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159 Cards in this Set

  • Front
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Why is Buddhism described as a non-theistic religion?
-no personal God who creates everything and to whom prayers can be directed
-Buddhists do not worship their founder, Gautama Buddha
-there is no unchanging divine reality
Time of Emergence
North East India in 6th c. BCE Axis Age, near Benares
Common features between Janinisn and Buddhism
- Both movements originated in India
- Both movements looked toward liberation of the self from the suffering entailed in living in the world
- both movements sprang from the Kshatriya caste (warrior-chieftain class; the second-ranking group in the varna-caste system)
- both movements came to deny the saving efficacy of the Vedas (Hindu sacred scriptures) and of the ritual observances based upon them
- both movements challenged the claim of the Brahmin priesthood to prescriptive rights in showing the way to salvation.
Arhat
person who has achieved enlightenment through his/her own effort
What is sasana?
the whole body of beliefs and practices of the Buddhist faith
What is dharma?
way of life and though, specifically the teachings of Gautama Buddha.
Differences between Buddhism and Hinduism
- the Vedas
- the Vedic practice
- Vedic reliance on priests
- caste system
- gender and social limitations. Women and slaves could enter the Buddhist monastic order.
- belief in any permanent spiritual reality
Common features between Buddhism and Hinduism
- the notion of ahimsa (non harm)
- the notion of rebirth called samsara (constant rebirth and the accompanying suffering; the everyday world of change)
- the notion of karma. Karma (actions and the consequences of actions) determines how one will be reborn.
- the notion of liberation called moksha in Hinduism, nirvana in Buddhism Nirvana is the release from suffering and rebirth that brings inner peace.
Nirvana
the release form suffering and rebirth that brings inner peace
Two forms of Buddhism
- Theravada (The Way of the Elders)
- Mahayana (“ the large vehicle”)
Theravada Buddhism
Its home is Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon). This school
- stresses the ideal of reaching nirvana through detachment and meditation. The life of a monk offers a sure path to nirvana.
- it emphasizes the practical example of an exceptional man, Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha. The Buddha was above all a man.
Many lay people in that branch spend at least some period of their life in monastic discipline.
Mahayana Buddhism
Its home is mainly China, Korea, and Japan. This school emphasizes
- the idea that nirvana is a possibility for everyone (NOT just for the monks).
- the divine character of the Buddha. The focus in the Buddha’s biography is more on signs, wonders, and miracles. In their eyes, the Buddha grew to be more than a human monk. The Mahayanists came to believe that there were many other Buddhas, enlightened beings who can help each generation as Gautama helped his.
- the idea that everyone is a potential Buddha.

The Mahayana groups believe that heavenly beings can assist human beings in escaping from earthly sufferings.
How many people practice buddhism?
350 million
Location of most Buddhists
98% in Asia
Mahayanists are mostly in the countries north of the tropics.
Theravadas are in the south
In what countries are buddhists the majority?
Sri Lanka
Myanmar (formerly Burma)
Thailand
Laos
Cambodia
Japan
- their presence is less marked in India.
Four Noble Truths
- life is suffering (dukkha).
- the cause of suffering is desire (tanha). This desire makes us believe that there is something permanent and unchanging in life.
- there is release from suffering
- the way to find release is to follow the Eightfold Path.
Ten Precepts
- not taking life (ahimsa)
- not stealing
- being chaste
- not lying
- not drinking intoxicants
- eating moderately and not after noon
- avoiding spectacles such as singing and dramas
- not using flowers, perfumes, or jewelry
- using simple beds
- accepting no gold or silver
8 Fold Path
- Right View
- Right Aim
- Right Speech
- Right Action
- Right Living
- Right Effort
- Right Mindfulness
- Right Concentration
Anatman
the revolutionary and unique doctrine that there is no separate, permanent, or immortal self. Rather, a human being is a composite of constantly changing states of being or skandhas in Sanskrit
skandhas (‘aggregates”)
- the body
- perception
- feelings
- predispositions, generated by past existences
- reasoning
Right View
- Right view implies some sort of religious experience after which one sees what goes wrong in one’s life. The disciple gains proper knowledge about his/her illness and how it can be cured. He/she gains a firm grasp of the Four Noble Truths.
Right Aim
Right aim. The disciple must be prepared to renounce attachment to the world and give benevolence and kindness.
Right Speech, Right Action, and Right Living
morality, moral practice, and proper relationship with others (not harming, not killing
Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration
concentration or meditation. The disciple applies the force of his/her mind to getting rid of evil within himself or herself. The disciple has to be vigilant and remain mindful of his/her emotions. The disciple has to avoid craving. Finally, in the last stage, the disciple has to learn to concentrate on one object. A person who lacks concentration power will not be able to carry out the forms of concentration that ultimately lead to the attainment of enlightenment.
Buddha claimed that his method was superior because ?
Hinduism believes that all living beings possess a unitary, eternal, and immutable self or soul (atman). After much meditation, the Buddha concluded that there was no changeless self (anatman = no-self or no permanent identity).
- The elements of his own personality had no permanence.
- It was impossible for anything in the universe to be changeless.
Anatman
Anatman is the revolutionary and unique doctrine that there is no separate, permanent, or immortal self.
How is rebirth different in Hinduism and Buddhism?
In Buddhism, there is no eternal soul to be reborn. In Buddhism, the elements of personality that make up an individual can recombine and continue from one lifetime to another. In rebirth NO soul is transferred, only the karma-ladern character structure of the previous life.
What does a Buddhist strive for?
-the recognition of dukkha (suffering), anicca (impermanence) and anatman
-to escape “the chain of causation” and attain nirvana
What allows the law of karma to be effective?
Desire. Desire feeds the wheel of suffering and leads to karmic consequences. The only way to end suffering is to end all cravings, lead a passion-free life that has NO karmic consequences.
Tripitaka
The Three Baskets
(Pali Cannon) 80 BCE
the first Buddhist scriptures (they were probably written down in India about 80 BCE on palm leaves and stored in baskets). The composition of the texts in Pali is a symbol of the rejection of the authority of the Sanskrit Vedic literature.

The Canon of Tripitaka is composed of three sections:
- Vinaya Pitaka or “the basket of disciplinary regulations” (monastic guidelines)
- Sutta Pitaka or “the basket of Discourses” (basic teachings of the Buddha)
- Abidhamma Pitaka or “the basket of higher philosophy” (it is an analysis of the nature of existence.
King Ashoka
renounced violence after conquering most of India and converted to Buddhism (third century BCE). Ashoka condemned the slaughter of animals and sent missionaries beyond India, in particular Sri Lanka, the Island nation south of India. Sri Lanka remains the home of the earliest forms of Buddhism today, the Theravada school. Ashoka also helped Buddhism to spread from Afghanistan to the Bay of Bengal. His missionaries reached Syria, Egypt, and Greece.

After the death of Ashoka, Theravada Buddhism spread throughout Southeast Asia among urban people and merchants: Myanmar (formerly Burma), Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos.
When did mayhana buddhism rise and why?
By the first century BCE, out of the disputed among Buddhist teachers, a new movement arose: Mahayana Buddhism (Mahayana means “large vehicle or raft,” Maha = large; yana = means). In the basic Indian worldview, “river” alludes to the cycle of rebirth, with the far bank of the river symbolizing liberation from the cycle. In the teachings of Mahayana, a large vessel, with a pilot, carries many persons to liberation.
How did Mahayana buddhism reach china?
In the first century CE Mahayana Buddhism reached China through Central Asia on the silk routes.
What do the Tripitaka focus on?
-They focus on the life of Buddha. They favor imitating the Buddha in monasticism or asceticism.

- they emphasize that Buddha was a man.

- Salvation is through dedicated self-effort rather than through intervention of heavenly beings.
What is the goal Theravada Buddhism?
to become an arhat (“perfect being”, “worthy”), a person who has reached nirvana
How do Lay people build up merit?
by supporting the monks through their offering and doing good works, so in a later life they would have a better chance to become enlightened.
Women in Thervadin Countries
About 1000 years ago orders of nuns disappeared in Theravadin countries. Although women are considered capable of reaching nirvana, spiritual power was kept in the hands of monks. Over time the texts edited by monks became actively misogynist (women are hindrances to monks’ spiritual development). There are now attempts to revive fully ordained orders of nuns.
Stupas
-shrine
-architectural dome
-contain sacred relics or remains of famous monks
-marks sacred sites
Why do people make offerings to shrines?
-to pay respect to the ideas of Buddha and Nirvana
-to dedicate oneself to the quest for spiritual liberation
-They are not worshipping the Buddha
Symbols in Buddhist worship
-lotus flower
-umbrella=authority
-footprints or an empty throne-
How did mahayana buddhism spread?
through the work of indvidual monks.
When did mahayana buddhism reach china?
Buddhism entered China through Central Asia in 1st c. CE.
What is the most populat mahayana text?
the “Lotus Sutra” or the “Lotus of the Good Law” (100 CE).
Why did Mahayana Buddhism spread successfully?
- Mahayana Buddhism allowed many pre-Buddhist beliefs and practices to survive. Indigenous gods became heavenly Buddhas.
- recognizes that people find themselves at different stages of spiritual evolution. Some need images of gods to pray to, others need a community of devout friends, and a few, silence.
Lotus Sutra
It contains sayings of the Buddha.
- There the Buddha explains that he taught his first disciples the spiritual self-reliance of Theravada doctrine because they were not ready for the ultimate truth. That truth is the revelation that the historical Buddha is but a manifestation of the real Buddha. The real Buddha is the cosmic Buddha who wants to show compassion for all beings. He can materialize in many forms simultaneously throughout the cosmos. His dying was a show, performed to encourage the active practice of devotees so that they would take seriously the shortness of mortal life.
- The book claims that a higher goal was to become like the Buddha by seeking enlightenment for the sake of saving others. We are not called just to individual liberation but to save all. So, the goal is not to become an arhat (“perfect being”, “worthy”), a person who has reached nirvana, but a bodhisattva (literally, “a being intended for enlightenment” or “future Buddha”).
Bodhisattva
(literally, “a being intended for enlightenment” or “future Buddha”).
Goal of mahayana buddhism and the lotus sutra
to become like the Buddha by seeking enlightenment for the sake of saving others
dharma-kaya
is the cosmic body or nature of the Buddha, who is present in all reality. From this perspective, each human and every other being has the nature of the Buddha.
Three Bodies or Aspects of Buddha
-nirmana-kaya
-sambhoga-kaya
-dharma-kaya
nirmana-kaya
(“transformation body”), the earthly manifestation or body of the Buddha (Siddartha)
sambhoga-kaya
the heavenly body of the Buddha. The cosmic Buddha can take bodily shape in supernatural Buddhas. Among them are the Dhyani, contemplative Buddhas. These Buddhas inhabit fully spiritual realms (the Buddha Lands). They have compassionately postponed final entrance into Nirvana to actively minister to human needs. For example:
Amitabha Buddha
The buddha of the Western Paradise, a bliss-body Buddha in Mahayana
Anatta
"no self"
the dotrine that there is no soul or permanent essence in people and things
anichcha
a.k.a Annica-impermanance, constant change
arhat
In Thervada, a person who has practeced monastic disciplines and reached nirvana, the ideal
bodhi
enlightenment
bodhisattva
"enlightenment being", in mahayana, a person of deep compassion, especially one who does not enter nirvana but is constantly reborn to help others; a heavenly being of compassion
Dharma
the totality of buddhist teaching
dhyana
"meditation"; focusing of the mind; sometimes, stages of trance
dukkha
sorrow, misery
Guanyin
a popular bodhisattva of compassion in Mahyana (China)
Kannon=Japan
Goddess of Mercy
karuna
compassion, empathy
koan
In Chan and Sen Buddhism, a quesiton that cannot be answered logically; a technique used to test consciousness
lama
A tibetan Buddhist teacher; a title of honor often given to all Tibetan monks
Maitreya
A buddhs expected to appear on eath in the future
mandala
a circular design containing deities,geometical forms, symbols, and son on taht represent totality, the self , or the universe
mudra
a symbolic hand gesture
nirvana
the release from suffering and rebirth that brings inner peace
samadhi
a state of deep awareness, the result of intense meditation
samsara
constant birth and the atendant suffering; the everyday world of change
Sangha
the community of monks and nuns; lowercased, sangha refers to an individual monastic community
sartori
In Zen, the enlightened awareness
Shunyata
the Mahayana notion of emptiness, meanign that the universe is empty of permanent reality
stupa
a shrine, susally in the shape of a dome, used to mark Buddhist relics or sacred sites
Sutra
a sacred text, especially one said to record the words of the buddha
tathata
"thatness" or "thusness" "suchness"; the uniqueness of each cahnging moment orf reality
trikaya
the three"bodies" pof the Buddha
Dharmakaya (cosmic budda nature)
Nirmanakaya (historical buddhas) and Sambhogakaya (celestial buddhas)
Tripitaka
the three "baskets" or collections of buddhist texts
vajra
the "diamond" scepter used in Tibetan and other types of buddhist ritutal, symbolizing compassion
Adi Granth
"original collection" the primary scripture of the Sikhs
ajiva
matter without soul or life
Digambara
"clothed in sky"; a member of the Jain sect in which monks ideally do not wear clothing
gurdwara
a Sikh temple
hylozoism
the belief that all physical matter has life and feeling
Japji
a poem by Guru Nanak that begins the Adi Granth; the poem is recited daily by pious Sikhs
jina
"conqueror"; the jain term for a perfected person who will no be reborn
jiva
spirit, soul, which enlivens matter
puja
ritual in honor of a tirthankara or deity
sallekhana
"holy death"; death by self-starvation, valued in Jainism as a noble end to a long life of virtue and detachment
Shvetambra
"clothed in white" a member of the Jain sect in which monks and nuns wear white clothin
sikh
"disciple"; a follower of the sikh religion
Sthanakavasi
"building perosn" a member of a Jain sect that rejects the use of statues and temples
Teranpanthi
"thirteen" a member of the newest Jain sect
tirththankara
"crossing maker" in Jainism, one of the twenty-four ideal human beings of the mast, Mahavira being the most recent
Shakyamuni
Gautama (family name) was from the Shakya clan. That is why he was later known to the Chinese as Shakyamuni (sage of the Shakyas)
What caste was Buddha of?
warrior
What did fortune tellers predict about Gautama?
Fortune-tellers predicted that Gautama would become either a great political leader or a homeless monk. To ensure that his son would become the emperor of India (such was the father’s dream), the father raised Gautama in luxury and prevented him from seeing any painful human experience. Suffering might raise religious questions in his mind.
Where and when was siddartha gautama born?
about 563 BCE in northern India at Lumbini grove, about 100 miles from Benares
The Four Passing Sights
- the first one was a sorrowful old man
- the second one was a man racked by illness
- the third one was a dead man carried on a funeral pyre

Life includes misery, suffering, and death. He too was destined to grow old, become ill, and die.

- the fourth one was a monk, calmly walking alone in a yellow robe.
Middle Path
the Four Noble Truths about suffering and the Eightfold Path for liberation from Suffering.
This was the Middle Path of the Buddha, a path between two extremes. The two extremes were represented by
- the Brahmins who practiced Vedic rituals in temples and homes (this path appeared to be too worldly)
- the wandering ascetics (this path involved too much suffering).
Deer Park Sermon at Sarnath
There he taught the five ascetics who had abandoned him, the Four Noble Truths about suffering and the Eightfold Path for liberation from Suffering.
Bodha Gaya
the place of Siddartha's enlightenment, under the Bo tree
Triratna
(three jewels)
Three Refuges of Buddhism
"I take refuge in the Buddha, in the dharma, and in the Sangha" The vow of buddhist monks
bhikshus
buddhist monks
Main characteristics of Mhayana worldview?
trikaya, karuna, shunyata
Avalokiteshvara
He has come to earth 300 times in human form to assist humanity
Manjusri
He assists those who wish to know and follow the Buddhist Law (the Dharma). He is often represented as a princely figure. He carries a sword to cut down ignorance, a book describing the perfections of wisdom.
Universal Buddhahood
charcterstic of Mahyana buddhism meaning that everything has Buddha nature
Jodo-Shinshu
Mahyana "True Pure Land School"
The repetition of the name of Amitabha is not a necessary prerequisite for rebirth in the Pure Land. Instead it is a chant motivated by gratitude. Amitabha Buddha seeks and saves without first requiring faith and good works.
Pure land schools do not demand meditation, ceremony, scripture study or even literacy
Meditative School
(zen buddhism)
the goal of the meditative schools is immediate insight or enlightenment such as Gautama achieved under the Bo-tree. The goal is to actualize the Buddha in one’s heart.
salvation is a private, personal experience. One must find salvation by an inward look into one’s nature. Every individual has the nature of the Buddha
zazen
seated meditation
koan
word puzzles
What is the sound of one hand clapping? What did your face look like before your parents were born?
Rationalist schools
Tian-tai in China (arose in China in the 6th c. CE)
Tendai in Japan (8th-9th c. CE)
The rationalist schools hope for gradual attainment through study of the scriptures, in particular the Lotus Sutra
equal weight is given to meditation (dhyana) and study.
प्रभृति
prabhṛti
starting from, since adya prabhṛti - from today tataḥ prabhṛti - since then ardharātrāt prabhṛti - since mídnight
Tendai school
made Buddhism a Japanese religion. The gods of the native Japanese religion (Shinto) were forms taken by the one Buddha reality.
Esoteric or Mystery schools
Shingon in Japanese
Their goal is to experience union with the cosmic Buddha nature.
- a person can attain Buddha-hood in this life because he/she and the eternal Buddha are essentially one.
Nichiren
Nichiren’s goal was to restore original Buddhism and called for a return to the Lotus Sutra
They organize long peace walks. Thanks to donated material and labor by people, Peace Pagodas arose in US and Europe.
Bon animism
The original religion in Tibet
The belief in demons was incorporated from Bon animism, with the notion that the Buddhas have the power to drive them off
Tantric Buddhism
invites human males and females to experience, through disciplined sexual energy, cosmic forces present in the individual.
the male Buddhas are viewed as dynamic, active; the female Buddhas as contemplative and wise (in Hindu Tantrism, it is the reverse
Human devotees identify themselves with the Buddhas and their consorts by
- fasting
- meditation on mandalas, visual aids
- repetition of magical utterances (mantras, incantations, verses)
- visual evocation
5 celestial self-born (dhyani) Buddhas
(among them, Amitabha), with one at each of the cardinal directions and one in the center (Vairocana). They are all paired off and have Buddha offspring. They all emerge from the Adi-Buddha, the Buddha essence. The Buddha essence is the source of all other Buddhas and their consorts.
Yellow Hat school
The reform was in part the imposition of stricter monastic discipline; no meat, less alcohol, more praying, and reintroduction of celibacy. The result was that the abbots had no sons. The theory arose that abbots of monasteries were incarnations of the bodhisattvas. After their deaths, they were reborn in another human form.
spread to Mongolia and Siberia, in Russia.
Tenzin Gyatzo
The present Dalai Lama is Tenzin Gyatzo
सकाशः
sakāśa
presence; rāmasya sakāśe tiṣṭhati - is with Rama rāmasya sakāśaṁ gacchati - goes to Rama rāmasya sakāśādāgacchati - comes from Rama
The Chinese took control of Tibet in ?
1951
Bardo Thodol
The most famous Tibetan Buddhist text is Bardo Thodol (“the between state in which there is liberation through hearing”). In the West, it is popularly known as the “Tibetan Book of the Dead.” The work focuses on the liberation of the person during the 49-day period between the moment of death and the next incarnation. This period is the “bardo” – “the time between.”
Tara
feminine principle of Wisdom, consort of Avalokita
How did Buddhism respond to the challenge presented by Western colonialism and values?
- few converted to Christianity
- reformer Buddhists tried to involve the lay society more fully in Buddhist institutions and spiritual practice (meditation). This motivated some to take the place of former royal patrons.
- Buddhists tried to reform Buddhism from within
Muslim Conquest affects on Buddhism
After the Muslim conquest (roughly 13th c.) hundreds of Buddhist sites had been abandoned. Thanks to the British in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries many of these sites were recovered.
Mahar “untouchable”
Since 1950s, -relegated to the bottom of the caste system have held mass ceremonies to convert to Buddhism. They declare rejection of Hinduism and its system of social inequality. These new Buddhists call for active social engagement to end social injustice. The Mahars’ knowledge of Buddhism was informed in part by colonial scholarship.
Buddhism in the US
The majority of the 5 million Buddhists in the US follow Tibetan Buddhism. Many have traveled to the Dalai Lama’s community in India to be given initiation by the Dalai lama himself. They translated texts and established flourishing publishing houses. Many Buddhist centers are led by women.
Dhammakaya
In Thailand an important Buddhist reform movement has developed.movement aims at the laity, in particular newly affluent classes. It teaches meditation practices through mass media. It has reduced the ritual complexity of the traditional monastery to a few simple practices. It has also emphasized that money-making is compatible with Buddhism.
Buddhism revial in China
In China, Buddhism was suppressed during Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution (1976-1986). Buddhism was identified with the old feudal order. Since the mid-1980s, however, the worship of bodhisattva Guanyin has returned to favor. The bodhisattva Guanyin (the celestial deity Avalokiteshvara) is the refuge for all who desire rebirth in the Western Buddhist paradise.
Buddhism revial in Japan
Buddhism began to recover after WWII. As in China, devotion to the bodhisattva Guanyin (Kannon in Japan) is on the rise. There is a pilgrimage boom in Japan. Many undertake pilgrimage circuits across the country.
Sikhism time of emergence
emerged at the end of the 15th c. and beginning of the sixteenth century CE in northwest India
When was the Punjab divided?
The Punjab was divided in the 1947 partition that produced the states of India and Pakistan
What were the consequences of the division of the Punjab?
This partition caused much grief to the Sikh community. The two million Sikhs living in the part of Punjab which was integrated into the new state of Pakistan were forced to migrate under conditions of extreme hardship.
Guru Nanak
The founder of Sikhism
believed in:
- in the One, the formless and transcendent God
- to God one owes absolute submission in love
- this love is expressed in community singing rather than through temple ritual and asceticism
- rejected caste divisions and hierarchy
- rejected shrines, asceticism, prophets, incarnations
- rejected competing religious identities of Hindu and Muslim
Kabir
a fifteenth-century weaver and poet. He was the son of Muslim parents and the disciple of a Hindu guru, Ramananda who held theological arguments with teachers from both religions.

Kabir attacked both Brahmin and Islamic ritualism in his poetry. An end to reincarnation could be brought only through complete love of God. Kabir also added that the right life attitude could be gained only through a teacher or guru. The guru leads the devotee to complete absorption into the divine. Kabir has given his name to sects still existing in India.
Nam
Nanak’s God is the True Name (“Nam”). He is known by manyfold names, but he is eternally one and merciful. God predestines all creatures and ordains that lower creatures serve the highest of the creatures, the human being.
Elements of Hinduism in Sikhism
Maya
Karma
Rebirth
Rejected caste system
Elements of Islam in Sikhism
oneness of God
Equality of all people
rejected paradise after death though
“langar”.
custom of a communal feast for disciples
The second Guru after Nanak (as the Sikh leaders were called) was Angad (1504-1552).
When was the last guru in Sikhism?
1708
Guru Arjan
- compiled the Guru Granth Sahib (“Book of the Lord’) also called the Adi Granth, “original collection” )
- built a Temple (the Golden Temple) in the middle of a pool in Punjab. This site was called Amritsar (The Pool of Immortality)
- was tortured and killed by Muslim leader for not converting to Islam
Guru Gobind Singh
Guru was Gobind Singh (1675-1708)
- created a military fraternity. This fraternity still plays a prominent role in Sikh life.
- this fraternity is called khalsa (the “pure ones”). Its members become singhs (“lions”) through initiation.
five k’s
* kesh, uncut hair (in association with the lion and its power)
* kangha, comb (to hold the hair)
* kachh, short pants (for modesty)
* kara, steel bracelet (to symbolize strength and service to God)
* kirpan , sword (for defense)
When did Sikhs for their own empire?
At the end of the 18th c. and beg. of the 19th c., the Sikhs formed their own empire. They showed great tolerance toward the Muslims.
When did the British conqueror the Sikh empire?
1849
Worship in Sikhism
- Devout Sikhs rise before dawn, bathe and recite the japji
- they also offer evening prayers, devoting up to two hours a day to this individual worship and continual repetition of the Name of God --The Sikhs gather intermixed by caste and gender for kirtan (congregational worship). The Guru Granth Sahib is displayed at the front of the sanctuary and treated like a king (devotees waive a whisk over the book, bow to it, bring offerings). Songs of praise are sung and the Adi Granth is read aloud.
- the langar
- one-tenth of one’s income is to be toward the welfare of the community
Like Buddhism, Jainism
- originated in India as a response to this question, during the Axis Age (6th c. BCE)
- looked toward liberation of the self from the suffering entailed in living in the world
- sprang from the Kshatriya caste (warrior-chieftain class; the second-ranking group in the varna-caste system). Many in the ranks of the nobility resented the priestly class’s claims to spiritual and social ascendancy. The founder of Jainism (Nataputta Vardhamana, better known as Mahavira, “Great man,” “Hero”) belonged to the Kshatriya caste.
- came to deny the saving efficacy of the Vedas (Hindu sacred scriptures) and of the ritual observances based upon them
- challenged the claim of the Brahmin priesthood to prescriptive rights in showing the way to salvation
- rejected the belief in a Creator God.
Unlike Buddhism, Jainism
- won adherents mainly in India. It has 4 to 6 million adherents, mainly concentrated in Bombay (Mumbai) or other large urban centers. Generally Jains avoid farming because plowing destroys life forms. They turn to urban commercial activity and do quite well financially.
- affirms the substantiality of individual selves, as jivas (the individual’s higher consciousness or soul). The jiva can save itself by discovering its own perfect, unchanging nature and thus transcend the miseries of earthly life.
Jainism differs from Hinduism on the following points:
Jainism is a religion of self-reliance.
*The gods cannot help, for they too are working out their own liberation. In that sense it is close to Theravada Buddhism.
* Priests cannot invoke any special powers
* Jainism does not accept the Vedas. The Vedas (any scriptures) have no ultimate authority.
- in Brahmanic Hindu tradition, women were never allowed to be mendicants and marriage was obligatory. In Jainism, women can be nuns.
important impact on the history of religion from Jainism
- the Jain principle of non-violence (ahimsa) was embraced by Gandhi.
- Jainism’s attitude toward nature has contributed to the global environmental and animal rights movements.
Mahavira
Jainism=great hero
599-527 BCE
Agamas
The Jain texts are the Agamas (“tradition”). They contain the teachings of sages such as the sermons of Mahavira.

Jains see these texts as guides to the right path, but they do not possess the complete truth. According to Jain philosophy, nothing is capable of expressing pure knowledge.
ford-makers
Tirthankaras (ford-makers) are those who have made a path or a ford and thus escaped the cycle of rebirth.
Five Great Vows of Jainism
- non violence (ahimsa)
- non lying
- non stealing
- chastity
- non attachment
Career Choices of Jains
They are often bankers, lawyers, proprietors of land. Many have become quite wealthy and are known for their philanthropy. Their charitable works include the construction of temples.
Number and location of Jains?
4 to 6 million in India, mainly Bombay