Jainism And Jainism

Since the age of the Industrial Revolution in the late 18th and early 19th century, the world has been forever changed. Human populations began expanding and we now sought for comforts that were not available before the Industrial Revolution. And although this was an age for booming inventions and the growth of the human populations around the world, our natural world was severely affected by our actions then and now. With human race’s need to continue to take up land for farming and for urban expansion, the land available to species that habitat these areas grows smaller and smaller. Not only are we affecting the habitation of species but also due to industrialization and the rapid growth of big corporations, pollution of our natural resources

Although these conversations on the preservation of Mother Nature have recently amplified there are many religions that have been conscientious of their actions in regards to nature and how they go about interacting with it. Jainism, a Southeast Asian religion, is one of these religions. This review will introduce the religion of Jainism and it’s relationship to the enivornment and how Jain beliefs can be applied to current actions for the sake of the environment. Jainism, as was mentioned above, is a Southeast Asian religion that originated in India from the “teachings of Pārśva and Mahāvīra, who [were]… the twenty-third and twenty-fourth Jinas of this present-time cycle.” (Dundas et. al 4764). The Jina are the authoritative figures for which the religion is names after; the English translation for the Sanskrit Jaina is Jain. Jainism is similar to Hinduism and Buddhism in that it’s main soteriological belief, or that the ultimate purpose of the religion, is to become enlightened and escape the reincarnation cycle, known as samara. Also similar to both

In Jainism, their views on nature and how to interact with it is rooted in the Ācarānga Sūtra, one of the texts within Jainism that states that Mahāvīra is a observer of nature; the text mentions that “ ‘[t]hroughly knowing the earth-bodies and water-bodies and fire-bodies and wind-bodies, the lichens, seeds and sprouts, [Mahāvīra] comprehended that they are, if narrowly inspected imbued with life’ (1.8,1.11-1.12; in Jacobi, 1884)” (Eliade et. al 2624). Because everything, no matter how small has life in them, everything must be treated with respect and non-violence (so no harm). Life forms are separated into 5 classifications based on the number of senses they have. The first and foundational group of life forms is beings that only have the sense of touch; this includes the “earth, water, fire, air bodies, microorganisms, and plants” (Chapple 209). The next group of life-forms have the sense of touch and taste and these include “worms, leeches, osyters, and snails.” The next group of life-forms have the senses of touch, taste and smell and they include most insects and spiders. Life-forms that the have the senses of touch, taste, smell and signt include “butterflies, flies and bees” and these are the following classification of life-forms. The final classification of life forms is the beings that have all 5 senses (touch, taste, smell, sight and hearing); this group includes birds, mammals