Jain Spirit 2004 06 No 19

Author(s): Jain Spirit UK
Publisher: UK Young Jains

Page 59

YOUTH 57
17 year old Kavit Haria is Indian, born in Nigeria and now lives in London, UK
21 year old Lew Chiew Lim born and continues to live in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Jain
Buddhism
I have difficulty choosing between either one! Hindus see god as the creator whereas Jains see God as one who has conquered his inner passions and has been liberated.
Buddhists believe in reincarnation Buddha was actually a prince from Tibet. But once he saw poor people suffering he gave everything up and learned to meditate and became immune to the evil in the world.
Family and love are very important in my life; from this comes respect and communication.
• Striving for excellence • Always helping people! • Trying to minimize violence in my life -
not hurting anyone. • Not reacting to any bad situations
which controls the karmas being bound • Being focused and committed • Forgiveness . Taking action - walking the talk!
The effect of my faith on my life is increasing. I see it as a path that I must strive to follow. The path was shown by the Jain Tirthankars. It influences what! eat, how I act, what I say, how I think. It makes me think whether what I'm doing is really using my time effectively and having a positive effect to me in any way.
Apart from faith, my friends and family inspire me to live the way I do. Always living with an attitude of gratitude, being loving and always there. I'm studying A Levels at a Roman Catholic Sixth Form College in London, which is attended by various faiths. I try to talk to other students about their religion, what they think and how they live. Definitely. Along with learning more about Jainism and a bit about other faiths, it has made me see the different views about them and appreciate them.
Some of my beliefs come from Buddhism, but I was first affected by my home life. Once you have a loving family everything else is built automatically. I watched a movie, The Little Buddha' and really understood where my faith comes from. Now, every time I am nervous, afraid or you know, feeling lucky I will say my prayers... very short... just a sentence. In Malaysia there are all sorts of religions. Muslim, Christian, Hindu. I've got loads of friends with different faiths, that's how I get to learn about them. In Malaysia the biggest way other faiths affect your life is the public holidays for the various religious festivals, did you know we are the country with most public holidays in the world! Of course - holidays! We have Christmas and Chinese New Year and I get to experience the different beliefs and enjoy all the nice food!
Rebecca Hoh is a Philosophy graduate of the University of Sussex and is PA to the Editor at Jain Spirit. She is a keen advocate of a multi-cultural future, and can be contacted on: editor@jainspirit.org