Christopher Chapple
Navin and Pratima Doshi Professor of Indic and Comparative Theology, Loyola Marymount University
Thursday, March 3, 7:00 p.m.
Sussman Theater, Olmsted Center, Drake University
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The Jain tradition has observed a practice known as Sallekhana or Santhara, through which one willingly foregoes food and hydration toward the end of one’s life in order to pass peacefully into a new life. Chapple will give details about the process and the history of Sallekhana. He will also explore the correlations of this fast unto death with the hospice and “right to die” movements in contemporary America.
Chapple is a specialist in the religions of India; he has published twenty books on aspects of Yoga, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, as well as religion and ecology. He serves on the advisory boards of the Ahimsa Center, the Forum on Religion and Ecology, and the International School for Jain Studies.