Description
Book SynopsisThere is no doubt that the wealth of new data and ideas offered in this exquisite book provides the deepest insights yet into the contemporary religious world of Jain laity. It will serve for some time as a paradigmatic monograph for future empirical studies of Jain religious life. --Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies Jains in the World is a significant and welcome ethnography of contemporary Jains in western India by the most prominent scholar of Jainism in North America. This book is a must for scholars of South Asian religions and will provide scholars of Hindu traditions fine grounding both in a central dialectic of Jain thought and in contemporary Jain praxis. --International Journal of Hindu Studies A valuable addition to the literature on Jainism as a living faith. Since it has the additional merits of being clearly written, attractively illustrated, and free of unnecessary theoretical baggage, it should serve as a good introduction to this tradition for coll
Trade Reviewa welcome and vitally important contribution to the burgeoning literature in the field of Jain studies. * Jeffery D. Long, Journal of the American Academy of Religion *
As a clear, detailed, rich, and accessible account of the life of a community, Jains in the World is unsurpassed in the field of Jain studies, and stands as a fine example of ethnographic writing in the broader fields of anthropology and the study of religion. * Jeffery D. Long, Journal of the American Academy of Religion *
Table of ContentsNote on Language, Transliteration, and Names ; Hymn to Pancasar Parsvanath ; Introduction: On the Occasion of the Blessed Installation of the Lord ; 1. The Ideology of the Path to Liberation ; 2. Jains and Jainism in Patan ; 3. Going to the Temple: How to Worship God ; 4. Gifting and Grace: Patterns of Lay-Mendicant Interaction ; 5. Holy Asceticism ; 6. Remembrance and Celebration: The Jain Religious Year ; 7. Ideologies and Realms of Value ; Hymn to Pancasar Parsvanath ; Glossary ; Notes ; Bibliography ; Index
