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PARTI EARLY JAINISM
Introduction
The ascetic practices of early Jainism are conditioned by three different but intertwined concepts or beliefs. First, that virtually all matter is alive, in the sense of containing life-monads or souls. Second, that doing harm to living beings is wrong. Third, that actions inevitably have results which affect the future condition and future births of the actor.
If souls (jīva) are ubiquitous, then it is clearly very difficult to do any action at all without harming them. Such harming action (himsā) is believed to result in karmic bondage; that is to say, the soul is invaded and weighted down by subtle matter which ensures that at death the jiva is reborn in this or another world (samsāra), rather than rising to a state of liberation and omniscience at the top of the universe. Consequently, the more harm one does, the heavier the bondage and the worse the rebirth. In short, according to these beliefs, an ordinarily active life in the world will almost inevitably involve too much hiņsā, and therefore bondage, for the actor to have any realistic hope of even a good rebirth, let alone liberation.
On the other hand, to avoid such bondage, it is essential to observe the vow of non-injury (ahimsā) towards all creatures. The central concern of Jaina practice, therefore, is to establish a means of conducting oneself which (ideally) entails no himsā and thus no further bondage. (An important secondary concern is, of course, to get rid of the karma one has already accumulated.) Given the above conditions, this is clearly a very difficult undertaking, requiring special, ascetic restraints. It is particularly problematical for ordinary householders; in fact, prima facie, 'lay Jainism' would seem to be a contradiction in terms.
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