Jainism

Al Akhawayn University
Fall 2023
Dr. S. Trevathan
Jainism is said to be India’s oldest religion – though
others say it developed at around 500 BC – the same
as Buddhism.
Originally had many more members but presently about
14 million adherents

Jainisms refers to ‘…those who have won over their

minds, speech and actions. Given absolute knowledge
by specific knowledge’. The JINAS or “victors,” – are
those who have conquered the passions
 The Basic Principle
Non Violence - AHIMSA
Extreme Non-Violence
Considered as a heterodox form of
Hinduism as it rejected the:
-the caste system (and the Brahmanical
authority)
-The Vedas (disagreement about
authorship)
-The fire sacrifice of widows
-Gods / Goddesses -The gods of Hindus
 The Jain Symbol
p point of Universe – Open hand - peace
e Jinas

ots – insight – third eyes Circle - ahimsa

nowledge / conduct

stika – represents the gurus and saviours - TIRTH-KAR

Jains believe in a line of 24 saints or
enlightened beings. The Tirthkaras
(Bridge Builders)
The 24th was named Mahavira (600 – 500 BC)
and is understood to be the creator of current
day Jainism. At age 30 he renounced the world
and lived as an ascetic until he was 42-43. He
summarized and clarified the philosophical
and spiritual teaching of the previous
Tirthkaras.
 The Basic Teachings

The Dharma
This has a wide meaning in
Jainism – it is considered to be
the true nature of things
 The true nature of things (the
Dharma) is embodied in the ten
virtues of dharmic conduct.
Forgiveness, humility,
straightforwardness, truthfulness,
purity, self-restraint, Penance,
renunciation, non-possessive,
The Life of the Jain Nun
 Where do they Live?
Jain monks/munis stays at any places provided by
people. As they have vows of poverty they have no need
of bed, pillow, etc. Nor do they require any special type of
place.

During their endless traveling around by foot from one

place to other when night approaches they will stop
walking and stay under the open sky and hard ground
without looking for towns or villages and continue their
walking in the morning.
Detached from all social and worldly activities. All of
their practices and efforts are orientated towards self
purification and self-realization.

All family ties are severed after renunciation

They have established daily routines for daily

meditation, seeking knowledge and austerity.

No homes – No possessions – vow of poverty

 Jain Nuns and Monks do not use toilets
Why?
Toilets use a lot of water and there is violence towards the
organisms of water

Toilets are clean with acidic cleaners and brush and result in
killing of the organisms living there.

Toilets are usually found in homes, since nuns and monks

have no home they have no reason to go at such places.
Toilets mean dependency. When there is
a call of nature one has to find a toilet
and Jain Nuns and Monks are not
dependent on anything or anyone
Usage of toilets shows attachment
towards cleanliness which is connected
to the cleanliness of body. Jain Nuns and
Monks have renounced that attachment,
Nuns and monks rise between 2am and
5am – when it is dark.

Defecation takes place in open places

away from roads and paths where faeces
do not harm living creatures; urination is
into a shallow pan, which is emptied
Jain monks renounce all material possessions and rely for food
and shelter on the Jain community.

Jain nuns never know in advance what they will eat on any
given day, and they are obliged to eat every last bit of the food
given to them, rather than throwing any away.

One of the nuns in a BBC interview said ‘If you throw it away
like that, if you put it in the dustbin, it's going to accumulate
micro-organisms and they are going to die. Albeit
inadvertently, I caused the harm. So I have to minimise the
harm’
For lay Jains with households:

‘….And, how can one who eats food without

the light of the sun, albeit a lamp may have
been lighted, avoid hiṃsā of minute beings
which get into food?’
We believe even electricity has life," says Sahebji, a
Jain monk. “Hence, being non-violent, we don’t use it,"
he says.

Jain nuns and monks do not eat root vegetables such

as potatoes, onions and carrots because such root
vegetables are considered ananthkay. Ananthkay means
one body, but containing infinite lives such as small
insects, micro-organisms and killing the plant itself.
All of these restrictions, eating of meat,
fish, eggs, plants, etc is based on ahimsa,
literally meaning ‘non-injuring’. Every act
by which a person directly or indirectly
supports killing or injury is seen as act of
violence (himsa), which creates harmful
karma. The aim of ahimsa is to prevent
the accumulation of such karma.
 The Nuns and Monks live a
life of

Circumspection
 Prayers and Rituals
Jains perform their sacred rituals at the temple or Derasar. Some of these
rituals are:

Puja - Concentrating on one's soul through intense prayer sometimes in the

presence of sculptures of the teachers to serve as an example of how to
attain Moksha.
Samayik - Forty-eight minute ritual that asks for forgiveness for one's sins
Namokar Ritual - A short prayer that can be said at any time that shows
obeisance to the perfect souls that have achieved Nirvana.
The biggest event in the Jain calendar is the holy week (8-10 days) of
Paryushan where Jains reflect upon their actions throughout the past year.
The week takes place in August or September and is concluded by a three
hour prayer called Pratikraman.
 Reincarnation

Jains believe souls are made of a unique substance in the

universe. This substance can take different living forms during the
cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.

This cycle has been going on forever, the universe has no

beginning or end, it has always been and always will be.

The ultimate goal is to get rid of one's karma on the soul so that
they may end this cycle for themselves. Once this goal is reached
their soul has attained all knowledge and it rests in the heavens
forever (Nirvana).
 Syādvāda as the Key to the Jain Middle Way – the way to avoid violence

The Jain theory that all judgments are conditional, beinf true only in certain
conditions, circumstances, or senses, expressed by the word syāt (Sanskrit:
“may be”).

The Jainas believe that All knowledge claims or to interpret experience from
only one point of view, to the exclusion of others is an error.
 Syādvāda as the Key to the Jain Middle Way – the way to avoid violence

The Jain theory that all judgments are conditional, beinf true only in certain
conditions, circumstances, or senses, expressed by the word syāt (Sanskrit:
“may be”).

The Jainas believe that All knowledge claims or to interpret experience from
only one point of view, to the exclusion of others is an error.
 The unique perspective of Jainism on Life
The Syadvada
Syadvada discards all absolute-judgements

Syadvada holds that the knowledge of reality has got

innumerable characteristics. The reality is not simply
Universal, nor simply Particular but both and also more.

Statements are usually judged as true or not true. Jains have

a different mindset – any statement is seen as being true
and not true at the same time. Jains believe that this cannot
be explained and thus it is inexpressible.
Syadvada faces the problem of explain the constsntly changing nature of the
Universe.

How can you consistently describe something that is constantly changing.

Permanent being while at the same time something directly opposite – the
non-beingness of change. That is why it is inexpressible.
ways, it is,
ways, it is not,
ways, it is and it is not,
ways, it is and it is indescribable,
ways, it is not and it is indescribable
ways, it is and it is not, and it is indescrib
ways, it is indescribable
• from a certain point of view, the pot exists
• from a certain point of view, the pot does not exist
• from a certain point of view, the pot exists and does not exist
• from a certain point of view, the pot is inexpressible
• from a certain point of view, the pot both exists and is
inexpressible
• from a certain point of view, the pot both does not exist and is
inexpressible
• from a certain point of view, the pot exists, does not exist,
and is also inexpressible
 From what we have seen, we can come up with three
different premises about free will which are equally true /
untrue:

1.In some sense, free will exists.

2.In some sense, free will does not exist.
3.In some sense, it is indescribable.
1.In some sense, self exists.

2.In some sense, self does not exist.

3.In some sense, it is indescribable.

The bottom line is that, when you don’t have the complete
picture that gives you the absolute truth about anything, any
verbal description of that would be only partial.