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Jainism is an ancient religion that originated in India and teaches that the way to liberation is to live with respect for all beings, including animals. Most Jains live in India where the latest census found 3.2 million Jains. The essence of Jainism is concern for the welfare of every being in the universe and for the health of the environment. Jains believe that animals and plants, as well as human beings, contain living souls. Each of these souls, whatever species it may be in, is considered of equal value and should be treated with respect and compassion. Christians, Muslims and Jews might be well advised to pick up a few clues about respect for the environment by entering into dialogue with Jains. Websites on or about Jainism Jain. Follower of the spiritual conquerors (jina) and teachers who give the Jain religion its name. Jainism had emerged as a distinct soteriological path by the 6th century BCE, although the designation Jain does not itself appear until the early common era, perhaps in acknowledgement by the world-renouncing mendicant ascetics, around whom the religion had originally revolved, of the validity of the lay vocation. Jainism teaches the means, envisioned as a combination of right faith, knowledge and conduct enacted through strict adherence to the requirements of a doctrine of nonviolence (ahimsa), by which human beings can escape the deletrious effects of the consequences of their previous actions (see karma in Jainism), realize the innate potential of the soul (jiva) and gain enlightenment, envisaged as full omniscience (kevalin), and final release from rebirth (moksha).Atheist in its denial of the existence of a creator divinity overseeing human affairs, Jainism nonetheless acknowledges the divinity within its saving teachers (tirthankara) and elaborate patterns of worship, ritual and devotion have emerged in the course of the religion's history, similar to those found in Hinduism but with a distinctively Jain gloss. From John R. Hinnels, ed., The Penguin Dictionary of Religions, 2nd ed. Jainism traces its roots to a succession of 24 Jinas ("those who overcome", or conqueror) in ancient East India. The first Jina is traditionally believed to have been a giant who lived 8.4 million years ago. The most recent and last Jina was Vardhamana (a.k.a. Mahavira, "The Great Hero") He was born in 550 BCE) and was the founder of the Jain community. He attained enlightenment after 13 years of deprivation. In 420 BCE, he committed the act of salekhana which is fasting to death. Each Jina has "conquered love and hate, pleasure and pain, attachment and aversion, and has thereby freed `his' soul from the karmas obscuring knowledge, perception, truth, and ability..." Jainism is a syncretistic religion, which contains many elements similar to Hinduism and Buddhism. The world's almost 4 million Jains are almost entirely located in India. There are about 1,410 in Canada (1991 census). Interfaith
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The Rev. Charles P. Henderson is a Presbyterian minister and is the author of God and Science (John Knox Press, 1986). Charles also tracks the boundry between the virtual and the real at his blog: Next World Design, focusing on the mediation of art, science and spirituality in the metaverse. For more information about Charles Henderson. |
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(1997). Text © Penguin Books.