Body and Soul (from our last class)

I remembered this chart that the organization I'm doing my project through uses to describe the role of the body in relation to the soul right at the end of class that might clarify what I was trying to say. It's not precisely the same for Jainism and Buddhism, but it is similar as all of these faiths share some aspects of their doctrines. 

Source: http://www.chinmayadc.org/images/BMIChart.jpg

Essentially, the soul is a larger cosmic force and part of it is in each person. The V, vasanas, which is attached to the soul is like the sin counter Billy mentioned in class, but instead of sins, it's both good and bad things that one has experienced. It's desires and imprints from this life that influence where the soul goes next. These vasanas are created by the body, mind, and intellect. 

We referred to the body as a whole during class, but here it is further split into 3 sections that do specific things (perceive objects, feel emotions, think thoughts) that create vasanas. So in order to release the soul from the cycle of life and death and return to the larger cosmic being made of one and many souls, one has to reduce these vasanas (which are good and bad things, not the conventional bad that sins tend to connote). One of the ways to do this is basically cut off one of these branches (BPO) so there are less vasanas that are affecting the soul. In this reading, fasting is one method. There are others. (My mom's great aunt was a kind of ascetic but she did not fast to death. She renounced all worldly possessions including her family and lived in an ashram for the rest of her life.)

Again, this is based in Hindu doctrine, but the general concept is shared with Jainism and Buddhism.

I've been combing through some translations of Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain texts that I got from my informant and that my dad has collected at home, but I haven't found anything that really sums everything up as well as this chart. My grandfather has written a few books on this topic, so I will comment on this post with relevant quotes later today.