guided by Samskara. For example, a newborn child voluntarily and instinctively acts to reach for the mother's breast. This action, explain Nyaya texts, must have a cause, but the newborn has neither been provided that knowledge nor has the value of the mother's breast been explained by another, nor has the newborn formed any Samskara in the new life. The newborn has that knowledge, that instinct, from some impression, some trace within "from a prior experience". That is an example of Samskara, assert the Nyaya and Vaiśeṣika scholars. In Nyaya school of Hinduism, the existence of Samskara cannot be directly perceived, only inferred. Further, not all Samskara are psychological. Some simply manifest as memories, premises or beliefs shaped "from a prior experience". Buddhism Saṃskāra or Saṅkhāra in Buddhism refers to mental "dispositions". These result from past volitions, and are causes of future volitions. Saṅkhāra also refers to that faculty within a person wherein these dispositions are formed. Buddhism emphasizes the need to purify dispositions (Saṅkhāra) rather than eliminate them. Jainism The activities of mind, speech and body, according to Jain philosophy, lead to Asrava, that is, the influx and imprint of karmic residues to the jiva (soul) of the living being. These residues bind (bandha), forming karma sarira, which can be stopped (saṃvara) and released (nirjara). The operating mechanism, consistent with the dualism premise of Jainism, is not Saṃskāra as latent mental trace, rather karma bandha to the soul. The rituals and rites of passage, called Samskara in Jainism, are part of the saṃvara and nirjara initiation process, in order to free the soul from the crust of karmic residues. See also Saṅkhāra (Buddhist concept) Saṃskāra (Hindu rites of passage) Samskara (ayurvedic) (Ayurvedic medicinal process) Meher Baba on Sanskaras Engram (neuropsychology) Engram (Scientology) References External links Mimi.hu - definitions of samskara Buddhist philosophical concepts Hindu philosophical concepts Karma in Hinduism Jain philosophical concepts