17th Annual Jaina Lecture: Nidāna, A Word with Different Meanings, SOAS University of London

The 17th Annual Jaina Lecture titled "Nidāna, A Word with Different Meanings" was given by Professor Shin Fujinaga (Miyakonojo National College of Technology, Miyazaki, Japan) at the Centre of Jaina Studies, SOAS University of London on 17th March 2017.
You can find out more about this event at https://goo.gl/VNnVha
You can find out more about Jaina Studies at SOAS at https://www.soas.ac.uk/jainastudies/
As a part of introductory remark of this lecture, an overview of the general meaning of the word nidāna in Buddhism and Jainism as well as in Hindu texts is given, and it is shown how modern scholars understand it. Mostly the word designates a cause in general and especially that of rebirth. The Jains use it in this particular context.

The main part of the lecture explores Jain texts focusing on the term nidāna: Āyāradasāo, Vavahāra, Tattvārthasūtra, Samāiccakahā, Triṣaṣṭiśalākāpuruṣacarita, and others. Through an understanding of the uses of the word nidāna in various fields of Jaina literature the nature of this fundamental concept in Jainism can be grasped.

In conclusion some points for further research on this term are discussed, the reason why the Jains use this word in different ways, and the necessity for further studies of Jain texts