The Jaina Path of Purification

The Jaina Path of Purification
Author: Padmanabh S. Jaini
Publisher: Motilal Banarsidass Publishe
Total Pages: 400
Release: 1998
Genre: India
ISBN: 9788120815780

The religious tradition of the Jainas, unique in many respects, presents a fascinating array of doctrinal and social structures that stem from the anti-vedic movements of ancient times. Drawing extensively on primary sources, Professor Jaini provides a comprehensive introduction to the Jaina experience. Beginning with the Life of Mahavira the author elucidates the essentials of Jaina cosmology and philosophy as well as of the path of purification through which the soul may escape from its Karmic defilements and attain eternal salvation. This path constitutes the integral element within the broader frame-work of Jaina literature, lay ritual and the socio-historical factors, which enabled Jainism to survive and prosper to the present day. In particular, the author has examined the cardinal doctrine of ahimsa (non-harming), both in its impact upon Jaina religious consciousness and as a standard in applying its sacred principles to the conduct of every day life.

The Jain Path

The Jain Path
Author: Aidan Rankin
Publisher: New Age Books
Total Pages: 280
Release: 2007
Genre: Jainism
ISBN: 9788178223049

Making a Mantra

Making a Mantra
Author: Ellen Gough
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 332
Release: 2021-10-11
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 022676706X

Jainism originated in India and shares some features with Buddhism and Hinduism, but it is a distinct tradition with its own key texts, art, rituals, beliefs, and history. One important way it has often been distinguished from Buddhism and Hinduism is through the highly contested category of Tantra: Jainism, unlike the others, does not contain a tantric path to liberation. But in Making a Mantra, historian of religions Ellen Gough refines and challenges our understanding of Tantra by looking at the development over two millennia of a Jain incantation, or mantra, that evolved from an auspicious invocation in a second-century text into a key component of mendicant initiations and meditations that continue to this day. Typically, Jainism is characterized as a celibate, ascetic path to liberation in which one destroys karma through austerities, while the tantric path to liberation is characterized as embracing the pleasures of the material world, requiring the ritual use of mantras to destroy karma. Gough, however, argues that asceticism and Tantra should not be viewed in opposition to one another. She does so by showing that Jains perform “tantric” rituals of initiation and meditation on mantras and maṇḍalas. Jainism includes kinds of tantric practices, Gough provocatively argues, because tantric practices are a logical extension of the ascetic path to liberation.

Jain Way of Life (JWOL)

Jain Way of Life (JWOL)
Author: Yogendra Jain
Publisher: JAINA
Total Pages: 208
Release: 2007-07-01
Genre: Ahiṃsā
ISBN: 0977317854

This book is ideal for Jains and Non-Jains an easy to understand guide for blending Jain practices with a North American lifestyle. Jainism Simplified What is Jainism? Jain Prayers My Aspirations (Prayer) Treasures in Jainism Non-Violence (Ahimsa) Non-Absolutism (Anekantvad) Non-Possessiveness (Balance Needs and Desires) Unity and Diversity Among Jains 24 Reasons to Believe in and Live a Jain Life Vegetarian Way of Life Measuring My Progress in Living a Jain Way of Life My Mind & My Body - A Self Evaluation My Things - A Self Evaluation My Consumptions - A Self Evaluation My Life & My World - A Self Evaluation My Spirituality - A Self Evaluation Many Dimensions of Violence Food Compassionate Healthy Diet Responsible Food Purchasing Eating and Drinking Out and Enjoying: Best Practices Family How to Raise a Jain Child Marriage Commitment A Typical Day - Jain Way of Life (JWOL) Vacations, Retreats, and Camps Very Responsible Purchasing Guidelines to Donations and Gift Giving Self and Work Excelling in the Workplace Jain Relaxation and Meditation My 12 Reflections Guidance Cherish the Jain Experience in North America Guidelines for High School Students Animal Rights - Your Critical Role Partnerships with Non-Jain Groups Forgiveness and How to do it Steps to Spiritual Progress Celebrations Family Celebrations - Birthday, Graduation, Mothers/Fathers Day, Anniversary, Marriage The Art of Dying Jain Festivals Mahavira's Life and Teachings, Mahavir Jayanti (Birth) and Diwali (Liberation) Celebration of the Soul Paryushan Parv and Das Lakshan 8-10 Days of Living a Jain Way of Life (JWOL) The Practice of Equanimity and Pratikraman Celebrating Thanksgiving Jain Pujas, Symbols, Temples, History Jain Philosophy Jain Pujas Jain Symbols Jain History Jain Scriptures Jainism and Other Religions

The Jains

The Jains
Author: Paul Dundas
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 369
Release: 2024-11-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 104028874X

The Indian religion of Jainism, whose central tenet involves non-violence to all creatures, is one of the world's oldest and least-understood faiths. Dundas looks at Jainism in its social and doctrinal context, explaining its history, sects, scriptures and ritual, and describing how the Jains have, over 2500 years, defined themselves as a unique religious community. This revised and expanded edition takes account of new research into Jainism.

Jainism

Jainism
Author: Agustin Panikar
Publisher: Motilal Banarsidass
Total Pages: 587
Release: 2010-01-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 8120834607

Jainism is a tradition which dates back thousands of years, which is unbelievably rich and profound, and which has certain unmistakable signs of identity. Contrary to what some might think, it is not in any sense a poor relation of Buddhism, nor is a strange, atheistic and ascetic sect within Hinduism. Jainism is, above all, the religion of non-violence (ahimsa), an ideal which all other religions of India were subsequently to make theirs and which was made universal by Gandhi in the 20th century. Like Buddhism, Jainism is a religion without God which paradoxically opens to the truly sacred in the deepest reaches of all living beings in the cosmos. And it is also the religion of non-absolutism (anekantavada), a particular form of philosophical pluralism, which seems astonishingly modern.

Jainism

Jainism
Author: Jeffery D. Long
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 171
Release: 2013-03-22
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0857736566

Jainism evokes images of monks wearing face-masks to protect insects and mico-organisms from being inhaled. Or of Jains sweeping the ground in front of them to ensure that living creatures are not inadvertently crushed: a practice of non-violence so radical as to defy easy comprehension. Yet for all its apparent exoticism, Jainism is still little understood in the West. What is this mysterious philosophy which originated in the 6th century BCE, whose absolute requirement is vegetarianism, and which now commands a following of four million adherents both in its native India and diaspora communities across the globe?In his welcome new treatment of the Jain religion, Long makes an ancient tradition fully intelligible to the modern reader. Plunging back more than two and a half millennia, to the plains of northern India and the life of a prince who - much like the Buddha - gave up a life of luxury to pursue enlightenment, Long traces the history of the Jain community from founding sage Mahavira to the present day. He explores asceticism, worship, the life of the Jain layperson, relations between Jainism and other Indic traditions, the Jain philosophy of relativity, and the implications of Jain ideals for the contemporary world. The book presents Jainism in a way that is authentic and engaging to specialists and non-specialists alike.

The Jain Path

The Jain Path
Author: Andrea Diem-Lane
Publisher:
Total Pages: 62
Release: 2015-12-18
Genre:
ISBN: 9781565434745

Professor Andrea Diem-Lane, Ph.D., provides an in-depth analysis and summary of ten key books on the religion of Jainism, providing the reader with a deeper grasp of this ancient Indian religion and its compassionate practice of ahimsa or non-violence.

Life Force

Life Force
Author: Michael Tobias
Publisher: Jain Publishing Company
Total Pages: 130
Release: 1991
Genre: Ahiṃsā
ISBN: 0875730809

Outside India, little is known of Jainism, one of the oldest religions in the world; a gentle faith whose ancient precepts have always nurtured an ecological way of life, and which numbers today nearly ten million adherents. At the root of Jainism's compassionate philosophy is the practice of ahimsa, meaning non-violence, an approach to the world that greatly influenced Mahatma Gandhi. Today, with the earth's environment and everyone of its species under constant siege, Jainism has more of a role to play than ever before. In this accessible and thought-provoking portrait of a religion, the Jain antidotes to human violence and environmental abuse come elegantly and persuasively to light.