TEACHINGS OF JAINISM MAHAVIRA'S PREACHING

1. Jainism

2. JAINISM
• Response to Hinduism and rejection of castes system
• “Founder”—Mahavira or the last of 23 founders
• Tirthankaras—“ford builders” or “crossing builders”

3. Mahavira ca. 599-527 BC
•Parallels Buddha’s life
•Family wealth vs. poverty
•Joined ascetics
•Became far more extreme
•Ahimsa yields true release
•Ahimsa produces Jina
(release from this life or
conqueror over attachment,
hence the name Jain)

4. Tirthankaras—“ford builders” or “crossing builders”

5. TEACHINGS OF JAINISM
• Reincarnation—until one finally breaks the cycle
• Karma is the glue that sticks you to life
• Reduce involvement and one reduces karma
• Dualism:
Jiva=soul=good, pure, eternal
Ajiva=matter=bad, impure, temporal
• Asceticism cleanses the soul of the karma
• Salvation comes from ones work at release
• God, prayers, rituals, etc. aren’t necessary

6. FIVE VOWS OF JAINISM
Non-violence (Ahimsa):
•complete avoidance of harm
•All living beings are equal
Truthfulness (Satya):
•to always speak the truth in a harmless manner
Non-stealing (Asteya):
•this also includes avoidance of greed and
exploitation
Chastity (Brahmacharya):
•monogamy and faithfulness are important
Detachment from material things (Aparigraha):
•to detach from people, places, and material things.

7. Jain hand is the emblem of
the Jainism, which
symbolizes Ahimsa,
nonviolence, the wheel in
the center is the wheel of
Samsara, the word in the
center of the wheel reads
“stop.”

8. Palitana, Gujarat

9. Literature
Agamas
•based on Mahavira teachings.
•orally compiled by his disciples into various
Sutras (texts)
•orally passed on from teachers (acaryas or
gurus) to the disciples for several centuries.
•The scholars date the composition of Jain
agamas at around 6th to 3rd century BCE.

11. Tirthankaras
• appears in the world to teach the
way to moksha, or liberation.
• not an incarnation of the God.
• great omniscient teachers who lived at various times in
man's cultural history.
• accomplished the highest spiritual goal of existence
Each new tirthankara preaches the same basic Jain
philosophy
• 24 tirthankaras during this present age
• Svetambara Jains believe that tirthankaras can be men
or women, but Digamber Jains believe that women can't
be tirthankaras

12. Tirthankaras
Parshva:
•four of the five Jain principles
Mahavira
•Not the founder of Jainism
•world's most recent tirthankara (and will be the last one in this age).
•born as Vardhamana in north east India in 599 BCE
•a prince, the son of King Siddhartha and Queen Trishala
•live the life of an ascetic, or a sadhana
•extremely long, arduous periods of fasting and meditation.
•attained Kevalnyan, enlightenment
•taught the path he had discovered to other seekers.
•Mahavira added the principle of chastity
•established a community of 14,000 monks and 36,000 nuns before he
died.

14. No Founder
The truth has been revealed at
different times by a tirthankara
Tirthankaras accomplished the
highest spiritual goal of
existence and then teach others
how to achieve it.
In what Jains call the "present
age" there have been 24
tirthankaras - although there is
little evidence for the existence
of most of these.

15. JAIN SECTS
1. White Clad—will wear white clothes (north)
2. Sky Clad—nudist (south)
3. Sub-group of the White Clads—reject temples

16. White Clad monks