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who heads the Worldwide Fund for Nature. Singhvi's declaration marked Jainism's formal entry in an interfaith effort by Jews. Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and Bahais to provide a spiritual dimension to the environmental movement.
Jain (pronounced "Jane") philosophy is widely misunderstood in the West, where it has been characterized as a sub-sect of Buddhism or Hinduism. In fact, Jainism predates both religions, with roots reaching to the ninth century B.C. The word Jain means "follower of the Jinas," human teachers who periodically appear throughout history to preach an unchanging message of non-violence, compassion and self-restraint. The most recent of those teachers, Mahavir, was a contemporary of the Buddha and lived in Northern India in about 500 B.C.
Jains worship no deity and seek no converts. They focus instead on the transformation of the individual soul from bondage to bliss through self-discipline, meditation - and above all - the practice of non-violence. Respect for all organisms
In Jain belief, all organisms - from the smallest amoeba to the most highly evolved human - possess a soul that has a right to evolve undisturbed over many lifetimes on its journey to spiritual perfection.
Jains are strict vegetarians who consume neither meat, fish nor eggs. They are ardent pacifists.
A guiding principle is to inflict as little harm as possible. Jains do not wear leather, for
- Jain Digest
matic and well-educated city instance and avoid silk because
dweller, Jains tend to be doctors, hundreds of silkworms die to
lawyers, educators, scientist or make the cloth. Women avoid
merchants. Many of the local wearing pearls because they are
Jains attending the Stanford taken from living oysters. Jains
conference were book publishers, generally wear cotton or synthet
engineers and Silicon Valley ics.
entrepreneurs. Jainism is a non-hierarchi
"The honesty of Jain cal religion, whose monks and
business people is legendary. So nuns are considered to play an
is their genius for making a profit equal role with the laymen and and so is their charity," says women who support them. Jains
Giresh Shah. By some estimates, reject the Hindu caste system that
Shah says Jains generate one-half permeates Indian society, and
of India's gross national they insist on equality of the
income and finance one-third of sexes.
its charities for hospitals, kitchens The five vows
to feed the hungry, shelters for The Jain code of conduct
sick and abandoned animals. requires five vows of its adher
"We are well-to-do in part ents:
because we are pragmatists and in * To practice non-violence part because of our philosophy, in thought, word and deed.
which accommodates a multiplic* To seek and speak the
ity of viewpoints," he says. "We truth.
live and let live, always with * To be honest and never
compassion." take anything by force or theft.
Western influence * To practice self-restraint
But living and letting live and chastity.
is not easy in the modern world * To practice non-acquisi
for Jains or anyone else. One of tiveness
the prime concerns expressed at Death with support
the three-day Stanford conference Death is another issue in was how emigrant Jains living in which Jains have a different point
the West pass their heritage on to of view. In the West, death is their children, who have been regarded as an unwelcome experi- born and bred in a culture where ence, but often in Jainism when a vegetarianism must compete with person becomes old or infirm, a McDonald's and taco Bell, where vow to refuse all food and drink is
worth is measured by possession, often taken under the guidance of
and where self-expression is more a monk. In that way death is a
highly valued than self-restraint. willful action undertaken with the
One of the biggest issues is support of the family and the
intermarriage with Non-Jains religious community.
something that parents oppose, Though their numbers are
but that assimilated sons and small in India - less than 2 percent
daughters consider part of their of the total population - Jains
American heritage. wield considerable political,
"Sometimes it's hard. social and economic clout. Prag
You want to go along with what your friends are doing," says 14
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