Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism

20.  According to Jain scriptures Jainism has existed in principle
from eternity
 Historical and archeological evidences account Jainism at least
7000 year old
 Propounded by 24th Tirthankar Mahävir Swämi (599 BC-527
BC)
 Root word is Jina – means the one who has conquered inner
enemies, which are anger, ego, deceit and greed

21.  There is no creator, sustainer or the
destroyer of the universe. There is NO
super power
 There is no beginning or an end of the
universe
 Universe runs on auto pilot on five things:
Time, Inherent nature, Destiny, Karma
and Self-effort
 There is a life after death and it is
dependent upon your Karma
 Every action of mind, speech or body
results in bondage of Karma to the soul

22.  Soul is bound with Karma from eternity
 Until a soul is free of Karma bondage, there will be no liberation or
Moksha
 One must suffer or enjoy the consequences of bound Karma OR
must get rid of that Karma by austerity, penance or other desirable
things
 Therefore, our efforts should be directed towards not getting new
Karma and to get rid of already bound Karma

23.  Root cause of all misery is, DESIRE
 Curtailing and ultimately getting rid of all desires results in
attaining the ultimate, Moksha

24. Jainism – Path to Liberation
Jainism prescribes a simple path to Liberation.
Right Faith
Right Knowledge
Right Conduct

25. Jainism – Path to Liberation
What is right faith?
 There is a soul
 The soul is eternal. It cannot be created de-novo (from
the beginning), nor can be destroyed
 There is Karma
 Soul is bound with Karma from eternity
 There is Moksha (freedom from the cycle of death and
rebirth)
 One can attain Moksha

26. Jainism – Path to Liberation
What is right knowledge?
 Desire is the root cause of all sufferings
 Behind every perceived happiness there is
unhappiness (absence of happiness is
unhappiness)
 Jina’s teaching is the true knowledge which
guides us to the path to liberation
 Only way to achieve everlasting peace is to
free the soul from the bondage of Karma

27. Jainism – Path to Liberation
What is right conduct?
Non-violence :
 Not to cause harm to any living being in thoughts, by speech
or by bodily actions.
 Every living being, no matter how small, has a soul (Jainism
has always believed that five fundamental elements (fire, air,
water, earth and vegetation) are living beings.
 No higher evolved living beings should be hurt and harm to
five fundamental elements should be minimized to bare
minimum.

28. Jainism – Path to Liberation
What is right conduct?
Non-possessiveness:
 Possessiveness is due to desire.
 Desire to have any tangible or intangible thing is possessiveness.
 Failure to gain what is desired is the root cause of unhappiness
and misery.
 Elimination of desire is the ultimate step in attaining liberation

29. Jainism – Path to Liberation
What is right conduct?
Theory of Multi-view points:
 There could always be an element of truth in any statement, depending upon how
one looks at it. This helps create mutual respect, expand our knowledge and helps
us understand other side of the coin.
 Every living being, no matter how small, loves its existence and fears death.
Respecting their view is the ultimate application of this theory among many others.
 However, the whole truth and absolute truth is known only by Jina, the one who
has attained omniscience and taught us the truth learned by Him.

30. Unique Features Of Jainism
 Ideals of compassion and non-possessiveness build a strong sense of
social service, mutual love and respect.
 No war was ever waged to convert or coerce
 Equality of woman in society and religion.
 Independence from priestly domination.
 The most eco friendly and peace loving religion
 Rests the power in your hand not in the super power by making you
responsible for your own deeds

31. Buddhism

32. Origins
• Around 530 BC a young
prince named
Siddhartha Gautama
challenged the ideas of
the Brahmin priests and
created a new world
religion

33. • Born in 563 BC into the
warrior caste
– He lived in luxury in his
family’s palaces and
never experienced pain,
suffering, or death
– He married a beautiful
woman and they had a
son
– One day while riding in
his chariot outside the
palace walls, Gautama
saw a sick man, an old
man, and a dead man

34. –He realized that life was an endless cycle of
pain and that the only way to escape that
cycle was to seek wisdom
–He left his family when he was about 29 and
became a homeless wanderer with five
other men who were also seeking wisdom

35. • Gautama tried to find wisdom
through physical suffering and
harsh discipline but instead he
gained only pain
• At last, after days of
meditating deeply
in the shade of a
tree, Gautama felt
that the truth had
come to him
• At this point, he
became known as
“The Enlightened
One,” or Buddha

36. First Noble Truth: Everything
in life is suffering and
sorrow
Second Noble Truth: The
cause of all this pain is
people’s self-centered
cravings and desires ---
people seek pleasure that
cannot last and that leads
only to rebirth and more
suffering
Four Noble Truths

37. Third Noble Truth: The way to end all
pain is to end all desires
Fourth Noble Truth: People can
overcome their desires and attain
enlightenment by following the
Eightfold Path

39. – Right knowledge, right
purpose, right speech, right
action, right living, right
effort, right mindfulness,
and right meditation
–By following the
Eightfold Path,
anyone could attain
nirvana--which was
the release from all
pain and suffering
Eightfold Path

41. • Buddha taught his
followers to treat
all living things
(humans, animals,
and even insects)
with kindness and
love

42. • The most important
symbol in Buddhism is the
Wheel of Life which
depicts the cycle of birth
and life
– The eight spokes symbolize
the Eightfold Path
• Buddhist teachings &
beliefs were recorded in a
collection called the
Tripitaka

45. Organizing Principles
 Status
 Age
 Gender