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Sacred Matter: Reflections on the Relationship of Karmic and Natural Causality in Jaina Philosophy

Flügel, Peter

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Abstract

The article examines a fundamental problem in classical Jaina philosophy, namely, the ontological status of dead matter in the hylozoistic and at the same time dualistic Jaina worldview. This question is of particular interest in view of the widespread contemporary Jaina practice of venerating bone relics and stūpas of prominent saints. The main argument proposed in this article is, that, from a classical doctrinal point of view, bone relics of renowned ascetics are valuable for Jainas, if at all, because of their unique physical attributes, rather than the presumed presence of the deceased in the remains as posited in much of the extant literature on relic worship across cultures. The specific focus of the article are Jaina and non-Jaina explanations of the qualities of special matter in terms of karmic and natural processes of transformation.

Citation

Flügel, P. (2012). Sacred Matter: Reflections on the Relationship of Karmic and Natural Causality in Jaina Philosophy. Journal of Indian Philosophy, 40(2), 119-176. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10781-011-9150-z

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Jan 1, 2012
Deposit Date Mar 19, 2012
Publicly Available Date Mar 11, 2025
Journal Journal of Indian Philosophy
Print ISSN 0022-1791
Electronic ISSN 1573-0395
Publisher Springer
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 40
Issue 2
Pages 119-176
DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/s10781-011-9150-z
Keywords Ascetic body – Power – Sacred matter – Relics – Stūpas – Jaina karman theory – Theory of pariṇāma – Theory of multiple causation – Principle of the excluded third – do-kiriyā-vāya – terāsiyā-vāya – cattara-bhaṃgā

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