Welcome to the Tuesday edition of the Coffee Hour on Street Prophets. This is our communities’ open thread where we can talk about what’s happening in our lives, our thoughts on current events, and anything else that strikes your fancy. I thought I’d start today’s discussion with some comments on Jainism.
Jainism is perhaps India’s oldest religion. It has no single founder, but was revealed through a series of leaders known as tirthankaras or jinas. Of these, the best-known is Mahavira who was the most recent jina and who lived during the sixth century BCE. Mahavira’s words form the basis of the Jain scriptures.
Mahariva was born to the warrior caste in the Ganges Basin. At the age of 30 he became a wandering ascetic and after 12 years attained enlightenment. His 12 disciples used his teachings as the basis for the Jain scriptures.
Initially, monks and nuns were not allowed to have physical possessions, so they memorized the scriptures. However, during a great famine in the fourth century BCE many of the monks and nuns died and some of Mahavira’s words were lost. Later the scriptures were written down and the monks were allowed to have books.
The Jain worldview sees life as a continuous cycle of death and reincarnation. When a karmic act is committed, whether verbal, physical, or mental, it causes subtle particles of matter to stick to the person’s soul. The accumulation of particles weighs the soul down and causes the individual to be continually reborn.
The Jains do not recognize any deity, nor are there any priests to aid them on their spiritual path. Jainism does not explain the origin of the world: it views the universe as having neither beginning nor end.
It is a religion which places an emphasis on the practitioner’s own actions. If one lives in the right way—that is, having correct belief, knowledge, and conduct—then liberation from the endless cycle is possible.
One of the most important Jain principles is ahimsa (non-violence). Every living thing has a soul and Jains strive to avoid causing unnecessary harm to any living thing. They are strict vegetarians.
During the fourth century CE, Jainism split into two major groups. Arguing that all possessions are barriers to liberation, the Digambara group preferred to go sky clad (i.e. nude). Clothing, they argued, implies an idea of modesty which is irrelevant to those who are detached from the world. In addition, the act of washing clothes risks killing living things. The Shvetambara group holds that purity has more to do with the mind than with clothing.
Shown above is Sambhava, the third Jina in the line of 24 enlightened teachers. The fact that this image is nude shows that it was made for the Digambara sect, whose monks reject all possessions, including clothing. This is on display in the Portland (Oregon) Art Museum.
Now let’s explore your life. Where is your path taking you? What’s happening? What are you thinking about? And, most important, what’s for dinner?