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The Fourteen-Fola Path to Freedom
Infinite knowledge, infinite purity,
and infinite freedom are the goal
Ali living beings – the earthly minerals, plants, animals and men form only a minority in this vast cosmos of life – from the most primitive with only one sense faculty to the highest divine, have their specific forms, conditions of life and stages of evolution due to karmic action. In their always very systematic approach, the Jains have elaborated a scientific classification of 148 types of karma, as discussed in chapter 4. The core of Jain ethics is ahimsā – nonviolence in action, speech and mind – the total abstention from doing harm to any living being, even the smallest and least developed. As far as humans are concerned, apart from not doing physical harm, they practice tolerance towards different opinions - because no person can, unless he has reached omniscience, claim to have the ultimate correct and complete view. As said, Jains are strict vegetarians, and avoid professions which might involve physical harm, even to the smallest of creatures.
The purpose of these practices is twofold. First, suffering is limited as much as possible for all creatures and they are not hindered on the path their souls have chosen. Second, they purify themselves from karmas which cling to
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