I've heard Jainism refer ed to as an atheistic religion,but surely this is a misnomer or even an oxymoron? Is one not either religious or atheistic or is this view a false dichotomy? I admit that I know very little to nothing about Jainism so feel free to fill me in.
I know Jains are very very against suffering. The very hardcore ones will carry a broom wherever they go to sweep away any bugs that might be in their path so they don't step on them.
"Jainism differs from other religions in its concept of God. Accordingly, there is no overarching supreme being, divine creator, owner, preserver or destroyer. Every living soul is potentially divine and the Siddhas, those who have completely eliminated their karmic bonds to end their cycle of birth and death, have attained God-consciousness."
An atheist can be spiritual, and most Buddhists are indeed atheists. There are some pagans on here that are also atheists. The two do not counteract each other.
Jainism is one of the oldest religions that originated in India. Jains believe that every soul is divine and has the potential to achieve God-consciousness. Any soul which has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state of supreme being is called Jinan (Conqueror or Victor). Jainism is the path to achieve this state. Jainism is often referred to as Jain Dharma (A A) or Shraman Dharma or the religion of Nirgantha or religion of "Vratyas" by ancient texts.
Jainism was revived by a lineage of 24 enlightened ascetics called tankardsAra'sminating with Parsva (9th century BCE) and Mahavira (6th century BCE). In the modern world, it is a small but influential religious minority with as many as 10 million followers in India, and successful growing immigrant communities in the United States, Western Europe, the Far East, Australia and elsewhere.
Jains have sustained the ancient Shraman (?????) or ascetic religion and have significantly influenced other religious, ethical, political and economic spheres in India.
Jains have an ancient tradition of scholarship and have the highest degree of literacy in India. Jain libraries are India's oldest
*** IE p. 12 The Idea Enters Eastern Religions ***
Other Eastern Religions
24 Jainism was founded in India in the sixth century?B.C.E. Its founder, Mah?v?ra, taught that all living things have eternal souls and that salvation of the soul from the bondage of Karma is possible only through extreme self-denial and self-discipline and a rigid application of nonviolence toward all creatures. Jains hold these beliefs to this day.
Jainism arose in 7Th century BC Eastern India. It was a time and place of religious renewal, in which several groups reacted against the formalized rituals and hierarchical organization of traditional Hinduism. It was in this fertile period that Buddhism developed as well.
Beginnings
Jains believe that 24 historical figures have lived and taught Jain truths in this age. Of these figures, called Tirthankaras, only the last two can be historically verified with any confidence.
The 23rd Tirthankara, Parshvanatha, is thought to have lived in the 7Th century and founded a Jain community based on renunciation of the world.
Mahavira, the 24Th and last Tirthankara to appear in this age, is usually regarded as the founder of Jainism. He is traditionally thought to have lived from 599 to 527 BC, but some scholars believe he was a contemporary of the Buddha in the early 5Th century BC.
Like the Buddha, Mahavira was born into the warrior class. At the age of 30, he renounced the world to seek spiritual truth in ascetic solitude. He found enlightenment after 13 years of renunciation, and soon made 11 converts. All were former Brahmans and became disciples of Mahavira. Mahavira is said to have fasted to death (a practice called salesman) at Pavapure (near modern Patna).
Early History
Jain tradition teaches that the monastic community founded by Mahavira boasted 14,000 monks and 36,000 nuns by the time of his death. An early schism occurred that lasts to the present day over certain aspects of monastic discipline. The Schvetambara sect believed that monks and nuns should wear white robes, whereas the Digambaras believed that monks should wear no clothes. The latter group is also differentiated by its belief that a female cannot attain liberation. The schism was further cemented when the Schvetambaras met in a council to fix the Jain canon of scriptures in c. 456 AD. The Digambaras were excluded from the council, and they later rejected the decisions of the council.
In the period of the fourth through sixth centuries AD, the Jain community migrated westward, eventually settling in western and central India. Jainism was more influential in its new area than it was in the area of its birth. The Digambaras settled in the south, where they enjoyed much political favor. King Amoghavarsha (early 9th century AD) is even reported to have abdicated his throne to become a Jain monk.
Jainism is the belief that you will control "divine power" if you can overcome worldly problems. wants you have reached this divine power, you will be able to "think like god". Jainism is basically the path you take to achieve godliness. it originated in India
I know almost nothing about Jainism either. No religion can be described as "atheistic" though. Atheism means "the rejection of theism". Theism being the belief in at least one Deity. And since Jainism has a Deity, there is no way it can be atheistic.
Ninian Smart defined religion as having six dimensions: ritual, experiential, narrative, material, social, doctrinal and ethical. Jainism has all of these.
Ritual: for example, they have a ritual fast once a year for several days and services at their temples. Menstruating women are forbidden to enter their temples and terminally ill people sometimes starve themselves to death as a ritual form of suicide. Nuns and monks go through initiation ceremonies.
Experiential: They meditate, contemplate the example of their tankardsRastral exemplars) and so forth.
Narrative: They have detailed stories of the life of Mahavira and other respected figures in their faith.
Material: In this city there is a large Jain temple containing carvings, statues, religious art and so forth. They have sculptures representing liberated souls and huge statues of the Tirtankaras standing still with creepers growing up their limbs representing their harmoniousness and peacefulness.
Social: They meet for services, they have social occasions when they celebrate particular festivals and they share a belief system. There is a priesthood and a monastic system.
Ethical: Obviously this is huge with Jainism because of the commitment to non-violence, but they also believe in the likes of avoiding stealing, celibacy, faithfulness in marriage, honesty and all the usual stuff.
Doctrinal: They have a very sophisticated cosmology which sees the Universe as being 650 light years high in the form of a human body, and see karma as a subtle form of matter which the soul needs to shed in order to rise into Moksha, or enlightenment, and a classification of different levels of evolution based on the number of senses a being has.
They definitely believe in the supernatural, but that?s not necessary to religion. Seeing religion as concerned with God is rather cent red on Western religions like Islam and Judaism.
Jainism a religion ?
