Human development (Jainism)

This religious tradition pre-dates Buddha and like Buddhism rejects the idea of God although affirming the existence of liberated souls. All [jivas]

- sentient, living things - are eternal and discrete entities which have always existed and always with a material component, [ajiva]

, due to karma flowing in from contact with the material world through mind, speech and body. The true nature of the jiva is realized when it loses its material, karmic ajiva which obscures, although does not destroy, the jiva. Freedom from ajiva implies no further birth and the jiva abides for ever in perfect knowledge and self-containment in the siddha-loka, or abode of liberated souls. This is the highest level of the universe, lower levels being urdhva-loka (the celestial world), madhya-loka (the terrestrial world) and adha-loka, the underworld.

Human beings, in that they are endowed with the six senses of smell, taste, sight, touch, hearing and thought, are in a unique and special position to give a lead in achieving unity and harmony in the universe. They should aim for compassion and tolerance, forgiveness and equanimity in their relationships with their surroundings, a loving and yet rational approach. They should seek truth and freedom from karma through the three "jewels" - [ratnatraya]

- or paths of right faith - [samyak darsan]

, right knowledge - [samyak gyan]

, and right conduct - [samyak caritra]

. All Jains practice [ahimsa]

, harmlessness, as part of the path to liberation; this includes not only abstinence from killing or injuring living beings (and therefore strict vegetarianism) but also absence of aggression and possessiveness. In addition to this complete non-violence and reverence for all forms of life, there must also be non-attachment - [aparigraha]

- to the physical things of life, and followers lead a life of increasing self-restraint, abstinence, fasting and renunciation. While lay followers practice sexual restraint and limit their attachment to and acquisition of possessions, monks and nuns are strictly celibate and renounce possessions altogether. Jain orders are divided into two groups, depending on monastic practice: the Svetambaras who wear white clothing and who admit women to full vows; and the Digambaras who take renunciation to include that of clothing and who consider women must await reincarnation as men before being admitted to full vows.

Philosophically, Jainism rejects [ekantavada]

or onesidedness, holding that this must inevitably fail to take in all equally important dimensions of existence; rather, it supports [anekantavada]

, an approach which synthesizes conflicting approaches to reality and includes both the inherent unchangeability of the soul and its ability to alter qualitatively.

Following a rigorous discipline of renunciation under the guidance of teachings of the 24 great teachers or [jinas]

, the individual can, by his own efforts and without supernatural aid, achieve release from the bondage of physical existence and the cycle of birth and death. The jinas or [tirthankaras]

(crossing makers) show the way to recovery of the true jiva nature. This is a process which takes numerous lifetimes. There are fourteen stages, [gunasthanas]

, from total bondage to karma to total freedom. A life of piety may be lead at the fourth stage; but the sixth stage must be reached before commencing the life of a monk. Then the Jain makes five mahavratas or vows - observance of ahimsa and refraining from lying, stealing, sexual intercourse and possessions - and lives a life of increasing asceticism which may culminate in old age with a ritual fasting to death, this latter to avoid negation of progress through clinging to material existence. The monastic pattern is mirrored in lay practice, when eleven stages or [pratimas]

bring the lay person to a condition of renunciation similar to that achieved by those in orders: right views; taking of vows; meditation leading to equanimity; holy day fasts; pure food; refraining from sexual intercourse during the day; refraining from all sexual intercourse; abandoning of household activity; abandoning possessions; abandoning concern for the life of the householder; renouncing all family ties. This is propitious for rebirth into a life where the monastic path to liberation is possible. Full enlightenment, [kevalajnana]

, is said to have been achieved by some practitioners of Jainism, who transcended the separation of eternal transcendent reality from manifestation.