REL 1000 : Test 2 Notes
Document Summary
Jainism: atheistic religion, main teacher vardamana mahavira. Non-violence is the highest form of religious conduct : teachers called jina victors , small minority, but influential. Individual soul (jiva) remains after liberation from matter (ajiva) Differentiation: digambara sky-clad , don"t wear any clothes, svetambara white-clad , wear clothes. In 4th century a group went south: northerners began wearing clothing and accepted new scripture, different views about the liberation of women through the cycle of samsara. Categories of reality sentient: sentient beings include plants, matter is made up of single-celled creatures, karma, material in nature, particles bind our souls, thoughts and intentions are important, differences: Jains thinks it"s material reborn: karma follows our individual souls and stays with us as we are. Fast until death : not seen as suicide, the ultimate expression of restraint from violence. Important idealized ritual, but not part of the 5.
