Have any Questions?

[Arav]

I see that on this Forum there are many people who may not know too well what Jainism is. Jainism is a beautiful religion that many people can learn about and not just some religion that is meant to be left in the back country of India. That is the one of the goals of the Jains today, to promote Jainism and bring it to today's generations so that we can try to give more peace to the world.

So if you have any questions at all, no matter how big or small, I will take my time and give you the best answer I can.

Jai-Jinendra!
Jai Shree Bhagwan Mahavir!

 

[xkatz]

What is the scripture of Jainism/Jain Dharma? Also, do most Jains believe in god?

 

[Storm]

I don't even know enough to have questions.

Why don't you summarize the basics for us?

 

[Breathe]

Good thread!

May I ask, how many of the Tirthankaras you take as literal, and how many as metaphorical/allegorical stories?

Additionally, when is one permitted to stray from ahimsa and fight? For example, can one fight an intruder into his or her home, an attacker, or if drafted into military, fight in war -- when are such things permitted, if ever?

 

[Arav]

What is the scripture of Jainism/Jain Dharma?

The Jain scripture is called the Agams, or Agamas. around 300 BCE there was a famine and many Monks dies. Some of the monks knew the Jain scriptures very well and had them in memory. When they died the Digambars belive that most of the Scripures were lost and that the ones that did survive have been messed with. The Shwetamber believe that most of the scripture was saved and have not been messed with because there is no reason, to Jains, to mess with the words of Bhagwan Mahavir. The main scripture of Jainism is the Tattvarth Sutra, or the book of reality, it is seen to be the most important sutra and the one that is most cited. It is indeed a very important Sutra.

Also, do most Jains believe in god?

Us Jains to not believe in the controlling, preserving, and destorying God. We believe that God is the Soul in its Purest state called SIDDHA. So if you were to get rid of all your impurities you would be a God in Jainism.

 

[Arav]

Good thread!

May I ask, how many of the Tirthankaras you take as literal, and how many as metaphorical/allegorical stories?

Additionally, when is one permitted to stray from ahimsa and fight? For example, can one fight an intruder into his or her home, an attacker, or if drafted into military, fight in war -- when are such things permitted, if ever?

Personally, I take the Tirthankars to be real, but the time might be exagerated. I believe that there really was Tirthankar Bhagawan Shree Adinath, the first Tirthankar. But did he live 8 million years ago, that I dont know. Time in India has been known to be exagerated. So if Bhagwan Mahavir said that Adinath lived 8 million years ago, I would interpret that as a long time. Adinath was also said to have lived around 100,000 years and was like 80 feet tall. I also interpret that as he lived very very long and was a very very big man. But do I believe that Adinath didnt exist, no, I say he did.

On Ahimsa: The householder is supposed to do the least non-violence possible and still ba able to live in the normal world. The Monk is supposed to take Ahimsa as far as they can, farther than the householder. If its done in self-defence, the househoulder can defend, but doing as little harm as possible. Some Jains would dissagree with that, but I see defence with as little harm as possible is O.K. I dont expect the householder to sit back and watch some man rob his family and kill his children. But, the Monk cant do anything. And neither the householder or the Monk can fight in a war.

 

[Arav]

I don't even know enough to have questions.

Why don't you summarize the basics for us?

I would love to!

Jainism was brought back to Earth around 2000 years ago by Bhagwan Mahavir. At the age of 42 he attained enlightenment or Keval Gyan and began to teach. There are people before him to brought Jainism to earth, the one before him was Parshwa.

The basics are:

Ahimsa: To be non-Violent to all life
Tirthankar: Jainism is brought to earth by Tirthankars
Karma- a small particle that infiltrates the Soul and perverts its true nature
God- the Purifies Soul that has no Karma.
Soul- The Soul is Consciousness, but when it has Karma its true nature which is blissful becomes termporarily lost.
Asceticism- Tho purify yourself of all negativities, you must practice this. Asceticism is giving up things and going threw self-denial for a spiritual cause.
Three Jewels- Right Faith, Right Perception, Right Conduct. Threw these you can acheive salvation.
Salvation- called Moksha. Its freedom from material contamination.

That is the very basics of the religion.

 

[Arav]

Just in case anyone wants to ready the Tattvarth Sutra, here it is. Its very short and you can read it within a short time.

tattmain

 

[Bernard]

I read that according to Mahavira, reality being self contradicting, there is no use in searching for a unique truth, and that leads to 2 points: 1- each person must find his own way, 2- Ahimsa: acceptance of people thinking differently from us
I look for quotes exemplifying this (ifever I understood rightly
thank you

 

[anant]

Regarding truth: Truth in Jainism is incomprehensible for anyone except the enlightened ones (siddhas) and Tirthankaras and even they are unable to communicate the whole truth to the world because of linguistic limitations and the limitation of understanding. So the way out here is the philosophy of Anekantwad which holds the multiplicity of viewpoints together. It says that the perception of truth/reality is different from different viewpoints and that no single point of view is complete truth.

Let me know what do you mean by quotes here? Are you looking at quotes from Jain agams?

 

[AstralProjectee]

I have a question. Let say I go to hell when I die to work out some karma. Is there a way I can speed up the process and or make it not as painful? My best guess would be to be as ego-less as possible.

 

[Where Is God]

Is there a Jainism that doesn't involve the belief in souls? I am a very sciency guy and souls sound silly to me but I would love to be a jainist.

 

[AstralProjectee]

Your user name says Where Is God? If you look into Jainism I believe you will see that you are God. Even Jesus points out a scripture that points that out. I know in Hinduism they call God is brahman OR brahma. If you can meditate enough you will see that Atman (your consciousness, spirit OR soul what ever you call it) is brahman. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Where Is God]

Your user name says Where Is God? If you look into Jainism I believe you will see that you are God. Even Jesus points out a scripture that points that out. I know in Hinduism they call God is brahman OR brahma. If you can meditate enough you will see that Atman (your consciousness, spirit OR soul what ever you call it) is brahman. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Doesn't answer my question.

 

[Breathe]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Brahmā is the creator-god, or creating aspect of God.
Brahman is the Absolute grounds of everything. Not quite the same as a God in the Western sense, unless one is a dualist.


WIG, may I ask, why would you want to be a Jain without the belief in souls? I can't answer in here or anything, as I'm not a Jain, but I'm just curious.

 

[Where Is God]

Brahmā is the creator-god, or creating aspect of God.
Brahman is the Absolute grounds of everything. Not quite the same as a God in the Western sense, unless one is a dualist.


WIG, may I ask, why would you want to be a Jain without the belief in souls? I can't answer in here or anything, as I'm not a Jain, but I'm just curious.

I was askng. There was something similar

 

[The Sum of Awe]

After Death?
Gods?
Main Beliefs?

 

[Arav]

I have a question. Let say I go to hell when I die to work out some karma. Is there a way I can speed up the process and or make it not as painful? My best guess would be to be as ego-less as possible.

Yes, there is! But, there is nothing you can do while in hell. You can practice Tapas, or austerity in this life, which can weaken or eliminate that Karma in the first place. So, really, if you happen to practice austerities alot, you can eliminate the Karma that will even send you to hell next life!

 

[Arav]

Is there a Jainism that doesn't involve the belief in souls? I am a very sciency guy and souls sound silly to me but I would love to be a jainist.

There is not, sorry. Jiva (the Soul) is a fundamental part of reality to Jain Dharma and is therefore necissary to believe in if you want to be a Jain.

 

[Arav]

After Death?
Gods?
Main Beliefs?

After death one can either go to the Devaloka's, where the gods reside. Or you can stay here on earth, as a Human, animal, etc. Or you can be reborn in one of the Hells. Or if one practiced Spirituality deeply, you can be Liberated from the cycle of reincarnation.

There are two types of "Gods". There are Deva's, who are Jiva's in a high state of rebirth. And then there is God, who is Paramatma, the liberated Jiva.

Main beliefs: (From Wikipedia)

• Every living being has a soul.[14]
• Every soul is potentially divine, with innate qualities of infinite knowledge, perception, power, and bliss (masked by its karmas).
• Therefore regard every living being as you do yourself, harming no one and being kind to all living beings.
• Every soul is born as a heavenly being, human, sub-human or hellish being according to its own karma.
• Every soul is the architect of its own life, here or hereafter.[15]
• When a soul is freed from karmas, it becomes free and attains divine consciousness, experiencing infinite knowledge, perception, power, and bliss.[16]
• Right View, Right Knowledge, and Right Conduct (triple gems of Jainism) provide the way to this realisation.[17] There is no supreme divine creator, owner, preserver, or destroyer. The universe is self-regulated, and every soul has the potential to achieve divine consciousness (siddha) through its own efforts.
• Non-violence (to be in soul consciousness rather than body consciousness) is the foundation of right view, the condition of right knowledge and the kernel of right conduct. It leads to a state of being unattached to worldly things and being nonjudgmental and non-violent; this includes compassion and forgiveness in thoughts, words and actions toward all living beings and respecting views of others (non-absolutism).
• Jainism stresses upon the importance of controlling the senses including the mind, as they can drag one far away from true nature of the soul.
• Limit possessions and lead a life that is useful to yourself and others. Owning an object by itself is not possessiveness; however, attachment to an object is possessiveness.[18] Non-possessiveness is the balancing of needs and desires while staying detached from our possessions.
• Enjoy the company of the holy and better-qualified, be merciful to afflicted souls, and tolerate the perversely inclined.[19]
• Four things are difficult for a soul to attain: 1. human birth, 2. knowledge of the laws governing the souls, 3. absolute conviction in the philosophy of non-violence, and 4. practicing this knowledge with conviction in everyday life activities.
• It is, therefore, important not to waste human life in evil ways. Rather, strive to rise on the ladder of spiritual evolution.
• The goal of Jainism is liberation of the soul from the negative effects of unenlightened thoughts, speech, and action. This goal is achieved through clearance of karmic obstructions by following the triple gems of Jainism.
• Navakar Mantra is the fundamental prayer in Jainism and can be recited at any time of the day. Praying by reciting this mantra, the devotee bows in respect to liberated souls still in human form (Arihantas), fully liberated souls forever free from re-birth(Siddhas), spiritual leaders (Acharyas), teachers (Upadyayas) and all the monks and nuns(sarva sadhus [monks], sadhvis [nuns][20]). By saluting them saying "namo namaha", Jains receive inspiration from them to follow their path to achieve true bliss and total freedom from the karmas binding their souls. In this main prayer, Jains do not ask for any favours or material benefits. This mantra serves as a simple gesture of deep respect toward beings that are more spiritually advanced. The mantra also reminds followers of the ultimate goal of reaching nirvana or moksha.[21]
• Jains worship the icons of Jinas, Arihants, and Tirthankars, who have conquered their inner passions and attained divine consciousness, and study the scriptures of these liberated beings.
• Jainism acknowledges the existence of powerful heavenly souls (Yaksha and Yakshini) that look after the well-beings of Tirthankarars. Usually, they are found in pair around the icons of Jinas as male (yaksha) and female (yakshini) guardian deities. Even though they have supernatural powers, these deities are also souls wandering through the cycles of births and deaths just like most other souls. Over time, people started worshiping these deities as well.[22]