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Jainism

Early History of Jainism

Jainism traces its roots to a succession of 24 Jinas ("those who overcome") in ancient East India, The first lina is traditionally believed to have been a giant who lived 8.4 million years ago. The most recent and last Jina was Vardhamana (aka Mahavira, "The Great Hero", born 550 BCE) who was the founder of the Jain community. He attained enlightenment after 13 years of deprivation. He committed suicide about 420 BCE through the act of starvationo lainism is a syncretistic religion, which contains many elements similar to Hindui. The world's almost 4 million Jains are almost entirely located in India. There are about 1,410 in Canada (1991 census).

Jainist Beliefs and Practices

     - The universe consists of a series of layers, both heavens and hells.
     - Everyone is bound within the universe by one's karma (the accumulated good and evil that one has done).
     - Moksha (liberation from an endless succession of lives) is achieved by enlightenment, which can be attained only through              asceticism.
     - They are vegetarians.
     - They read their sacred texts daily.
     - They practice ahimsa, the principle of non-violence. Committing an act of violence against a human, animal, or even vegetable      generates negative karma which in turn adversely affects one's next life.

Divisions among Jains

There are two groups of Jains:
     - The Disambaras (literally "sky clad" or naked) believe that they should carry asceticism to the extreme of rejecting even                 clothing (except when they appear in public).
     - The remaining Jains, the Shvetambaras (literally "white clad") wear simple white robes.

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