About Jainism – Jain Society of Toronto

Jainism is an ancient religion from India that teaches that the way to liberation and bliss is to live a life of harmlessness and renunciation. The aim of Jain life is to achieve liberation of the soul.

The followers of Jainism are called “Jains”, a word derived from the Sanskrit word jina (victor) and connoting the path of victory in crossing over life’s stream of rebirths through an ethical and spiritual life. Jains trace their history through a succession of twenty-four victorious saviors and teachers known as Tirthankaras, with the first being Rishabhanatha, who is believed to have lived millions of years ago, and twenty-fourth being the Mahavira around 500 BCE. Jains believe that Jainism is an eternal dharma with the Tirthankaras guiding every cycle of the Jain cosmology.

Jainism does not support belief in a creator deity. According to Jain doctrine, the universe and its constituents—soul, matter, space, time, and principles of motion—have always existed. All the constituents and actions are governed by universal natural laws. It is not possible to create matter out of nothing and hence the sum total of matter in the universe remains the same (similar to law of conservation of mass). Jain text claims that the universe consists of jiva (life force or souls) and ajiva (lifeless objects). The soul of each living being is unique and uncreated and has existed since beginningless time.

Philosophy

Jain philosophy is the oldest Indian philosophy that separates body (matter) from the soul (consciousness) completely.[1] Jain philosophy deals with reality, cosmology, epistemology (study of knowledge) and Vitalism. The concept of non-injury or ahiṃsā lies at the core of Jain philosophy. Jain philosophy attempts to explain the rationale of being and existence, the nature of the Universe and its constituents, the nature of bondage and the means to achieve liberation.

Jain texts expound that in every half-cycle of time, twenty-four tirthankaras grace this part of the Universe to teach the unchanging doctrine of right faith, right knowledge and right conduct.[2][3] Jain philosophy means the teachings of a Tirthankara which are recorded in Sacred Jain texts. The distinguishing features of Jain philosophy are:-[citation needed]

Belief on independent existence of soul and matter.
Refutation of the idea that a supreme divine creator, owner, preserver or destroyer of the universe exists.
Potency of karma, eternal universe.
Accent on relativity and multiple facets of truth and
Morality and ethics based on liberation of soul.

Jainism strongly upholds the individualistic nature of soul and personal responsibility for one’s decisions; and that self-reliance and individual efforts alone are responsible for one’s liberation

Nine Tattvas

Most of the world’s Jains live in various parts of India depending on their sect. What is important to note about the various sects within the Jain philosophy is that while one group may reject the scriptures of another (the Digambara reject the Svetambara canon), this does not result in sectarian conflict. Each group is not viewed as a rival, but simply as another point of view from which to see the path. The Triple Gems of right faith, right knowledge, and right conduct apply to all Jains regardless of this minute differences and all Jains accept an identical philosophy called the Nine Tattvas (principles):

Jiva – all living beings. Every living being has a soul or consciousness (atma or chetan). This includes everything from a single cell organism to a whale. The soul is a formless, eternal, indestructible substance (like energy) which occupies several life forms until it reaches moksha (liberation).
Ajiva – all non-living material. Ajiva falls into five categories: the medium of motion, the medium of rest, space, time, and matter. Karma, in the Jain philosophy, is a category of matter which bonds to the soul.
Asvara – the cause of influx of karma. Karma interacts with and bonds to the soul via attachment to any emotion, reaction, or action–positive or negative.
Bandh – the actual bonding of karmic particles to the soul. This occurs whenever we react to a situation with attachment or aversion.
Punya – positive karmic particles resulting from virtuous acts such as charity. Once punya matures, we experience worldly comfort and happiness.
Paap – the opposite of punya. These negative karmic particles mature and attach themselves to the soul due to acts such as malice, disrespect, and violence.
Samvara – the act of stopping the karmic influx. This is achieved by observing samiti (the 5 carefulnesses), gupti (the three controls), monkhood, observing the 12 meditations, and suffering (handling hardship with grace and indifference).
Nirjara – removal of accumulated karma. Karmic particles mature and leave the soul in due time. Like a tomato on the vine, we can either wait for karma to naturally ripen (this could take many lifetimes) or we can actively speed the process. Such actions to speed the process include penance, asking for forgiveness, meditation, etc.
Moksha – when all karmic particles are removed from the soul, we are completely free. This is the goal.

This is the foundation of Jain philosophy. Sadhaks or Sadhu/Sadhvis, all Jains believe in this path.

Because the common Jain followers do not go through the monastic measures of karmic removal, they go through their daily lives with great care in doing as little damage as possible. Most Jains, for example, take up jobs in business so as to cause little direct harm to jiva (living things). Jains also support the Sadhu/Sadhvis community as an act of respect and veneration for those taking the hard yet necessary steps toward moksha.

A vegetarian diet is also crucial for all Jains regardless of sect. This practice stems from the most important practice of all: ahimsa (non-injury). Jains are careful in even their vegetable selections. Root plants such as potatoes, for example, are avoided because their consumption kills the entire plant. Many animal shelters in India are run by Jains, both the laity and the monks.