Jainism Mini Summary
- What is Jainism - Jainism is a religion and a way of live. For thousands of years, Jains have been practicing vegetarianism, yoga, meditation, and environmentalism. Jains believe in the existence of Soul – in each living being – which is eternal and divine. Our purpose in life is to “know ourselves” and that happiness and knowledge exist in me. Jain philosophy has three core practices: Non-Violence, Non-Absolutism, and Non-Possessiveness.
- Non-Violence is compassion and forgiveness in thoughts, words, and deeds towards all living beings. For this reason, Jains are vegetarians.
- Non- Absolutism is respect for and seeking others’ views. Jains encourage dialogue and harmony with other faiths.
- Non-Possessiveness is balancing of needs and desires, while staying detached from these possessions. We are all interdependent on each other and we can bring peace to our lives and to those around us. Jains seek spiritual upliftment by practicing Non-Violence, Non-Absolutism, and Non-Possessiveness.
- Essence of Jainism 1) Non-Violence (Ahimsa) 2) Non-One Sidedness (Anekantavad) 3) Non-Possession (Aparigraha)
- Who Am I: I am a symbiosis of physical and spiritual substances; Why am I here?I am here to realize who I am
- From where did I come?I come from the past karmic influences; Where am I going?I am moving towards liberation
- Namo Arihantänam (12 Attributes) - I bow to Arihantas- living beings who have reached enlightenment by overcoming inner enemies and weaknesses, who have attained infinite knowledge, infinite bliss, and showed us the path, that brings an end to the cycle of birth and death.
Namo Siddhänam - ( 8 Attr.)I bow to Siddha - those who have attained the state of perfection and immortality
Namo Äyariyänam (36 Attr.)I bow Ächäryas - heads of religious order
Namo Uvajjhäyänam (25 Attributes)I bow to Upädhyäys – who are versed in all Ägams
Namo Loe Savva Sähunam (27 Attributes)- I bow to all the Sädhus and Sädhvis (monks) that follow the five great vows of conduct and inspire us to live a simple ; 12 + 8 +36 + 25 +27 = 108 Rosary beads - Treasures in Jainism – 1. Filtered/boiled water; 2.Jain mathematics 3.Plant life & Environmentalism 4.Equality towards women, 5.Animal Protection, 6.Molecules and atoms, 7.Compassionate diet/Vegetarianism 8.Meditation and Yoga – mind; Near Validation (by science):Anekantvad, Vegetarianism, Mediation & Yoga, Power of Forgiveness, Vows and Penance; Far from Validation: Karma Theory – Vibration, Concept of Soul??, Re-incarnation, Cosmology, Managing Passion, Spiritual ladder
Six Universal Substances - Jiva, Matter, Time, Space, Medium of Rest, Medium of Motion
Classes of Soul - Wordly, Liberated; Qualities of Soul - Omniscient, Sentience, Everlasting
5 MahaVratas (Vows) - Ahimsa– The vow not to kill, Satya - The vow not to lie Non-stealing -The vow not to steal
Brahmacharaya - The vow to be chaste Aparigraha - The vow to renounce property
Three Jewels: Samyak Darshan (Right Faith) - Enlightened World-View ; Samyak Gyan (Right Knowledge) - Types of Knowledge (Bhavanas); Samyak Charitra (Right Conduct) - Lay Vows, Holy Vows
9/7 Tattvas (Fundamentals): Jiva-Soul; Ajiva - Non-living matter; Punya- Results of good deeds; Pap- Results of bad deeds; Asrava- Influx of karmas; Bandh - Bondage of karmas; Samvar - Stoppage of karmas; Nirjara- Eradication of karmas; Moksha - Liberation
Doors of Inflow of Karmas: 4 Passions (Anger, Pride (Ego), Deceit, Greed); 5 Senses (Touch, Taste, Smell, Sight, Hearing); 5 Indulgences -Causing Injury, Lying, Stealing, Incontinence, Possessiveness
Karmas and Liberation
Ghati Karmas (Omniscience) - View/Faith Deluding, Obstructing, Perception/Intuition Covering, Knowledge Covering
Aghati Karmas (Liberation) - Life Span, Body, Status, Feeling Producing
Jain Symbol: Digit of the Moon represents the region beyond the three worlds wherein reside the liberated souls; Three Dots represent the Jain path of liberation (Jain trinity): Samyak Darshan, Samyak Jnana, and Samyak Charitra, which together leads to liberation. Also these Dots represent the three worlds: earth (place for humans, animals, birds, vegetables etc.), hell, and heaven, where all non-liberated souls born, live, die, and suffer.Swastika signifies the cycles of births and deaths due to karma, in any of the four forms; heaven, human, tiryanch (animals, birds, and plants), and hell of the worldly (non-liberated) souls.
Palm of the hand signifies this assurance; 'do not be afraid', indicating that human beings, which are suffering due to karmic bondage do not need to be disheartened. Wheel of Dharma (Chakra) with 24 spokes represents the religion preached by the 24 Tirthankaras consisting of nonviolence (Ahimsa) and other virtues. Outline figure represents the Jain description of the shape of the universe, resembling a person standing with feet apart and arms resting on both hips.
Twelve Vows of Layman - Five Main Vows of Limited Nature (Anuvratas): Ahimsa, Satya, Achaurya (non-stealing), Bhramcharaya (Chastity), Aparigraha (non-attachment);
Three Merit Vows (Guna-vrats):Dik Vrata - Limited area of activity vow; Bhoga-Upbhoga Vrata - Limited use of consumable and non-consumable items vow; Anartha-danda Vrata - Avoidance of purposeless sins vow
Four Disciplinary Vows (Siksha-vratas)limited duration:Samayik Vrata-Meditation;Activity;Ascetic's life; Limited charity
Ten Virtues (Das Lakshan Dharma) - Uttam Kshama – supreme forbearance; Uttam Mardava – supreme gentleness; Uttam Arjava - supreme uprightness; Uttam Shaucha - supreme purity; Uttam Satya - supreme truth; Uttam Sanyam - supreme restraint; Uttam Tapa - supreme austerity; Uttam Tyaga - supreme renunciation; Uttam Akinchanya - supreme lack of possession; Uttam Brahmcharya - supreme chastity;
Six Avshashaks (Essentials) - Samayik - a state of total equanimity; Chauvisantho – prayers to the Five supremes, 24 Jinas, and 4 mangalas; Vandana - offering salutations to sadhus (monks) and sadhvis (nuns); Pratikraman - realizing what we have done wrong and annotating on it; Kayotsarga - meditation of the soul; Pratyakhyan - renunciation
14 Gunsthanas - Mithyatva Gunasthanak - stage of false beliefs with intense raag and dwesh; Saswadan - the stage of having tasted the righteousness; Samyak-Mithyadrashti - stage of fluctuation between the false & right belief; Avirati-samyakdrashti - the stage of the right belief but no renunciation; Deshvirti - the stage of the right belief with the partial renunciation; Sarvavirti or Pramatta samyati - the stage of the total renunciation; Apramatt samyati - the stage of the total renunciation and no carelessness; Nivritti-Badar - the stage of an extraordinary efforts; Anivritti-Badar - the stage of almost passionless state; Sukshma samparay - the stage of the subtle greed; Upashant Kashaya - the stage of the passionless state by the suppression; Kshina Kashay - the passionless stage; Sayogi kevali - the stage of the omniscient with activities; Ayogi kevali - the stage of the omniscient without activities
12 Bhavanas: Anitya - Impermanence of the world – Alone; Asarana - Birth is inevitably followed by death, helpless in face of death. ; Samsara - Worldy life is an ocean of illusion. No permanent relationship; Ekatva - Aloneness. There is absolute solitude of each soul; Anyatva - Separateness - Try to know the inner-self to attain “Pure-Self".
Asuci - Impureness of the body; Asrava - Inflow of Karmic Fusion; Samavara - Karmic shield is anti-dote to Asrava, stops influx of karma; Nirjara - to discard- to separate- liberate, Shedding of Karma from soul; Lokasvarupa - To reflect about the Universe; Bodhi Durlabha - Unattainability of right faith, knowledge, and conduct; Dharma-Swakhyat - Teachings of the "Tirthankara- Arihant"
Parasparopagraho Jivanam
Souls influence each other through service which may be favorable or unfavorable
They cannot live independently of one another
They must bear the karmic results individually..
They create a common environment and live together in wealth and woe
Five Samitis: (Conduct)
Iriya Samiti - regulation of walking. Bhasa Samiti - regulation of speaking. Avoid the eight faults of speech during conversation (anger, pride, deceit, greed, laughter, fear, gossip, and slander). Always use sinless and concise speech.
Esnna Samiti - regulation of begging. Monks should search and obtain pure foods; Adana Nikshepana Samiti - regulation of taking or keeping. One should lay down or take up an article of use very carefully so as not to endanger the life of small creatures and insects. Utsarga Samiti - regulation of disposal of waste properly
Three Guptis:Mana Gupti - regulation of mind. One should guard one's mind from impure thoughts such as anger, hate, curse, greed, jealous, ego, etc. Always be forgiving and devote the mind to pious meditation.
Vachana Gupti - regulation of speech. One should guard his speech so that it might not utter harmful, harsh, careless, foul, senseless, embarrassing, or bad language.
Kaya Gupti - regulation of bodily activity. One should guard movement of his body, so as not to hurt others, walking with an eye on the path so as not to harm, or kill an innocent life such as ants, bugs, etc. One should not day dream while doing any activity. Develop decent behavior and manners.
Jain Festivals:
Diwali – Mahavir Nirvan – Celebration of Mahavir’s attainment of Moksh
Paryushan Parv – Celebration of the qualities of the Soul
Mahavir Jayanti – Celebration of Mahavir’s birth
Compassion, Vegetarianism, and Environmentalism - Slaughtering of Animals in USA - Cattle - 130,000 slaughtered per day; Calves - 7,000 slaughtered per day; Hogs - 360,000 slaughtered per day; Chickens - 24,000,000 slaughtered per day; Cruelty to Cows by Dairy Industries - Cows are kept pregnant continually; Slaughtering their 70% to 80% of baby calves within six months by Veal industry or within five years by beef industry; Greenhouse Effect - World’s 1.3 billion cows annually produce 100 million tons of methane a powerful greenhouse gas which traps 25 times as much solar heat as CO2;
Water Consumption - Slaughtering animals requires hundreds of millions of gallons of water every day;
Solution to World Hunger Problem - If Americans reduce their meat/dairy intake by just 10%, the savings in grains and soybeans could feed 60 million people per year worldwide.
Do Vegetarians Eat Dairy and Eggs?
Lacto Veg. - who use dairy products are called lacto vegetarians
Vegans – Who do not even use dairy products are vegans – (Reasons: vegans believe that cow’s milk is meant for calves, not humans; dairy (milk, butter, ghee, ice-cream, cheese)
1) foods are produced with cruelties and dairy industry is inherently linked to the meat industry.. When female cows stop giving milk or reduces its quantity at a certain age, they are sent to the meat industry for slaughtering.
2) male calf, it is raised on an iron deficient diet, to make tender meat.
3) In poultry farms, chickens are considered no better than egg-producing machines. They are housed in small-congested cages known as chicken-havens. Due to shortage of space, they naturally become violent, offensive, obsessed and quarrelsome. They attack one another in a barbarous manner. To prevent them from fighting and wounding one another, they are de-beaked. Due to de-beaking, they are unable even to drink water.
4) A fertilized egg is a pre-birth stage of a chicken. To eat fertilized egg is in fact to consume a chicken before its birth.
5) Unfertilized eggs are the result of the sexual cycle of a chicken and very unnatural. The egg produced without any contact with the male bird (and thus producing an infertile egg) is also animate because it is born out of the chicken’s body with its blood and cells. No egg - fertile or infertile - is without life (inanimate). Both are non-vegetarian food.
Rejection of Drinking Liquor
For the observance of the Nonviolence Vow (Ahimsä –Vrata),it has been specifically laid down that a person should renounce drinking alcohol. According to the sacred text of Purushärtha Siddhi-Upäya,
1)“alcohol stupefies the mind; one whose mind is stupefied forgets piety; and the person who forgets piety commits violence without hesitation.” liquor is the reservoir of many lives, which are born in it. Similarly, it is significant that many dishonorable passions like anger, pride, deceit, greed, fear, disgust, ridicule, grief, boredom, and lust, arise due to the inhibition of senses while drinking liquor and these passions are nothing but different aspects of violence.
Honey- It takes nearly a million bees to create 1 pound of honey and many are killed in the process
Dress and Decoration - silk, leather in cars/furniture/products, woolen garments, and many such products are violent on animals.
Jain History Introduction
Indian culture consists of two main trends: Shramanic (Jain, Buddhist) and Brahmanic (Vedic). Jainism is an eternal religion and recorded history exists since 3000-3500 BC.
According to Jain scriptures, there were infinite number of time cycles in the past (no beginning) and there will be more time cycles in future. Each time cycle is divided into two equal half cycles, namely Utsarpini (ascending) Käl (time) and Avasarpini (descending) Käl. Each cycle is again divided into six divisions known as Äräs (spokes of a wheel). The Äräs of Avasarpini are reversed relative to those in Utsarpini. There are 24 Tirthankars in each half cycle. TirthankarKevalis are generally known as Tirthankars, because they are builders of the ford, which leads human beings across the great ocean of existence and misery. Tirthankars are the personages who delineate the path of final liberation or emancipation of all living beings from a succession of births and deaths.
Jainism is based on the laws of nature and the truths of the universe.
At present, we are in the fifth Ärä, Dushamä, of the Avasarpini half cycle, of which nearly 2500 years have passed. The fifth Ärä began 3 years and 3 ½ months after the Nirvän of Lord Mahävir in 527 B.C. Lord Rushabhadev, the first Tirthankar, lived in the later part of the third Ärä, and the remaining twenty-three Tirthankars lived during the fourth Ärä.
Jain Tradition and Archaeological Evidence
There is evidence to show that as far back as the first century B.C., there were people who were worshipping Rushabhadev. It has been recorded that King Kharavela of Kalinga, in his second invasion of Magadh in 161 B.C., brought back treasures from Magadh and in these treasures there was the idol known as Agra-Jina, of the first Jina (Rushabhadev) which had been carried away from Kalinga three centuries earlier by King Nanda I. This means that in the fifth century B.C. Rushabhadev was worshipped and his statue was highly valued by his followers. Other archaeological evidences belonging to the Indus Valley Civilization of the Bronze Age in the India also lend support to the antiquity of the Jain tradition and suggest the prevalence of the practice of the worship of Rishabhadev, the first Tirthankar, along with the worship of other deities. Many relics from the IndusValley excavations suggest the prevalence of the Jain religion in that ancient period (3500 to 3000 B.C.
- It is observed that in the IndusValley civilization, there is a great preponderance of pottery figures of female deities over those of male deities, and that the figures of male deities are shown naked.
- We find that the figures of six male deities in nude form are engraved on one seal and that each figure is shown naked and standing erect in a contemplative mood with both hands keeping close to the body. Since this Käyotsarga (way of practicing penance, as in a standing posture) is peculiar only to the Jains and the figures are of naked ascetics, it can be postulated that these figures represent the Jain Tirthankars.
- Again, the figures of male deities in contemplative moods and in sitting postures engraved on the seals resemble the figures of Jain Tirthankars because in these the male deities are depicted as having one face only, while, the figures of male deities, supposed to be the prototypes of Lord Siva, are generally depicted as having three faces, three eyes and three horns.
- Furthermore, there are some motifs on the seals found in Mohen-Jo-Daro and it is suggested that these motifs are identical with those found in the ancient Jain art of Mathura.
Jain Tradition and Buddhism
Lord Mahävir was the senior contemporary of Gautam Buddha, the founder of Buddhism. In Buddhist books, Lord Mahävir is always described as Niggantha Nätaputta (Nirgrantha Jnäta-putra), i.e., the naked ascetic of the Jnätru clan. Furthermore, in the Buddhist literature Jainism is referred to as an ancient religion. There are ample references in Buddhist books to the Jain naked ascetics, to the worship of Arhats in Jain Chaityas or temples, and to the Chaturyämadharma (i.e. fourfold religion) of the twenty-third Tirthankar Pärshva-Näth.Moreover, the Buddhist literature refers to the Jain tradition of Tirthankars and specifically mentions the names of Jain Tirthankars like Rushabhadev, Padma-prabha, Chandraprabha, Pushpadanta, Vimal-Näth, Dharma-Näth and Nemi-Näth. The Buddhist book Manorathapurani mentions the names of many householder men and women as followers of the Pärshva-Näth tradition and among them is the name of Vappa, the uncle of Gautam Buddha. In fact, it is mentioned in the Buddhist literature that Gautam Buddha himself practiced penance according to the Jain way before he propounded his new religion.