Ahimsa Non-Injury To Life And Asceticism

857 Words2 Pages

Guillermo Briones
Panther ID: 5652712
REL3308
Professor Adam Gorelick
Midterm Exam
#2 How do ahimsa (non-injury to life) and asceticism (denial of worldly comfort) fit together in Jain doctrine and practice?
Jainism is a tradition that arose in Ancient India and also contains religious and philosophical aspects. They have about five million followers in which the majority all live in India. Less than half of a percent of the population in India is still participating in the Jain tradition. The temples in which they worship in are used as a model for its excellent architecture, an area in where they have excelled along with art, literature, and education. In the education sector, there was a series of great teachers during the 21,000-year period …show more content…

The conquerors can also be referred to as Tirthankara. The last conqueror, Mahavira, is the one in which Jains devote themselves to worship the most. He was born to an aristocratic family but turned to asceticism, meaning his practices consisted of negating himself from physical comfort or pleasures for religious reasons. He turned to this lifestyle in order to follow the religious footsteps of the previous conqueror, Parshva (Anthology of world religions 134). His ascetic process included rigorous fasting, meditation, and lack of clothing. He refused to harm any life form whatsoever during this process and this was known to Jains as ahimsa (Anthology of world religions 134). Ahimsa is the prohibition of killing living beings and this was a main prevention for the religion of Jainism. This was a fundamental principle that was adopted by the founders from the Pani people, which were the bearers of the "Culture of Shramana" and an example of this is the religion of Jainism (Jainism 37). However, the preachers introduced an explanation about ahimsa to which that only conscious harm is frowned upon but not when the reason being is a …show more content…

Ahimsa is part of the asceticism process and both of these are important to attain kevala, omniscience. Ahimsa and asceticism are both evidently part of doctrines and religious practices. In terms of religious practices, asceticism and ahimsa go hand-in-hand when it comes to karma. Without any regard for comfort and maintaining non-violence, it can help remove impurities which can then lead to favorable rebirths. In the area of Jainism doctrines, The Five Great Vows is a dictation for severe asceticism and ahimsa. Monks and nuns are committed to following this type of religious practice while laypersons can follow to their best ability. These vows are easily understood but an obstacle to fulfill. These vows are one's own self-effort for salvation since faith in God or gods will not be sufficient in order to achieve enlightenment (Anthology of world religions 134-139). These practices can influence family lives as well. Entering into the dedication of ascetic practices, in particular, they are associated with the head of the household. In the Jain tradition, the head of the household commences on this path once, during marriage and family

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