Jainism
Jainism is a universal religion whose followers are called Jains. Jains believe that every single living thing has a soul. All souls are spiritually equal, eternal, individual, independent, and have the attributes of infinite knowledge, perception, consciousness and bliss. Jains engage in spiritual meditation and austerities (voluntary penances), which are part of the path to the soul’s final liberation (moksha) consisting of Right World-view, Right Knowledge and Right Conduct. To practice Jainism is to think, speak and live by respecting and honoring the spiritual nature of every living being and to be nonviolent in mind, speech, and physical actions. A vital part of this lifestyle is pure vegetarianism. There are about 10 million Jains in the world predominantly in India, where the faith originated. The most recent enlightened teachers of the Jain tradition were Parshva (877 – 777 BCE) and Mahavira (599 – 527 BCE).
For a basic overview and information on Jainism please download here (MS Word): Jainism – Basic Information
Note: This write-up has been adapted from the book “Pure Freedom: The Jain Way of Self-reliance” by Amar Salgia © 2002. All rights reserved.
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