By Myrtle Langley
For
a religion of only 3 million people, almost all of whom live in India, Jainism
has wielded an influence out of all proportion to its size and its
distribution. This influence has been
felt most keenly in the modern world through Mahatma Gandhi. Although not himself a Jain, he grew up
among Jains and embraced their most distinctive doctrine; non-violence to
living beings (Ahimsa). But the
influence of Jainism has also been felt in the Jain contribution to India’s
banking and commercial life.
As
Buddhists are followers of the Buddha (the enlightened one), so Jains are the
followers of the Jina (the conqueror), a title applied to Vardhamana, last of
the great Jain teachers. It is applied
also to those men and women who, having conquered their passions and emotions,
have achieved liberation and attained perfection. And so the very name Jainism indicates the predominantly ethical
character of this religion.
The
period from the seventh to the fifth centuries BC was a turning point in the
intellectual and spiritual development of the whole world: it produced, among others, the early Greek
philosophers, the great Hebrew prophets, Confucius in China and Zoroaster in
Persia.
For
north India, the sixth century BC was a time of particular social, political
and intellectual ferment. The older and
more familiar tribal structure of society was disintegrating. In its place were appearing a few great
regional kingdoms and a number of smaller tribal groupings known, as
republics. These kept some of the
characteristics of tribal structure but had little political power, being
dependent on the largest of the kingdoms.
In
this transition period, when the old social order was passing away and a new
one had not yet taken shape, many people felt themselves adrift, socially, and
morally. Religious confusion also arose
as divergent streams of religious thought and practice came into contact and
conflict. It was probably from this
conflict that the so-called heterodox teachers associated with Buddhism, Jainism
and the Ajivikas sect emerged. They, in
turn, probably owed their origin to the Shramanas, the ancient religious
teachers distinguished from the Brahmins by their doctrine of salvation through
asceticism. They were considered
heterodox because they refused to accept the authority of the Vedas, the
authoritative Hindu texts, and rejected the institutions of cast and sacrifice.
Vardhamana,
known to his followers as Maharira (the Great Hero), was an elder contemporary
of the Buddha. Although the legends
surrounding his life are less attractive than those surrounding the Buddha’s,
being even more formalized and unreliable, he was undoubtedly a historical person. Under the name of Nigantha Nataputta, he is
often mentioned in the Buddhist scriptures as one of the Buddha’s chief
opponents.
The
second son of Siddhartha, a Kshatriya chieftain, Mahavira was born around 540
BC at Kundagrama, near modern Patna in Bihar, and died in 468 BC according to
scholarly opinion; but the tradition says 599-527 BC.
On
both sides of the family he belonged to the ruling warrior classes which were a
powerful force at the time. Educated as
a prince, according to one tradition Mahavira remained a bachelor for life;
according to another he married a princess who bore him a daughter. Either way, at the age of twenty-eight, on
the death of his parents, he renounced his family life to become a beggar and
ascetic, seeking liberation from the cycle of birth, death and rebirth.
At
first he followed the ascetic practices of a group founded some 250 years
earlier by a certain Parsva. Parsva is
known as the twenty-third and Mahavira as the twenty-fourth of the
Tirthankaras, the `Ford-makers’, ‘Path-makers’ or great teachers of Jainism,
who guide their followers across the river of transmigration, For over twelve
years Mahavira wandered from place to place, living a life of the greatest
austerity and engaging in disputation.
At first he wore only a single piece of cloth, but after thirteen months
he discarded even that encumbrance and for the rest of his Life went about
naked.
In
the thirteenth year, when aged about forty two, and at the end of a long fast,
he achieved self realization and full enlightenment. In the language of his followers he had become a conqueror
(Jina). He had attained a state of
full, clear and unimpeded knowledge and intuition known as KEVALA, becoming a
perfected soul. And by attaining this
omniscience, Mahavira had released himself from the forces (KARMA) which had
bound him to the wheel of rebirth.
Mahavira
was then acclaimed a leader of an Order (a Tirthankara). For the remaining thirty years of his life,
he propagated his beliefs and organized his community of followers. He called himself the successor of a series
of legendary Tirthankaras who had proclaimed Jain beliefs through countless
ages. And although his claims may not
be wholly true, there is little doubt that the tradition from which Jainism
derives goes back beyond Mahavira.
Parsva and even Nemi (alleged cousin of Krishna of the Mahabharata war)
to the farthest recesses of Indian prehistory.
He died, of voluntary self-starvation, at Pava, a village not far from
his birthplace, and a great center of Jain pilgrimage to this day. Thus he entered nirvana, his ‘final rest’.
Mahavira
drew his followers mainly from the Kshatriya aristocracy and organized them
into a regular community with lay and monastic members of both sexes. There is good reason to believe that before
they joined him some of these followers believed that all possessions,
including clothing, should be abandoned, in the pursuit of passionless
detachment, while others stopped short of making nudity a requirement. It was this difference, and later
disagreement about the contents of the canon of the scriptures, which were to
distinguish the two major sects of Jainism.
No fundamental doctrinal differences emerged, even in later centuries.
For
two centuries, Mahavira’s followers remained a small community. Then there was a big increase in Jain
numbers as the founder of the great Mauryan dynasty, the Magadhan Emperor
Chandragupta (about 321 297 BC), abdicated his throne and joined the order. History here confirms tradition, at least to
some extent. However, towards the end
of Chandragupta’s reign, a serious famine led to the exodus of a large number
of Jain monks from the Ganga Valley in north India south to the Deccan. There, in the state of Mysore, they
established great centers of the faith.
Then,
so tradition has it, when Bhadrabahu, the leader of the emigrants and eleventh
elder of the community, returned to Bihar after an absence of twelve years he
found that in the confusion and hardship of famine the northern monks, under Sthulabhadra,
had abandoned the ancient ways laid down by Mahavira and had taken to wearing
white robes.
Thus
arose the two sects of Jainism, the Digambaras (the `sky-clad’ or ‘space-clad’)
and the Svetambara (the `white-clad’).
The schism became fixed in the first century AD and persists to this
day.
Similarly,
according to tradition, a sacred literature had been passed down orally through
the generations, from Mahavira. But
Bhadrabahu was the last person to know it perfectly. On his death at the beginning of the third century BC, the canon
was reconstructed as far as possible in twelve sections (Angas) which replaced
the fourteen former texts (Purvas).
Although accepted by the Svetambaras, this canon was rejected by the
Digambaras, who held that the old one was hopelessly lost. Eighty-four works are recognized as
belonging to the Svetambara canon, finally fixed in the fifth century AD. Among them are forty-one Sutras, a number of
unclassified works, twelve commentaries and one great commentary. All were written in the Ardha-Magadhi
language.
In
subsequent centuries Jainism spread from east to west across India. From time to time it enjoyed the patronage
of kings and princes, under whose auspices it produced some of the most
magnificent temple architecture in the world.
But with the rise of Hindu devotional theism (BHAKTI) particularly to
Shiva and Vishnu, in the Middle Ages, it went into relative decline. It became concentrated in two regions, where
it remains to this day: Gujarat and
Rajasthan where the Svetambaras prevail, and the Deccan, or modern Mysore,
where the Digambaras have their headquarters.
But, unlike Buddhism, Jainism continued in the land of its birth. This was probably due largely to its
emphasis on the lay as well as on the monastic calling. In times of persecution it had the
re-sources of an influential and wealthy lay following to fall back on.
One
final aspect of Jain history remains to be mentioned: the rise of the `dwellers in halls’ (Sthanakavasi) branch of the
Svetambaras in AD 1653. Parallel with
the Protestant Reformation in Europe, and probably owing to Muslim influence,
reformers arose to condemn all forms of idolatry and temple worship as
inconsistent with the teachings of Mahavira.
Fundamental doctrines, however, remained unaffected by this further
schism.
Mahavira
and other unorthodox teachers of his age were primarily interested in seeking
liberation from the wheel of rebirth.
Jain
philosophy differs in important respects from the systems of Buddhism and
Hinduism. Jainism upholds the existence
of an infinite number of animate and inanimate substances - Jivas or Souls, and
Ajivas or non-souls, representing the mind / matter dichotomy - each of which
possesses an infinite number of individual characteristics of its own. Moreover, all substances exist independently
of our perceptions or awareness of them.
Thus Jain philosophy is realist.
But
because the number of souls inhabiting the universe is infinite, most of them
will be compelled to transmigrate eternally in samsara, the world of birth,
death and rebirth. And this world is
itself subject to a process of growth and decline. It is part of a universe which, without begining and without end,
passes through an infinite number of cosmic cycles, each divided into phases of
ascent and descent during which civilization rises and falls. At present we are in the fifth period of a
phase of descent.
The
apparent fatalism and determinism or the system is opposed by Jain philosophers
by means of the distinctive theory of `many-sidedness’ (Anekantvada). This relates the truth of any proposition to
the point of view from which it is made.
The rise and fall of civilizations is rigidly determined from the
universal point of view, but from the individual viewpoint a man is free to
work out his own salvation. Only the
liberated soul knows the full and absolute truth. A popular illustration of this is the parable of the six blind
men and the elephant. Each, having
grasped a part of the great beast, was asked what it was like. One said a wall, another a rope, another a
snake, another a fan, and so on. Only
the soul in nirvana has complete and perfect knowledge.
The
soul’s essential character is consciousness and knowing. In its original state , the soul knows
everything : nothing is hidden from it,
it commands the knowledge of existence in all its various aspects, and at all
times, past, present and future. In its
present state in this world, ensconced in a material body, the soul’s knowledge
is made imperfect and incomplete by the limitations matter places on it.
The
soul is graded into five levels according to which form it takes in its earthly
existence.
At
the lowest level are the souls possessing only one sense-touch; these include
the elements themselves, earth, water, air and fire, and the vast vegetable
kingdom.
At
the second level are the souls possessing two senses: touch and taste - including worms and shell creatures.
At
the third level are the souls possessing three senses: those of touch, taste and smell-including
ants, bugs and moths.
At
the fourth level are the souls possessing four senses:
touch,
taste, smell and sight; these include, for example, wasps, locusts and
butterflies.
At
the fifth and highest level are the souls possessing all five senses - touch,
taste, smell, sight and hearing. These
include four types of creatures:
infernal beings, the higher animals, humans, and heavenly beings.
The
soul’s journey from one level of consciousness to another, and from one grade
to another, up or down the scale, depends on the inexorable law of Karma.
Like
all Indian religions, Jainism upholds the universal law of Karma. According to this law, every action -
thought, word or deed - produces an effect, which in turn serves as the cause
of another action, and so on. This
chain of cause and effect is known as `Karmic Bondage’ or simply, Karma. And because Jainism, as we have seen,
subscribes also to the doctrine of transmigration and rebirth, it follows that
the state of the soul at any given time is due to the Karma accumulated over
countless ages.
However,
the Jain doctrine of Karma is distinctive.
Whereas Hindus view Karma purely as a law of nature, Jains believe Karma
to consist of fine and subtle particles of matter which adhere to the soul, as
clay to a pot. Yet, by effort,
discipline and knowledge, man can control Karma. Selfish, careless and cruel actions lead to the accumulation of
heavy Karma which weighs the soul down.
But the Karma accruing from good deeds is dissipated almost immediately
and has no serious effects. Moreover,
suffering willingly under taken has the effect of dispersing the Karma already
accumulated, so helping to lighten the soul.
To
achieve salvation (Moksha) man must therefore free his soul from matter. Thus freed, its natural lightness will float
it to the top of the universe to dwell there for ever in all-knowing bliss. The souls of heroes like Mahavira virtually
achieve salvation in this life. It is
only residual Karma which binds them to the earth, but when that is exhausted
through fasting and penance, they rise immediately above the highest heavens of
the gods to the eternal rest of nirvana.
Jainism
is not fatalistic, but it is atheistic.
There is no world-soul, no supreme being, no creator and sustainer of
the universe, no one beyond himself (except the Tirthankaras as guides and
examples) to aid man in his endeavors.
Similarly,
for all the subtlety and sophistication with which its doctrine of karma and
rebirth has been elaborated, Jainism is in practice profoundly
pessimistic. The world is a place of
utter misery and sorrow, in no way compensated for by life’s few moments of
happiness.
Because
of the infinite number of souls in the universe and the
length
of the cycle of rebirth, it happens only rarely that a
soul
obtains human birth. Therefore man
should use every
opportunity
to pursue the way of salvation by acquiring the
Three
Jewels:
·
Right
knowledge
·
Right
faith
·
Right
conduct
Right
knowledge comes through knowing the Jain creed, right faith through believing
in it and right conduct through following it.
The first two are worthless without the last and so Jain monks and nuns,
laymen and laywomen take vows of right conduct, the most important and
all-embracing of which is non-violence.
To
injure living beings, even unwillingly, is to engender the most harmful of
karmic effects. To injure with deliberate
intent has the gravest of consequences.
And since the whole universe throbs with life, this means in practice
that a Jain’s diet and livelihood are severely restricted. Even the Jain layman must be a strict
vegetarian. He may not be a farmer, for
when ploughing the soil he might injure animals and plants, not to speak of the
earth itself. He may not ply certain
crafts, for the metal on the blacksmith’s anvil and the wood on the carpenter’s
bench suffer excruciating pain as they are worked. Instead, he will follow the safe professions of trading and
money-lending and most likely become a wealthy merchant or prosperous banker.
Jains
go through special ceremonies at birth, marriage and death as do members of
most religions. But there is a
difference, The rites through which the Jain passes are Hindu rather than
Jain. And it is often Hindu priests or
officials who perform them.
Full
salvation is not possible for the layman unless, as the end approaches, he
takes the vow of old age, containing the promise to die by voluntary
self-starvation. And, according to the
Digambaras, it is never possible for a woman unless she is first of all reborn
as a man.
Jainism
recognizes four sources of karma:
·
Attachment
to things of this life, such as food, clothing, lodging, women and jewels;
·
Giving
rein to anger, pride, deceit and greed;
·
Uniting
the body, mind and speech to worldly things;
·
False
belief.
Karma
can be controlled by renouncing all activity, Jainism also recognizes eight
kinds of karma, three tenses of karma and fourteen steps to liberation from
karma, Between steps one and four a person acquires knowledge and faith, but
only on the fifth step does he realize the importance of conduct.
become
able to take the twelve vows which mark the layman’s religious life.
First
in the series of twelve vows are the five `limited vows’ :
·
Non-violence
to souls with more than one sense.
·
Truthfulness.
·
Non-stealing.
·
Chastity.
·
Non-attachment
or the limitation of possessions and worldly goods.
Next
in the series are the three `assistant vows’ which help a person to keep the
first five:
·
Restriction
of travel (so curtailing sin by restricting the area in which it can be
committed).
·
Restriction
on the use of certain things, so discouraging lying, covetousness, stealing and
so on.
·
Discouragement
of carelessness in speaking ill of others, taking life, keeping weapons and
having an evil influence.
The
remaining four vows in the series are intended to encourage the laity in the
performance of their religious duties:
·
To
spend at least forty-eight minutes every day in unbroken meditation (samayika),
thinking evil of no one, being at peace with the world and contemplating the
heights which may be reached by the soul, and if possible to repeat this
exercise three times, morning, afternoon and evening.
·
To
set aside at least one particular day to be more serious about the vows of
travel restriction and meditation.
·
To
live as a monk for a temporary period of twenty-four hours, touching no food,
drink, ornaments, scents or weapons and remaining celibate while using only
three cloths by day and two by night-thus forging a link between the lay and
monastic communities (called posadha).
·
To
support the ascetic community by giving its members any of the fourteen
articles which they may accept without blame, such as food, water, clothing,
pots, blankets, towels, beds, tables and other furniture.
Jains
believe that to keep the twelve vows brings great physical and moral
advantage. The body becomes fit and
healthy and the soul is freed from love and enmity.
The
layman wanting to reach a higher stage in the upward path towards liberation
must undertake to keep a further eleven promises:
·
To
worship the true deva (i.e, a Tirthankara), reverence a true guru (teacher),
and believe in the true doctrine (dharma, i.e.
Jainism), while avoiding the seven bad deeds of gambling, eating meat,
wine-bibbing, adultery, hunting, thieving and debauchery.
·
To
keep the twelve vows, facing death by voluntary self-starvation in complete
peace.
·
To
engage in meditation at least three times a day.
·
To
live the life of a monk temporarily at least six times a month.
·
To
avoid uncooked vegetables.
·
To
refrain from eating between sunset and sunrise and from drinking water before
daylight, in case an insect is accidentally eaten.
·
To
keep away from his own wife and never to scent his body so as to seduce her.
·
Never
to begin anything that might entangle him in worldly pursuits which might lead
to destruction of life.
·
To
be a novice for his remaining days.
·
To
eat only leftovers.
·
To
wear the dress of an ascetic, live apart in a religious building or in the
forest, and live according to the rules laid down in the scriptures for
ascetics.
By
the time he has taken the last of these eleven promises, the layman is
virtually an ascetic.
As
the layman endeavors to reach this exalted state, he will strive to develop the
twenty-one qualities which distinguish the Jain `gentleman’. He will always be `serious in demeanor;
clean as regards both his clothes and his person; good-tempered; striving after
popularity; merciful; afraid of sinning; straightforward; wise; modest; kind;
moderate; gentle; careful in speech; sociable; cautious; studious; reverent
both to aid age and old customs; humble; grateful; benevolent; and, finally, attentive
to business’.
The
life of an ascetic begins with initiation.
First he gives away his clothing and jewels to relatives, and dons the
dress of an ascetic (sadhu), three upper garments and two lower ones which vary
in color according to sect. Next, he
has his hair removed. From now on he is
a homeless wanderer and must remain possessionless except for his robes, a few
pieces of cloth with which to strain insects from his daily drink of water, a
cloth mask with which to cover his mouth for fear of hurting the air, a few
wooden jugs or gourds, and a brush or whisk with which to sweep insects from
the path before him.
The
five great vows taken by the Jain ascetic are stricter versions of the first
five taken by the layman:
·
Non-violence—not
to kill any living thing, whether five, four, three, and two, sensed or
immovable (one-sensed), even through carelessness.
·
Truthfulness—to
speak only of what is pleasant, wholesome and true.
·
Non-stealing—not
to take what is not given.
·
Chastity—to
have no dealings with gods, human beings or animals of the opposite sex.
·
To
renounce love for any thing or person, which means ending all likes and
dislikes with regard to sounds, colors or smells as well as people; in other words, to be indifferent to
anything mediated through the senses.
As
there exists an ideal for the Jain layman, so too there exists the picture of a
perfect monk, It has been said that the true ascetic should possess
twenty-seven qualities, for he must keep the five vows, never eat at night,
protect all living things, control his five senses, renounce greed, practice
forgiveness, possess high ideals, and inspect everything he uses to make sure
that no insect life is injured. He must
also be self-denying and carefully keep the three rules for controlling mind,
speech and body, he must endure hardships in the twenty-two ways, and bear
suffering till death.
Jainism’s
rejection of God does not entail rejection of prayer and worship, more
precisely termed contemplation. But of
all beings, including the gods and the saints, only liberated souls or
Tirthankaras made perfect are worshipped.
Even they are not appealed to for help or mercy; they serve more as an
inspiration to those still struggling for freedom and perfection.
That
is the theory, The practice is very different.
Many of the Jain laity pray to Hindu gods for help, many Jain temples
house images of Hindu deities, and many Jain festivals incorporate Hindu
customs.
One
of the glories of Jainism is its heritage of magnificent temple
architecture. Two of its outstanding
developments are the temple-cities, some of which have hundreds of shrines from
many different periods, and the fretted ceilings and ornamented pillars with
their delicately carved figures and flowers in marble, perhaps the finest of
their kind in the world. The numerous
modern temples in the towns and cities are smaller and undistinguished.
Jain
homes incorporate domestic shrines.
According to scriptural instruction, they are supposed to be made of
wood, and some with elaborately carved doors and door-frames have survived.
Jain
temples are filled with images of the Tirthankaras;
`Contemplating
the form of the passionless Lord in a Jaina temple, the mind becomes filled
automatically with a sentiment of renunciation... The mind is purified by the contemplation and worship of the
Tirthankaras.’
Every
day devout Jains rise before dawn and, with rosary of 108 beads in hand, invoke
the Five Great Beings, bowing, with folded hands to east, north, west and
south.
As
a Jain worshiper approaches the temple, he leaves his shoes and socks
outside. At the porch he puts a saffron
mark on his brow and repeats the Nissahi (which enables him to put aside all sin
and care). Inside, he comes to the
shrine and bids for the right to wash the principal Tirthankara image. Removing the jewels and old flowers, he
washes it with water, milk and five nectars.
When it has dried, he then rubs it over and marks it with liquid saffron
in fourteen places, from head to toe.
Meanwhile, verses are sung in its praise, incense and lamps waved at the
threshold and an offering of rice placed on a table before the door. Finally, the worshiper performs spiritual
worship, prostrating himself three times before the image, recalling the
virtues of the Tirthankara, singing his praises, walking backwards to the door
as he repeats the Avassahi (which allows him to engage in worldly pursuits
again), and with hands together bowing out.
The
most important festival of Jainism is held at Pajjusana, the solemn season
which closes the Jain year. For eight
days or longer, during the wet monsoon period, usually in August, devout Jains
fast and attend special services. All
householders are urged to live a monk’s life for at least twenty-four hours,
living in a monastery, meditating and fasting.
On the closing day of the festival, every Jain abstains from food and
water. At the close of the temple
gathering, he performs an act of penitence in which he asks forgiveness of his
neighbors for any inadvertent offense and determines to carry no grudge or
quarrel over into the next year.
The
second most important festival is Divali, the great Hindu festival in honor of
Lakshmi, goddess of wealth, which Jains have adapted in honor of Mahavira’s
liberation.
Jains
also observe fasts at full moon, and great excitement is found in going on
pilgrimages to Jain holy places.
Jainism
is a religion of austerities. Its goal,
‘passionless
detachment’,
is reached only through the most severe and
disciplined
of life-styles, culminating ideally in death by
voluntary
self-starvation. And the aim is to
achieve it solely
by
self-effort, without the help of God or gods,
Yet
self-imposed austerities often benefit others.
And Jains have long been active in promoting public welfare. They are known especially for their
endowment of schools, also of hospitals—for both people and animals.
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The
great statues of south India best convey the Jain ideal. This is a description of the sixty-
foot-high stone replica of the hero Gomatesvara at Sravarna Belgola:
`[He
rises] huge, stony and naked. So rigid
is his stance, so austere his stillness, that creepers are growing up his
legs. On his lips is an expression of
total impassivity. His nudity of course
symbolizes possessionlessness. It is a
sign of indifference to the good things of his world. It is not even a matter of laying up treasures in heaven.
The
Jain saint should be indifferent even to those. Any sort of treasure binds us to this world, and even the
heavenly world should be transcended.
Karma which weighs us down, like weights which depress balloons, must be
got rid of, destroyed. This is a supremely
hard task. The saint is the culmination
of a struggle which has continued over many, many lives. He gazes, unseeing, over the dry south
Indian landscape, a spiritual Gulliver among dark- skinned Lilliputians.
Every
twelve years, the Jain faithful have a great festival in
which
innumerable pots of milk and curds and sandal paste are
poured
over the head of the stone hero,
The
faith celebrates those who have through heroism and insight gained liberation
and thus shown the path to others.’
The
pessimism of Jainism is nowhere better illustrated than in the famous parable
of the man in the well, said to have been told by a Jain monk to a prince in
order to persuade him of the evils of the world.
There
was once a man who, oppressed by his poverty left home and set out for another
city. But after a few days he lost his way and found himself wandering in a
dense forest. There, he saw a mad
elephant angrily rushing toward him with upraised trunk. Immediately he ran to flee there appeared
before him a terrible demoness with a sharp sword in her hand, in fear and
trembling, he looked about him in all directions for a way of escape until he
saw a great tree and ran towards it.
But he could not climb its smooth hole, and afraid of death, hung
himself into an old well nearby. As he
fell he managed to catch hold of a clump of reeds growing from the wall, and
clung to them desperately.
For
below him he could see a mass of writhing snakes, enraged at the sound of his
falling, and at the very bottom, identifiable from the hiss of its breath, a
mighty black python with its mouth wide open to receive him. And even as he realized that his life could
last only as long as the reeds held fast, he looked up and saw two mice, one
black and one white, gnawing at the roots.
Meanwhile, the elephant, enraged at not catching its victim, charged the
tree and dislodged a honeycomb. It fell
upon the man clinging so precariously.
But even as the bees angrily stung his body, by chance a drop of honey
fell on his brow, rolled down his face and reached his lips, to bring a
moment’s sweetness. And he longed for
yet more drops and so forgot the perils of his existence.
Now
hear its interpretation.
The
man is the soul.
His
wandering in the forest is existence.
The
wild elephant is death.
The
demoness is old age.
The
tree is salvation, where there is no fear of death, but which no sensual man
can attain.
The
well is human life.
The
snakes are passions.
The
python is hell.
The
clump of reeds is man’s allotted span.
The
black and white mice the dark and light halves of the month.
The
bees are diseases and troubles.
The
drops of honey are but trivial pleasures.
How
can a wise man want them, in the midst of such peril and hardship?
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The
general plan of a Jain temple is of a portal and colonnades,
a
closed hall or open courtyard and an inner shrine for the
images. The principle image of the Tirthankarato
whom the
temple
is dedicated, is flanked by two attendants and by smaller
images
of the twenty-four Tirthankaras. In
Digambara temples,
the
image sits naked with eyes downcast. In
Svetambara temples
it
sits clothed with a loincloth, has protruding eyeballs and is
often
adorned with jewels and flowers,
Every
Jain temple also has a ‘saint-wheel’ (siddha-cakra). Its basic form is that of a stylized flat lotus with four petals
attached to a circle in the center.
Placed in the petals and in the circle are representations of the Five
Great Beings in meditative posture (seated with crossed legs). Often the principles of right knowledge,
right faith and right conduct are incorporated too. The diagram is invoked for the destruction of sin and for the
common good to prevail.
Taken
from Cary NC library.