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Jainism

Terms Jainism shares with Hinduism(but understood in a Jain way)

❖ Karma❖ Samsara/ Reincarnation❖ Dharma❖ Moksha/ Liberation❖ [Ahimsa]

In 6th-century BCE, 2 roads to liberation available in India:

❖ ancient Vedic religion of ritual and sacrifice, limited to Brahmins

❖ path of knowledge (jnana-marga) of Upanishads, requiring great study and meditation

Liberation

❖ one had to be a Brahmin to achieve liberation

❖ only open to upper class❖ both paths were limited❖ sectarian not available yet

Kshatriya (warrior) class

❖ two new paths to liberation were founded by members of the kshatriya (warrior) class

heresy

religion similar enough to established religion to be mistaken for it but different enough to threaten leaders of established religion❖ people mistake it for the old religion

➢ Christianity vs. Judaism

asceticism

❖ denial of desires (and even needs) of body (and perhaps punishment of body in order to cultivate soul/spirit➢ the soul is more important than the body➢ the body keeps the soul from liberation

jina

❖ “conqueror” (of body and its desires that tie one to world)

Jains

“followers of the conqueror”

Mahavira

❖ “great man” or “hero”❖ lived in latter ½ of 6th century BCE❖ Contemporary of Buddha

(dualism)Universe composed of 2 sorts of reality:

❖ jiva - infinite number of identical spiritual units

❖ ajiva - matter in all its forms and conditions under which matter exists (time, space, motion, etc, i.e., sensory world)

❖ sensory world - we can perceive with senses

This is why anything exists...

In everything that exists, there is a jiva trapped in ajiva

DUALISM

Jainism is a dualism, teaching that there are two principles of reality (cf. monism)

Key point:

❖ Any contact of jiva with ajiva causes jiva to suffer.

❖ Jiva are pure spirit, not intended to be in contact with ajiva.

❖ only way for4 jiva to stop suffering is to get away from a contact with ajiva.

karma

❖ all actions produce karma: evil actions heavy karma but even good actions light karma

❖ karma - weighs down soul❖ true release can not come solely from good

deeds, even they have karma

withdrawal from participation

❖ burn off old karma by rigorous asceticism❖ avoid producing new karma by withdrawal

from all involvement with the world❖ extreme asceticism

Jains call nirvana KEVALA

“cut off,”i.e., from karma

Atheists?

Jains do not believe in any spirits or divine beings who can assist humans in attaining kevala; it is done only through self-effort.

Jains therefore are atheists.

Jain Ethics “The Five Vows”

❖ non-injury (ahimsa) ***Most important***❖ non-lying❖ non-stealing❖ chastity❖ non-grasping (-attachment)

Non-injury (ahimsa)

❖ because all jivas in pure state are identical, no difference in harming fly, cow, or human

❖ Motive for ahimsa not compassion but avoidance of karma for oneself

❖ Compassion is foolish because it is an emotional attatchment that binds us to this world

Non-injury (ahimsa)

influenced Gandhi’s famous doctrine of non-violent resistance, which in turn was influential in the approach taken in the American civil rights movement by Dr. Marin Luther King, Jr.