ABSTRACT
In many works of Jainism, we come across a conspicuous tendency towards instruction, towards visualizing the result of right and wrong deeds and illustrating the true nature of the world. This disposition to instruct, to communicate doctrinal contents to the audience, is highly motivated by the essential role knowledge plays in Jainism: only a deep knowledge of the nature of the self and of others 1 leads to right conduct and eventually to the path of salvation. In this context the dialogical transmission of doctrinal contents is of foremost importance: the representation of doctrinal contents through a conversation between two or more people does not only make didactic communication more vivid and thus more interesting for the audience; there are far more ways to employ dialogue as a means to communicate doctrine, as Jain literature shows. Other chapters in this volume (Nicholson, Osto, Rohlman) suggest a strong link between philosophical doctrine and the dialogical genre. As I will outline below, in Jain texts dialogue can function as legitimation, as proof of the absolute and undoubtable truth of contents; it can be used as a means to embed more stories, sometimes also flashbacks, giving thus explanations for actual facts and conditions; and, in a more subtle way, dialogue can serve as a kind of illustration and recreation of the complex and incomprehensible nature of the world.
