Jainism Began in the 7th Research Paper

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According to Aiken, this liberation is only achieved after twelve years as a monk and eight rebirths. Souls who do not achieve liberation are either reborn as another life on earth or suffer punishment in one of the eight levels of hell.

Once a householder undertakes the path to liberation of the soul, according to the Jain Center of America, he must take and follow the five vows:

Ahimsa -- nonviolence

Satya -- truthfulness

Asteya -- not stealing

Brahmacarya -- celibacy or monogamy

Aparigraha -- detachment from material possessions 'All the venerable ones (arhats) of the past, present and future discourse, counsel, proclaim, propound and prescribe thus in unison: do not injure, abuse, oppress, enslave, insult, torment, torture or kill any creature or living being' (Uttaraadhyayan Sutra)

Hibbets explains that ahimsa (nonviolence) is the most fundamental value to the Jains. Because they believe that all living things (animals, plants, insects, microbes) have souls and are therefore sacred, Jains impose stringent restrictions on themselves to avoid harming these souls. Jains are strict vegetarians; in fact, some only eat fruit, nuts and milk because these are by-products of and not a living thing. They believe that digging up a carrot, for example, harms many living things. In addition to dietary restrictions, Jains take other precautions to avoid harming living things. They filter their water to avoid ingesting microorganisms that may be in the water; they wear masks to avoid inhaling (and thereby killing) a microorganism; and they walk with small brooms to sweep the path as they walk to avoid stepping on insects.

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Aiken adds that Jains allow themselves to be bitten by gnats and mosquitoes rather than risk harming them by swatting them away.

According to the Jain Center of America, it is recommended that Jain lead life in four stages. The first stage is Brachmacharya -- ashram. During this stage, the Jain pursues the life of a student. The second stage is Grihasth -- ashram. This is the stage in which the Jain has a family or leads a family life. Once the Jain finishes off his family responsibility, he enters the stage of Vanaprasth -- ashram where he pursues social services. The final stage is known as Sanyast -- ashram in which the Jain abandons family life and adopts the life of an ascetic.

The current population of Jains is small. According to Religion Facts, most of the Jains live in India where they make up approximately 0.5% of the population. Additionally, there are 25,000 Jains in the United Kingdom, and 75,000 in the United States. There are still two sects of Jainism, the white robed Shvetembaras and the "sky-clad" Digambaras, although the Digambaras now confine their nudity to mealtimes. While their numbers may be small, the Jains have had a profound influence on the world. According to Hibbets, Mahatma Gandhi in his autobiography attributed his principles of nonviolence in part to Jainism. Hibbets also asserts that there are echoes of ahimsa in Martin Luther King Jr.'s beliefs on nonviolence, which were influenced by Gandhi.

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