JAINISM

CUSTOMS

Pilgrimage

Pilgrimage is an important part in a Digambaras and a little in a Svetambaras even though there are no
required pilgrimages. When lay Jains do this they take on the lifestyle of a nun or monk. Jains can visit a
lot of different temples and other locations that have to do with the actions of tirthankaras. One of the
most famous and holy places a Jain can visit is Shatrunjaya in Gujarat. This site is one of the 5 holy
mountains and has many temples.

Fasting

In Jainism fasting is very common. Even though a Jain can fast any time during the year, most will fast
during holy days and festivals. One of these festivals is the monsoon period in India. However fasting is
more common in women than in men. Jain fasts can be done as self-punishment, especially for monks
and nuns. Fasting also cleanses the mind and body, and reminds them the teachings of Mahvira.

Santharara is when a Jain stops eating which prepares them for death. This is not a form of suicide because
it is not done out of anger or depression. This only happens when a body is becoming worn out and since
death is inevitable. The point of it is to cleanse the body and remove the thoughts of the real world from
it in preparation for death.

BELIEFS

The 5 Mahavratas

The 5 Mahavratas are one of the great teachings of Mahavira. These are also known as The 5 Vows. These
are vows Jains must make and follow for their entire life. The 5 Mahavratas are non-violence, non-
possesion, non-stealing, celibacy, and truth. These mean do no harm to anyone, do not be attached to
possessions, do not steal, sexual restraint, and never lie. There are two form of these vows, one are the
Mahavratas followed by nuns and monks and the Anuvratas which are followed by Jains and which are a
less severe version of the 5 vows. There are other very important rules in Jainsim called the 3 Jewels, from
which The 5 Mahavratas came from.

The Soul

The word that is the closest to the Jain definition of soul is jiva which means living being. Jains have many
beliefs about the souls of not only humans, but the souls of every living thing in the universe. They believe
that humans, animals, and pants have souls and that they should all be treated respectfully,
compassionately, and equally. There are many things the Jains believe about the soul which are very
different than other religions. In Jainism the soul is immortal, each soul is independent, responsible for its
actions, suffers the consequences for its actions, and not all however, some souls can be freed from the
process of reincarnation. The soul can evolve into being free by following the principles of behavior. Souls
that have been freed from reincarnation are called siddhas. Once a soul is liberated they become perfect.
They have infinite vision, knowledge, power, and happiness. However they do not have a physical body.
There are 5 different kinds of souls.

Ekendriya - beings with one sense (the sense of touch) this includes earth, fire, water, air, and plant

Beindriya - beings with two senses (touch and taste) this includes things like worms

Treindriya - beings with three senses (touch, taste, and smell) this includes ants, moths, and beetles

Chaurindriya - beings with four senses (touch, taste, smell, and sight) this includes wasps, scorpions, and
locusts

Pachendriya - beings with five senses (touch, taste, smell, sight, hearing) this includes humans, hell
creatures, animals above humans, and heavenly creatures

Dharma and Karma

Similar to Hinduism Jains also believe in dharma and karma, however they have altered meanings. In
Jainism dharma are truths or teachings that must be followed, which guides their path in life. Mahavira
promoted these teachings and to follow the 3 Jewels. In Jainism karma is "the cosmic scorecard" of a
persons' bad actions. A persons' quality of life in their present life is determined by the karma they
received in their previous lives. The only way a soul can be liberated is to get rid of all of its karma. Jains
believe that karma is a physical density and karma particles are attracted to a soul by its actions. The way
to rid of karma is by doing good things so no particles come to you, or to have a good mental attitude so
even if a particle does come it won't stick. Some karma particles leave after the suffering is caused for
that action, however others stay. The only way to not attract karma is to live a life according to the rules
and vows of a Jain.

Reincarnation and Deliverance

Jains believe that when a person dies its soul gets instantly reincarnated or moved into its next body which
could be either human or animal. Its next body and quality of life is based on its karma. When someone
has achieved enlightenment they have not acheived deliverance until all of the non-harmful karma goes
away. Enlightenment is when a being is free from bad karma however still has good karma, deliverance is
freedom from all karma. When a being achieves deliverance they cannot do anything bad, they are called
arihants. Even though the arihants are human they have perfect knowledge and happiness. It takes a very
long time to achieve deliverance and not even the most spiritual monks and nuns have achieved
enlightenment. Once a being achieves deliverance it travels to the highest level of the universe where it
lives in perfect happiness with other freed souls.

God

Jains do not believe in any god or gods the way most other religions do. However they believe in perfect
beings that are worthy of praise. The way Jains view the concept of god helps them explain the evil and
suffering in the world The souls are the ideal state of a beings existance and are worshiped because they
are a perfect example for Jains to seek to be. Everyone has the potential to become on of these "gods"
because everyone has the potential to become a perfect soul.

WORSHIPS
Daily Practices

There are 6 daily practices that Jains do. These include prayer, honoring tirthankaras, respecting monks,
self-punishment for sins, meditation for 48 minutes, and going without a pleasurable item.

Jain Temples

Jain temples usually have a simple structure, even though there are some very elaborate, beautiful
temples in India. Jain temples can have very extravagant worship rooms, or they can be very simple, this
doesn't have any effect on the Jains or the worship. Inside Jain temples there are either statues or images
of tirthankaras, that are either standing, or seated in a meditation position. When making offerings and
worshiping tirthankaras, the seated position is more focused.

Jain Worship

Jain worship looks very similar to Hindu worship, however there is a difference, when people see Jains
worship they think they are worshipping the tirthankaras as people however they are worshipping the
deliverance and perfection they have reached. The purpose of Jain worship is to give Jains a regulation
that helps them center their thoughts on Jain thoughts. The person worshipping centers their thoughts
on liberated souls and tirthankaras, and use these thoughts to help them get to this state. Even though in
Jainism there are no gods for Jains to worship to or ask anything from, Jains worship anyway. There are
many good reasons for Jains worshiping anyway such as, the spiritual level of each worshipper improves,
it purifies the body, it destroys bad karma attached to the soul,and worshipping the tirthankaras shows
them the examples they should be following.

Monks

Digambara monks decline all worldly possessions to live a self-diciplined, simple life. These worldly
possessions also include clothing, thus they are naked or "skyclad." This is the reason the word Digambara
translates in to "the sky clad" and Svetambara translates into "the white clad, " it is because of the monks
clothing. The monks being naked also shows that they have let go of any emotions towards this such as
shame or modesty. The monk must be naked for the right reason and must have the right attitude for it
to count. Monks are separated from their families when they are born, thus they look at the whole world
as their family. Monks live in small groups of five to six people, and spend their days studying and
meditating. Each group as a senior monk, the senior monk will every morning tach other monks, nuns,
and Jains.

Ceremonies

One of the most common Jain ceremonies is called the eightfold puja or eightfold offering. This is a very
common Svetambara ceremony. This ceremony involves giving eight offerings to the tirthankaras while
worshipping them. There are no specific or detailed instructions for the eightfold puja, there are just basic
outlines, so there are different thoughts on it depending on the type of Jain. One idea that is common is
not giving the tirthankaras presents, but giving up something for them. Before the ceremony the
worshipper washes themselves and puts on clean clothes that are only used for worship, and nothing else.
On they way to the temple the worshipper stops thinking about all other wordly things and switches their
thoughts to preparing for worship. When they enter the temple they say "nishi" which means giving up.
This indicates they are moving from regular actions to spiritual ones. They say this again when they enter
the inner worshiping room. In this room there is a round area that has symbols for the 3 Jewels. They walk
3 times clockwise around this area while chanting texts. After this the worshipper makes their 8 offerings:

1) They pour water on the image, to show purity and cleanliness.

2) Sandalwood and saffron paste are dabbed on the certain parts of the image. This shows cooling
passions, because sandalwood has been thought to cool fevers.

3) A flower garland is placed around the image to show faith in either the teachings, fragrance, or
forgiveness in the 3 Jewels.

4) Incense is waved at the image to rid it of karma particles, or desire and ignorance.

5) A lamp is waved at the image to show enlightenment getting rid of the darkness, or preventing activity

The last 3 pujas are not done right next to the image, they are done from a distance on a table.

6) Rice is shaped on a table into a swastika (an ancient symbol with four equal arms). The four ends
represent the four different circumstances a soul can be born in. Above that three circles are made and a
crescent with a dot over those.

7) Sweets are added to the table

8) Fruits are added to the table.

ETHICS

http://www.hinduwebsite.com/jainism/threejewels.asp