Jainism

==Comparison with Buddhism and Hinduism==
{{main|Buddhism and Jainism|Jainism and Hinduism}}

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| footer =Jain votive plaque with [[Jain stupa]], the "Vasu Śilāpaṭa" ayagapata, 1st century CE, excavated from [[Kankali Tila]], [[Mathura]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Quintanilla |first1=Sonya Rhie |title=Āyāgapaṭas: Characteristics, Symbolism, and Chronology |journal=Artibus Asiae |date=2000 |volume=60 |issue=1 |pages=79–137 Fig.26 |doi=10.2307/3249941 |issn=0004-3648|jstor=3249941 }}</ref><br>The inscription reads:<br><small>''"Adoration to the Arhat Vardhamana. The daughter of the matron (?) courtesan Lonasobhika (Lavanasobhika), the disciple of the ascetics, the junior (?) courtesan Vasu has erected a shrine of the Arhat, a hall of homage (ayagasabha), cistern and a stone slab at the sanctuary of the [[Nirgrantha]] Arhats, together with her mother, her daughter, her son and her whole household in honour of the Arhats."''<ref>{{cite web |title=Collections-Virtual Museum of Images and Sounds |url=https://vmis.in/ArchiveCategories/collection_gallery_zoom?id=1335&siteid=541&minrange=0&maxrange=0&assetid=72574&self_archive_id=161621&index=124 |website=vmis.in}}</ref></small>
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[[File:Sculpture panel showing a Jain stupa and torana, Mathura 75-100 CE.jpg|thumb|290px|''Sivayasa Ayagapata'', with stupa fragment, [[Kankali Tila]], 75–100 CE.]]

All four [[Indian religions|Dharmic religions]], viz., Jainism, [[Hinduism]], [[Sikhism]] and [[Buddhism]], share concepts and doctrines such as [[karma]] and [[Reincarnation|rebirth]].{{sfn|Solomon|Higgins|1998|pp=11–22}}{{sfn|Appleton|2016|pp=1–21, 25–27, 57–58, 82–84}}{{sfn|McFaul|2006|pp=27–28}} They do not believe in eternal [[heaven]] or [[hell]] or [[judgment day]], and leave it up to individual discretion to choose whether or not to believe in gods, to disagree with core teachings, and to choose whether to participate in prayers, rituals and festivals. They all consider values such as ''[[ahimsa]]'' (non-violence) to be important,{{sfn|Shaw|Demy|2017}}{{rp|p. 635|quote=Ahiṃsā (to do no harm) is a significant aspect of three major religions: Jainism, Hinduism and Buddhism}} link suffering to craving, individual's actions, intents, and karma, and believe spirituality is a means to enlightened peace, bliss and eternal liberation (''[[moksha]]'').{{sfn|Solomon|Higgins|1998|pp=18–22}}{{sfn|McFaul|2006|pp=27–40}}

Jainism differs from both Buddhism and Hinduism in its ontological premises. All believe in impermanence, but Buddhism incorporates the premise of ''[[anatta]]'' ("no eternal self or soul"). Hinduism incorporates an eternal unchanging ''[[Atman (Hinduism)|atman]]'' ("soul"), while Jainism incorporates an eternal but changing ''[[Jiva (Jainism)|jiva]]'' ("soul").{{sfn|Dundas|2002|pp=87–88}}{{sfn|Wiley|2004|pp=2–5}}{{sfn|Long|2013|pp=122–125}} In Jain thought, there are infinite eternal ''jivas'', predominantly in cycles of rebirth, and a few ''siddhas'' (perfected ones).{{sfn|Hiriyanna|1993|pp=157–158, 168–169}} Unlike Jainism, Hindu philosophies encompass [[advaita|nondualism]] where all souls are identical as Brahman and posited as interconnected one{{sfn|Hiriyanna|1993|pp=54–62, 77–82, 132}}{{sfn|Perrett|2013|pp=247–248}}{{sfn|Bartley|2013|pp=1–10, 76–79, 87–98}}

While both Hinduism and Jainism believe "soul exists" to be a self-evident truth, most Hindu systems consider it to be eternally present, infinite and constant (''[[vibhu]]''), but some Hindu scholars propose soul to be atomic. Hindu thought generally discusses Atman and [[Brahman]] through a monistic or dualistic framework. In contrast, Jain thought denies the Hindu metaphysical concept of Brahman, and Jain philosophy considers the soul to be ever changing and bound to the body or matter for each lifetime, thereby having a finite size that infuses the entire body of a living being.{{sfn|Jaini|1998|pp=58, 102–105}}

Jainism is similar to Buddhism in not recognizing the primacy of the Vedas and the Hindu Brahman. Jainism and Hinduism, however, both believe "soul exists" as a self-evident truth.{{sfn|Solomon|Higgins|1998|pp=18–22}}{{sfn|Dalal|2010b|pp=174–175}} Jains and Hindus have frequently intermarried, particularly in northern, central and western regions of India.{{sfn|Juergensmeyer|2011|p=54}}{{sfn|Kelting|2009|pp=206 note 4}} Some early colonial scholars stated that Jainism like Buddhism was, in part, a rejection of the Hindu caste system,{{sfn|Nesfield|1885|pp=116–117}}{{sfn|Pope|1880|pp=40–41}} but later scholars consider this a Western error.{{sfn|Alberts|2007|pp=258–259}} A caste system not based on birth has been a historic part of Jain society, and Jainism focused on transforming the individual, not society.{{sfn|Juergensmeyer|2011|p=54}}{{sfn|Dundas|2002|pp=147–149, 304 footnote 24}}{{sfn|Babb|1996|pp=137–145, 54, 172}}{{sfn|Sangave|1980|pp=73, 316–317}}{{efn|According to [[Richard Gombrich]] and other scholars, Buddhism too was not a rejection or rebellion against any ancient caste system and it too was focused on individual's liberation from rebirths and suffering. The caste system in Buddhist societies and monasteries outside India have been documented. Gombrich states, "Some modernists go so far as to say that the Buddha was against caste altogether: this is not the case, but is one of the mistakes picked up from western authors."{{sfn|Gombrich|2012|pp=344–353 with footnotes}}{{sfn|Alberts|2007|pp=258–259}}{{sfn|Florida|2005|pp=134–137}}}}

Monasticism is similar in all three traditions,{{sfn|Johnston|2000|pp=681–683}}{{sfn|Caillat|2003a|pp=30–34 with footnote 28}} with similar rules, hierarchical structure, not traveling during the four-month [[monsoon]] season, and celibacy,{{sfn|Caillat|2003a|pp=30–34 with footnote 28}} originating before the Buddha or the Mahāvīra.{{sfn|Johnston|2000|pp=681–683}} Jain and Hindu monastic communities have traditionally been more mobile and had an itinerant lifestyle, while Buddhist monks have favored belonging to a ''sangha'' (monastery) and staying in its premises.{{sfn|Hirakawa|1993|pp=4–7}} Buddhist monastic rules forbid a monk to go outside without wearing the sangha's distinctive ruddy robe, or to use wooden bowls.{{sfn|Johnston|2000|pp=681–683}} In contrast, Jain monastic rules have either required nakedness (Digambara) or white clothes (Śvētāmbara), and they have disagreed on the legitimacy of the wooden or empty gourd as the begging bowl by Jain monks.{{sfn|Johnston|2000|pp=681–683}}{{efn|Whether the begging utensils of a monk, such as robe and begging bowl, were justified and legitimate for a Jain monk and were not considered an impediment on the path to salvation, remained a bone of contention among various splinter groups within Jainism, and was partly responsible for the ultimate Digambara-Svetambara split, although it would be a grave oversimplification to reduce the roots of the split to just monks' robes and bowls.{{sfn|Balcerowicz|2015|pp=42–43}} }}

Jains have similar views with Hindus that violence in self-defence can be justified,<ref>''Nisithabhasya'' (in ''Nisithasutra'') 289; Jinadatta Suri: ''Upadesharasayana'' 26; Dundas pp. 162–163; Tähtinen p. 31.</ref> and that a soldier who kills enemies in combat is performing a legitimate duty.<ref>Jindal pp. 89–90; Laidlaw pp. 154–155; Jaini, Padmanabh S.: ''Ahimsa and "Just War" in Jainism'', in: ''Ahimsa, Anekanta and Jainism'', ed. Tara Sethia, New Delhi 2004, p. 52–60; Tähtinen p. 31.</ref> Jain communities accepted the use of military power for their defence; there were Jain monarchs, military commanders, and soldiers.<ref>Harisena, ''Brhatkathakosa'' 124 (10th century); Jindal pp. 90–91; Sangave p. 259.</ref> The Jain and Hindu communities have often been very close and mutually accepting. Some Hindu temples have included a Jain ''Tirthankara'' within its premises in a place of honour,{{sfn|Long|2009|pp=5–6}}{{sfn|Sharma|Ghosal|2006|pp=100–103}} while temple complexes such as the [[Badami cave temples]] and [[Khajuraho]] feature both Hindu and Jain monuments.{{sfn|Michell|2014|pp=38–52, 60–61}}{{sfn|Ring|Watson|Schellinger|1996|pp=468–470}}