[INDOLOGY] question about a Jaina practice

Sun Oct 6 13:12:27 UTC 2019

Dear Herman,

Just a brief follow-up on the responses you have already received:
The custom was taken over in Tibetan Buddhism, where the device became known as a sgom-thag, "meditation rope," though usually translated "meditation-belt."
It features as part of the standard iconography of the Yogin-siant Milarepa, where it is usually drawn as a red strap thrown over his right shoulder, as here:
https://www.himalayanart.org/items/19838

best,
Matthew

Matthew Kapstein
Directeur d'études,
Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes

Numata Visiting Professor of Buddhist Studies,
The University of Chicago
________________________________
From: INDOLOGY <indology-bounces at list.indology.info> on behalf of Tieken, H.J.H. via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info>
Sent: Friday, October 4, 2019 4:47 AM
To: Madhav Deshpande <mmdesh at umich.edu>; Olivelle, J P <jpo at austin.utexas.edu>
Cc: Indology <indology at list.indology.info>
Subject: Re: [INDOLOGY] question about a Jaina practice

I would like to thank Lubomir Ondracka, Patrick Olivelle, Madhav Deshpande, John Huntington, Sudalai Palaniappan, Rupert Gethin and Philip Maas for the information on the yogapaṭṭa. I also hope that this contraption may be of use to Madhav Deshpande.
Herman

Herman Tieken
Stationsweg 58
2515 BP Den Haag
The Netherlands
00 31 (0)70 2208127
website: hermantieken.com<http://hermantieken.com/>
________________________________
Van: INDOLOGY [indology-bounces at list.indology.info] namens Madhav Deshpande via INDOLOGY [indology at list.indology.info]
Verzonden: donderdag 3 oktober 2019 18:47
Aan: Olivelle, J P
CC: Indology
Onderwerp: Re: [INDOLOGY] question about a Jaina practice

Thanks, Patrick,

     I now looked at all the images in the link provided by Lubomir.  I am interested in something like this for personal use.  Three months after my knee joint replacement surgery, I can now fold my legs for Yoga, but only with some discomfort.  Perhaps, something like this Yogapaṭṭa will be useful.  Best,

Madhav

Madhav M. Deshpande
Professor Emeritus, Sanskrit and Linguistics
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Senior Fellow, Oxford Center for Hindu Studies

[Residence: Campbell, California, USA]

On Thu, Oct 3, 2019 at 9:31 AM Olivelle, J P <jpo at austin.utexas.edu<mailto:jpo at austin.utexas.edu>> wrote:
If you look at the link given by Lubomir, you will see several images.

On Oct 3, 2019, at 11:12 AM, Madhav Deshpande via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info<mailto:indology at list.indology.info>> wrote:

Is there any pictorial description/representation of these assisting devices in iconography or Jain/Buddhist/Hindu Yoga practice?

Madhav M. Deshpande
Professor Emeritus, Sanskrit and Linguistics
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Senior Fellow, Oxford Center for Hindu Studies

[Residence: Campbell, California, USA]

On Thu, Oct 3, 2019 at 8:52 AM Rupert Gethin via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info<mailto:indology at list.indology.info>> wrote:
Since it is appears not to be mentioned in the article cited by Lubomir or in Philipp’s article (forgive me if I have missed it), it is perhaps worth adding that this kind of strap is also mentioned in Pali sources where it is called āyogapaṭṭa. In the Visuddhimagga Buddhaghosa describes the  ’sitter’s practice’ (nesajjikaṅga), the last in the list of 13 ascetic practices, as follows:

'This has three grades too. Herein, one who is strict is not allowed a back-rest or cloth band or binding-strap (āyogapaṭṭa). The medium one is allowed any one of these three. The mild one is allowed a back-rest, a cloth band, a binding-strap, a cushion, a “five-limb” and a “seven-limb" [chair].’ (After Ñāṇamoli, Path of Purification, II.74)

Best wishes,

Rupert
--
Rupert Gethin

University of Bristol
Department of Religion and Theology
3 Woodland Road
Bristol BS8 1TB, UK

Email: Rupert.Gethin at bristol.ac.uk<mailto:Rupert.Gethin at bristol.ac.uk>

On 3 Oct 2019, at 16:39, Philipp Maas via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info<mailto:indology at list.indology.info>> wrote:

Dear Herman,
Further textual references to the use of a yoga strap in yoga literature can be found on p. 71 of my article "'Sthirasukham Āsanam': Posture and Performance in Classical Yoga and Beyond", which you find published in open-access here<https://www.academia.edu/32024344/_Sthirasukham_%C4%80sanam_Posture_and_Performance_in_Classical_Yoga_and_Beyond>.

Best wishes,

Philipp
__________________________

Dr. Philipp A. Maas
Research Associate
Institut für Indologie und Zentralasienwissenschaften
Universität Leipzig
___________________________

https://spp1448.academia.edu/PhilippMaas

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Am Do., 3. Okt. 2019 um 16:10 Uhr schrieb Tieken, H.J.H. via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info<mailto:indology at list.indology.info>>:
Dear List members,

Jaina monks, or their followers, are often depicted sitting with a strap going around their bodies and legs. (a few years ago I saw this contraption in a posh interior decorating shop in Leiden as an alternative chair!) Could anyone tell me if this strap, or sitting supported by this strap, had a (Sanskrit, MIA or NIA) name. By the way, it is not a particular Jaina practice. If I remember well, the strap can also be seen on, for instance, the Borobudur.

Herman

Herman Tieken
Stationsweg 58
2515 BP Den Haag
The Netherlands
00 31 (0)70 2208127
website: hermantieken.com<http://hermantieken.com/>
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