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Jain Dharma
(a.k.a. Jainism)
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Early History of Jain Dharma
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).
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Jainist Beliefs and Practices
 | The universe exists as a series of layers, both heavens and hells. It had no beginning
and will have no ending. It consists of:
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| Everyone is bound within the universe by one's karma (the accumulated good and evil that one has done). | ||||||||||||||
| Moksha (liberation from an endless succession of lives through reincarnation) is achieved by enlightenment, which can be attained only through asceticism. | ||||||||||||||
| They are expected to follow five principles of living:
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| Jains follow a vegetarian diet. (At least one information source incorrectly states that they follow a frutarian diet -- the practice of only eating that which will not kill the plant or animal from which it is taken. e.g. milk, fruit, nuts.) | ||||||||||||||
| They often read their sacred texts daily. | ||||||||||||||
| Jains are recommended to pass through four stages during their lifetime:
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Divisions among Jains
There are two groups of Jains:
| The Digambaras (literally "sky clad" or naked): Their monks carry
asceticism to the point of rejecting even clothing (even when they appear in public). |
| The Shvetambaras (literally "white clad"): their monks wear simple white robes. The laity are permitted to wear clothes of any color. |
Amazon.com's online bookstore lists the following books on Jainism:
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References:
- Yahoo has a list of Jain sites at: http://dir.yahoo.com/Society_and_Culture/
- The University of Michigan Jains has a very complete and attractive website on Jainism at: http://www.umich.edu/~umjains/
- Jainism: Principles, Tradition and Practices is also an inclusive website on Jainism at: http://www.cs.colostate.edu/~malaiya/jainhlinks.html
- Jainism at: http://www.ops.org/scrtec/india/jainism.html
Copyright © 1996 to 2005 by Ontario Consultants on
Religious Tolerance
Latest update: 2005-AUG-14
Author: B.A. Robinson
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