Jainism: An IntroductionJainism 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. |
Contents
| 1 | |
2 Mahāvīra and the Origins of Jainism | 29 |
3 Jain History | 57 |
4 The Jain Path | 83 |
An Intellectual History | 117 |
A Philosophical Analysis | 141 |
7 The Jain Vision and the Future of Humanity | 173 |
A Brief Survey of the Literature on Jainism | 185 |
Jain Chronology | 189 |
Glossary | 193 |
Notes | 207 |
| 225 | |
| 231 | |
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Common terms and phrases
Ācārya according affirm ahimsā ancient anekāntavāda aparigraha āratī ascetic practice asceticism Bhagavad Gītā bhaṭṭārakas Brahman Buddha Buddhist caste century claims Common Era contemporary culture darśana deity Digambara distinction doctrines of relativity Dundas entity existence ganadharas Gandhi guru Hindu Hinduism historical Ibid idea India Indic traditions Jain and Buddhist Jain ascetics Jain community Jain doctrines Jain intellectuals Jain layperson Jain monks Jain philosophy Jain scriptures Jain texts Jain tradition Jaina Jina jīva karma karmic karmic matter Kundakunda liberation living Magadha Mahāvīra modern mokṣa monastic monks and nuns mūrti nayas nayavāda non-Jain nonviolence northern Digambara omniscient one’s Pāli perspective philosophy of relativity Prakrits premodern prominent reality rebirth regard religion religious renunciation ritual Samantabhadra Sāmkhya samsāra Sanskrit scholars schools of thought sect sense soul spiritual Sthānakavāsīs Svāmī Panth Śvetāmbara syādvāda Tattvārthasūtra teachings temples Terapanthis Tīrthankaras truth ultimate Umāsvāti Veda Vedānta Vedic vows Western worldview worship