Jainism
/ˈdʒeɪnɪz(ə)m
/noun [mass noun]
A non-theistic religion founded in India in the 6th century bc by the Jina Vardhamana Mahavira as a reaction against the teachings of orthodox Brahmanism, and still practised there. The Jain religion teaches salvation by perfection through successive lives, and non-injury to living creatures, and is noted for its ascetics. See also Svetambara and Digambara.Like my religion of Jainism, Buddhism teaches this practice of patient restraint....
- Jains celebrate the attaining of Moksha (Nirvana, or eternal bliss) by the founder of Jainism, Lord Mahavira.
- Even today Jainism is practiced in many parts of India especially in the State of Gujarat and parts of Karnataka.
Derivatives
Jainist
- Buddhists, Jainists, and Hindus all place a great value on personal austerity and are concerned with the final escape from the cycle of birth and rebirth known as reincarnation.
- The Jainists believe that all humans have an eternal soul (or ‘Jina’) that is capable of reaching spiritual Enlightenment or ‘Moksha’, by living a spiritual life that is strict and based principally around the virtue of respect for all living forms.
- Jainists are famous for self denial. One group of monks, the Digambaras, does not wear clothes.