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THE PATH UNLIKE ANY OTHER: HOW & WHYICAME TO FOLLOW JAIN PHILOSOPHY
Gabriel E. Figueroa
vegangf@aol.com
Almost everyone has experienced a moment of incredible clarity and insight wherein everything makes sense and seems to fall into place. Usually, these moments are instantaneous and go as quickly as they come. I experienced such a moment of great clarity and tremendous insight the first time I encountered Jain philosophy. The difference was that this clarity and insight have continued to be a part of my life as I learned more about Jainism.
I was raised in a Catholic family. We were never particularly religious. I did go through the motions of the Catholic sacraments, but my heart was not really in it. Part of me always felt that Catholicism was not spiritually fulfilling. I really didn't look into other faiths right away, but I gradually withdrew from attending Mass and church functions.
At the age of 18, I was in my senior year of high school and became friends with an existentialist. He really opened my eyes though our conclusions were somewhat different. He would ask me these really thought-provoking questions. I would answer them. He would then question my answer. And I would answer his questions. Of course, he would question my answers. I would get so frustrated thinking that nothing could be answered in absolute terms. My friend would always find a question. My mind had always been very logical, and this sent me searching for answers that were not so easily reduced. Simultaneously, I had a spiritual void that needed to be filled.
My search led me to look at some different religious traditions. For me, the most fascinating, devotional, and logical were the Indian religions. At that time, I did not know that what I liked about the Indian religions was the contribution
of Jainism. I began considering the notion of karma and reincarnation, non-violence, and respect for all living beings. I thought about vegetarianism and began to feel a sense of guilt about eating meat. Everything seemed to be pointing me in the direction of Ahimsa. Finally one day I knew I could no longer eat an animal and so I stopped. In my first year of vegetarianism, I learned as much as I could about vegetarianism. I started to realize the cruelty to animals in all animal products and promptly made a move from ova-lacto vegetarian to vegan. I quit using eggs (which I had taken reluctantly anyway), dairy products, honey, leather, wool, silk, etc. Also, I remember reading about Jainism in a book about vegetarianism and feeling a strong attraction to Jain ideals. The small blurb made me hungry to learn more about this truly beautiful spiritual path. It was from this time that I remember the feeling of insight and great clarity.
I began reading everything I could find about Jainism. Most of what I did read was written by misinformed westerners who viewed Jainism as some sort of offshoot of Hinduism. There were great distortions about the origins, teachings, and practices of Jainism. I did manage to obtain some accurate information from some Jain organizations as well as get to know some Jains personally, so I began to learn more. The more I learned, the more I started to realize that I had been fortunate enough to find the true path. Not only did I find it logically appealing, but also intuitively I felt as if I were already aware of the truths of Jainism but that they were harbored deep within me.
After studying Jain philosophy for a few years, I found that I wanted to practice it more in daily life. I knew there were Jain rituals but did
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