REL 1000 : Religion 1000 Reed Notes Test 2
Document Summary
Jainism: religion of india 2,500 years old, non violence is the highest form of religious conduct, reject caste system, atheistic, dualistic. Individual soul (jiva) remains after liberation from matter (ajiva: small minority, but influential. Mahavira: more recent jina, born 599 b. c. Differentiation: dizambara sky-clad , men wear no clothing, svetambara white-clad , wear all white, both men and women can be liberated. In 4th century a group went south: northerners began wearing clothes and accepted new scriptures, different views about women. The 5 principles: non-violence (ahimsa, most important, truthfulness (lie only to avoid violence, non-stealing (take something only if offered to you, sexual purity, monks and nuns are celibate, non-possessive, monks and nuns formally give everything away. Sallekhana: fast until death mainly for elderly, not considered suicide, ultimately expression of nonviolence. Important idealized ritual, but not part of the 5.
