Jain Dharma

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Jain Dharma

Author:

Saman Shrutaprajna

&

Graham Dwyer

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Jain Dharma

CONTENTS

Introduction

1. Concept of God

2. Ahimsa and Reverence of Life

3. Concept of Soul

4. Agama, the Importance of Scripture

5. Theory of Karma

6. Ten Sangya, Habits Accumulated from Past Lives

7. Practice of Introspection

8. Bhavana and Twelve Types of Contemplation

9. Practice of Meditation

10. Tapa, Twelve Types of Austerity

11. Role of Mantra

12. Anekantvada, the Importance of Multiple Viewpoints

13. Aparigraha, the Meaning of Non-Possessiveness

14. Leshya: Six Types of Emotional Intensity

Brahmacharya

16. Diksha and Renunciation

17. Guru-Shishya Relationship

18. Tri-Ratna: Three Steps of Salvation

19. Samadhi Maran: the Good Death

Introduction

Self-dependence and self-responsibility on the spiritual journey coupled with the most profound reverence for the welfare of all living entities are central to the religion of Jains. It is this very tradition originating in India and followed by adherents of Jainism the world over that is also greatly admired globally by many non-Jains alike, not least because of its promotion of, and commitment to, non-violence and the advocacy of peace, equanimity and harmony.

The teachings and practices of this ancient tradition propagated by Mahavir Swami, who was born in the sixth century BCE in the same region and time as the Buddha, are as pertinent today as they were over 2,500 years ago. And it is his original teachings and practices, particularly in the context of spiritual self-sufficiency and observance of non-violence, which this book explores and presents. Inspired by the unique voice of Mahavir Swami, this book, in fact, is both instructive and of practical relevance for all Jains, particularly in terms of understanding and applying the lessons he taught; but, as a study of the doctrines Mahavir Swami espoused and championed, it is equally of special value for any reader wishing to comprehend the major defining features of Jainism.

Jain Dharma is a long-awaited title, one which followers of the religion have often sought in vain but who can now fully enjoy and use in their day-to-day spiritual lives. All too frequently other volumes dedicated to the study of Jainism available in libraries and book shops are inaccessible to religious practitioners themselves, as these texts are mostly authored by scholars and designed essentially for academic use. Alternatively, other books on the religion written from the perspective of Jainism are not always found to be sufficiently comprehensive in a way that practitioners can easily digest. It is for these reasons - a necessary attempt to bridge this gap - that this present work has been constructed.

Throughout the book a sincere attempt is made at all times faithfully to disclose the essence of what Mahavir Swami taught and promulgated, with careful attention given to how he boldly and courageously paved the way for ending the suffering of all sentient beings, ensuring the emancipation of all souls. Moving away from the mainstream traditions dominant during his day in order to create a path that held no bar to any individual and indeed embraced everyone, Mahavir Swami understandably attracted many enthusiastic followers - both ascetic and lay - followers who quickly formed themselves into a distinct and vibrant community. It is also because the transformational message he preached, one which Mahavir Swami himself directly embodied, that the tradition he forged continues to have enormous appeal today, and it is this very message as well as its application that Jain Dharma celebrates. As such, the book is at once an important new resource on Jainism and essential reading for all its practitioners.

1. Concept of God

May the state of arhats (arihantas)...be my goal.

Mahavira (Mulachara, 2. 107)

The idea of God as a being who is all-knowing and all-powerful and who is present throughout the entire cosmos is a common conception. It is a belief held by many people throughout the world since time immemorial, and it is one which is still found at the centre of most of today’s major religions. Such a being is often considered, not only to be the architect of the universe itself, but one who is capable of cosmic destruction and thus a source of awe and wonder as well as fear and dread. But if the idea of God can generate fear, God Himself is widely held to be compassionate, forgiving and loving and to be accessible to those who seek His aid or intervention. For this reason, elaborate ways of approaching God have been developed by many believers, including complex rituals of worship and veneration, as well as involving prayer and sacrifice, for example.

This particular dimension of commonly held belief and practice was especially prevalent also when Mahavir Swami, the twenty-fourth Jain tirthankara (ford-finder), was born in north-east India over 2,500 years ago. During Mahavira’s time the Vedas, which had long been established in Hinduism, continued in various ways to exert their influence in religious life. It involved the worship of many gods and goddesses, even though underpinning it all the concept of Bhagwan or Supreme Divinity was a core principle, a concept analogous in a sense to what is found in monotheistic traditions, such as the Abrahamic faiths of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. At the heart of the Vedic tradition, which Mahavira was both fully familiar with and which he came completely to reject, was the ancient practice of sacrifice performed by the Brahman priestly class, with animal immolation being viewed as essential for both the maintenance and renewal of the very cosmos itself.

But the concept of God as a being who is external and who demands or requires animal sacrifice presided over by a socially and ritually elite class of priests, the Brahman caste, was a religious system to which Mahavira offered a radical alternative spiritual approach, one which put reverence for all living beings at the heart of his teaching and one which departed from all forms of ceremonial propitiation of divinity conceived of as external agency. In the doctrine and practice of Mahavira the concept of God was completely jettisoned and all varieties of ritual action, which privileged the idea of God in the sense just outlined, were equally renounced. For Mahavira the very notion of searching for, or centering one’s spiritual attention upon, external divinity inevitably leads to neglect and impoverishment of inner spirituality.

Concentrating on the task of cultivating the inner spiritual journey, on the other hand, rather than looking without in order to achieve salvation, thus became the pre-eminent feature of Mahavira’s entire work. And he made it clear that this inevitably demands great effort and indeed requires one who enters upon such a path to be brave and bold, taking full responsibility for one’s own actions. Looking to God without, a principal tenet pervading Hindu thought, meant in Vedic times, for instance, that the place of the sacrifice removed personal responsibility, finding a substitute for one’s failings in the immolated animal, which was ritually killed in order to gain divine favour. In effect, for Mahavira, it amounted to a misguided attempt to persuade all so-called outer gods to behave benevolently towards the donator of the sacrificed beast. Indeed, according to Mahavira, this was doubly weak, as it not only removed personal responsibility for taking charge of one’s own self or one’s own spiritual development; but, as an act of barbarism to the sentient creature immolated, it was considered by him to be a cruel and unnecessary act of violence. Indeed, such preventable violence could be terminated forever, Mahavira proclaimed, with the means to achieve it being made possible by taking an inward turn to the self and by assuming a stance of pure self-reliance in the quest for truth or spiritual emancipation.

In place of the concept of God as an external agent, Mahavira, in fact, emphasised the importance of inner divinity, the divinity found within each and every living being. For him, all forms of life thus need to be acknowledged as such and also allowed to thrive, as all sentient beings have the potential to become for themselves self-actualised souls, an arhat (arihanta). Instead of carrying out rituals motivated by outward projection, an inner focus removed all need to propitiate the gods, thus ending not only the need for the violence inherent in any sacrificial culture, but enabling self-realisation as the final outcome of such practice to flourish. Going within ensured that every soul (atma) could become paramatma (a fully enlightened being). As already made clear, therefore, Mahavira’s approach represented a complete departure from the theistic world into which he was born, with a radically new way of engaging spiritual practice being initiated, one in which the concept of God was fully replaced by a focus on the self, the soul being viewed as capable of discovering its own inner truth or divinity entirely for itself.

2. Ahimsa and Reverence of Life

The arhats (arihantas) of the past, those of the present and the future narrate thus, discourse thus, proclaim thus, and affirm thus: one should not injure, subjugate, enslave, torture or kill any...living being...This doctrine of non-violence is immaculate, immutable and eternal.

Mahavira (Acharanga Sutra, 4)

Ahimsa is the key to understanding the whole Jain tradition and lies at the heart of all Jain dharma. Ideally, every aspect of behaviour, culture and social practice adheres to the principle. It is, therefore, not only incumbent upon Jain monks (sadhus/munis) and nuns (sadhvis) to adopt it in their day-to-day lives, but it is the duty of laypersons, too, to follow it as much as possible, according to their capacity. Ahimsa is the reason, for example, why monks and nuns walk bare-footed and carry a soft sweeping broom (rajoharan/ogha) to negotiate their path, as this practice enables them to be both fully mindful and sensitive to small insects that may stumble upon the road as they move from one place to another. Prohibition for monks and nuns to use vehicular transport is a rule they must observe for the same reason, since travelling by car and train or by plane and boat only increases harm to numerous tiny creatures. It is, in addition, the reason why both monks and nuns cover their mouths, especially when speaking; for the air that enters and exits from the mouth teems with life and also because air itself is alive. Wearing a mouth cover (mukhpatti), a common feature particularly of life within Jain monasteries but also observed by many householders, prevents these living entities from suffering harm that the breath itself is capable of inflicting.

Moreover, in the case of lay people, as well as those who have taken vows of renunciation, food regimen is entirely dictated by the principle of ahimsa. Meat, fish, poultry, and eggs are totally prohibited for all Jains but so are certain vegetables. In particular, vegetables which grow underground (kandmool) and have to be uprooted during harvesting – vegetables such as carrot and potato, but also onion and garlic - are forbidden. This is because the earth has to be greatly disturbed to extract them from the ground, killing or harming countless tiny living beings that are found beneath the soil. In accordance with the same religious doctrine, farming also is one type of work that Jains have tended to avoid historically and for the same reason, as this invariably causes harm to many living creatures. But the harvesting and consumption of all kinds of food, of course, inevitably results in some degree of harm being caused. Nonetheless, with ahimsa as the guiding teaching, it means that Jains should endeavour to minimise this as far as circumstances will allow for it, and it is the logic underpinning the very food regimen briefly touched upon here, as well as the rationale for all dimensions of religious activity among monks and nuns and lay people alike.

Moving on to consider the word ahimsa itself, it is interesting to note that it is a negative term. The prefix a indicates not merely the negation of himsa or violence but its use functions specifically as a