Doctrines of Jainism

Author(s): Vallabhsuri Smarak Nidhi
Publisher: Vallabhsuri Smarak Nidhi Godiji Jain Derasar Mumbai

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The Doctrines of the Jainas
order of things cannot be changed, two courses are open to individuals to escape from suffering: (1) to view and accept the order as it is, and (2) to enquire if there is any state of consciousness, on the attainment of which, an individual is no longer affected by the vicissitudes of life. Dukkha is nowhere postulated as a permanent feature of reality. It is entertained only as a possible contingency in life as it is generally lived. Happiness lies in the association with the Elect and in the sight of them. The association with the wise brings happiness. It is always desirable to follow the wise, intelligent, learned, dutiful, the enduring and the Elect (Dhammapada, Sukhavagga). There is no happiness higher than tranquillity. Health is the greatest gain, contentment is the best wealth, trust is the best of relationships but nirvana is the highest happiness. He is happy who has tasted the sweetness of solitude and tranquillity and who is free from fear and sin.
The Jainas like the Buddhists believe that himsa or life-slaughter is the greatest sin. As a man kills a jiva, so will he be killed in hell. Dishonesty, covetousness, conceit, avarice, attachment, hatred, quarrelsomeness, slander, fault-finding and lack of self-control are considered as sins in Jainism, which lead people to suffer. Mokkha according to the Jainas is the highest happiness. One who has attained it, is called a siddha or a perfected one. A siddha is a being self-controlled, without caste, unaffected by smell, without the sense of taste, without feeling, without form, without hunger, without pain, without sorrow, without joy, without birth, without old
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"Arogya parama labha, santutthi paramam dhanam vissasa purama nati nibbanam paramam sukham." (Dhammapada, V.204).