt serve as an important primary source for scholars for generations to come, as well as a most useful teaching tool for instructors who wish to incorporate a Jain voice into their curriculum.
Jain’s [An] Introduction [to Jain Philosophy], covers an enormous range of topics, giving the reader a thorough introduction to Jain thought from the perspective of a practitioner of this tradition.
Jain Dharm [An Introduction to Jain Philosophy] is a comprehensive overview of Jain philosophy and, with Parveen Jain’s translation, it makes the subtlest, most difficult Jain concepts understandable to the average educated reader. I believe this book will become important both for scholars of Jainism and Indian philosophy as a whole, and for laypersons wishing to better understand these teachings.
— Jeffery D. Long, PhD, is Professor of Religious and Asian Studies, Elizabethtown College, Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania.
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Professor Christopher Patrick Miller
For Jain practitioners and other spiritually inclined individuals, Parveen Jain has provided an encyclopedic storehouse of spiritual teachings…. I would especially recommend this book to those individuals seeking to further their basic knowledge of Jainism, or to members of the Jain community who would like to know more about specific interpretations of Jain teachings according to the lineage of Acharya Sushil Kumar.
For scholars, this book provides a treasure chest of fresh data for understanding one particular way that Jainism, as a religious practice, has been translated into contemporary global society.
Scholar-practitioners, as well as those who, at a minimum, are not necessarily Jains by birth but nevertheless continually seek to adopt the Jain way of life, An Introduction to Jain Philosophy provides inspiring Jain theological formulations we can turn to as we teach, and earnestly live, Jain principles.
— Christopher Patrick Miller, PhD, is Bhagwan Mallinath Assistant Professor of Jainism and Yoga Studies, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, California.
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Professor Anand Jayprakash Vaidya
Parveen Jain's An Introduction to Jain Philosophy is a magnificent accomplishment for Jain scholarship and those interested in learning about world religions. In a careful and accessible manner, he introduces the core ideas of the Jain Dharma: from ethics and salvation, through epistemology and philosophy of language, to metaphysics. It is both historical and topically comprehensive across the main doctrines of Jain philosophy, such as ahimṣā, anekāntavāda, nayavāda, and syādvāda. But, importantly, it also discusses Jain psychology and Jain Yoga, two areas that are often not discussed in introductions, which desperately need much more attention. Finally, it includes a summary of Jain Mantras for those that wish to practice. I found the book a pleasure to read both for the fluidity of Parveen's writing as well as the insights the book brings out. I would recommend the book as an introduction to Jain Dharma and think it is suitable as a book, alongside primary texts, for teaching introductory courses on Jainism.
— Anand Jayprakash Vaidya, PhD, is Professor of Philosophy, San Jose State University, San Jose, California.
Professor David Pinault
My overall impression is that you [Parveen Jain] have written a very valuable book. You strive everywhere to be precise and succinct, focusing on what will be of universal interest for both Jains and non-Jains. … Particularly noteworthy is your clarity; no specialist knowledge is necessary for understanding what you've written. This is a difficult achievement.
This book has a lot to say to the situation today prevailing throughout much of the world in our internet age, where we are saturated by a great deal of information that is unaccompanied by very much true wisdom.
An Introduction to Jain Philosophy is a splendid achievement, thorough, carefully researched, and well-written. Congratulations!
— David Pinault, PhD, is Professor of Religious Studies, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, California.
An Introduction to Jain Philosophy includes:
The topics covered in the book:
Characteristics of Jain Dharma and a Glimpse into the Past
Path to Salvation – Right Perception
Right Knowledge – Analysis of the Universe – the Fundamental Truth
Fundamental Doctrines: Nayavāda, Anekāntavāda, and Syādvāda
Jain Psychology
Jain Yoga: Meditation and Union with Divinity
Doctrine of Karma – Spiritual Progression
Right Conduct and Doctrine of Ethics
The Virtues of Jain Mendicants
The Lineage of Jain Dharma
Mantras and the Art and Science Behind Their Formulations
Foreword by Rita Sherma
Rita Sherma, PhD, is the founding director and an associate professor of the Mira and Ajay Shingal Center for Dharma Studies at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. Sherma is co-founder of the American Academy of Religion’s Hinduism Program Unit, and the founding vice president of the Dharma Academy of North America, a scholarly society for research on Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain religious and interreligious studies. She serves on the board of the Society for Hindu-Christian Studies, and is the founding editor of the Journal of Dharma Studies and serves on the editorial board for the Reading Religion journal.
Prologue by Jeffery D. Long
Jeffery D. Long, PhD, is a professor of Religion and Asian Studies at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania. He is the author of three books and a wide array of articles on Hinduism, Indian philosophy, and religious pluralism.
Edited by Cogen Bohanec
Cogen Bohanec is a PhD candidate at the Mira and Ajay Shingal Center for Dharma Studies at the Graduate Theological Union (GTU) in Berkeley, California. He holds an MA in Buddhist Studies from the Institute of Buddhist Studies at GTU.
