- Ācārya
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Preceptor, teacher. A title given to a Jain religious teacher, usually one who is a head monk.
- Āgama
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Authoritative scriptures. The holy texts that are considered authoritative depend on the group and the period.
- Agra
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City in modern-day Uttar Pradesh. One of the capitals of the Mughal Empire, Agra contains many fine examples of Mughal architecture, including the Red Fort and the Taj Mahal.
- Ajīva
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The ‘absence of soul’ in non-living things. There are five types of ajīva:
- the medium of motion – dharma-stikaya
- the medium of rest – adharma-stikaya
- space – ākāśa-tikaya
- visible matter – pudgala-stikaya
- time – kāla.
The last is not always counted. Together with jīva or 'substance with soul', ajīva forms the universe.
- Arhat
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Sanskrit term meaning 'destroyer of enemies'. The enemies are the inner desires and passions. It is also a synonym for Jina. An Arhat is a liberated soul who has not yet left his fleshly body, but, as an omniscient being, is 'worthy of worship'.
- Ascetic
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Someone who withdraws from ordinary life to meditate and practise physical hardships in order to advance spiritually. Jain ascetics or mendicants beg for food from devout lay followers and wander the land.
Also used as an adjective to describe the practice of rigorous, even extreme, physical hardships in the belief that it leads to a higher spiritual condition.
- Āsrava
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Karmic influx. Karma is a very subtle matter that is attracted to the soul by actions. Āsrava refers to the beginning of the process, when karma enters into the soul and becomes bound with it.
- Bandha
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'Karmic bondage'. This refers to the period when the karma has entered the soul and lies dormant before producing its effect or coming to fruition.
- Bhāva
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Internal, spiritual. Opposite of Dravya
- Bhāvanā
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A practice for internal self-improvement, such as meditation or reflection. It is also the term for:
- a synonym of anuprekṣā among the Digambaras
- 25 supporting practices that uphold mendicant vows.
- Bodhi
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Enlightenment, awakening.
- Chastity
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Either avoiding sexual activity outside marriage or being totally celibate. Chaste can also mean a pure state of mind or innocent, modest action.
- Commentary
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An essay explaining a text. Commentaries on the scriptures are common in the Jain tradition and there are various types, including the:
- bālāvabodha
- bhāṣya
- cūrṇi
- niryukti
- ṭīkā.
- Cosmology
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A belief system about the universe that covers its origin, structure and parts, and natural laws and characteristics such as space, time, causality and freedom.
- Darśana
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Vision, insight or perception. It works with the quality of jñāna – knowledge in the soul – to gain deep, true understanding and is ever-changing.
Also one of the 14 'gateways' or categories of investigation of mārgaṇā or 'soul-quest'.
- Dhyāna
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Sanskrit for 'meditation', one of the six internal austerities or tapas that help purify the soul of karma. Meditation is deep thought about religious doctrine or mental focus on spiritual matters over a period of time. An important part of many religions, meditation is especially important in Jain belief because it forms key elements of religious practice and spiritual development.
- Digambara
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'Sky-clad' in Sanskrit, used for one of the two main divisions of Jainism, in which monks are naked. There are some differences of doctrine or belief between these two sects and to some extent their followers consider themselves as belonging to distinct branches. Divisions can be fierce in practical matters, for example, over the ownership of pilgrimage places, but all sects see themselves as Jains.
- Doctrine
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A principle or system of teachings, especially religious philosophy.
- Dravya
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Substance. There are two main types of substances in the universe in Jain belief:
- jīva – non-material, sentient substance
- ajīva – substance without soul.
The second type is divided into pudgala – non-sentient matter – and the non-material substances of:
- ākāśa – space
- dharma-dravya – principle of motion
- adharma-dravya – principle of rest
- kāla – time.
The last is not always included in this category.
- Gloss
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To explain or translate a word or phrase in a text. A glossary is a collection of such explanations. A gloss may be a short note in the margin or between the lines of a text or it may be an extended commentary.
- Guṇa-vrata
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A set of three restraints on Jain householders that is meant to reinforce the practice of the minor vows or aṇu-vrata:
- dig-vrata - limit travelling from home, because it inevitably involves unknowingly killing living things
- bhogopabhoga - limit using disposable things or reuse things as much as possible
- anarthadaṇḍa - limit meaningless activity, including fidgeting.
- Gupti
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'Self control'. There are three types of restraint relating to this:
- mind - manas
- speech - vacas
- body - kāya.
The guptis are intended to minimise using the mind, body or speech for spiritually unimportant purposes or even aimlessly.
- Hindi
-
The most widely spoken group of languages in India, originating in the northern part of the subcontinent. Local dialects and Hindi languages are spoken all over northern India and in surrounding countries. Standard Hindi is used in administration by the central government of India, along with English.
- Hindu
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Follower of the majority faith in India and an adjective describing something belonging to Hinduism. Hindus have numerous gods and diverse beliefs and practices, though many believe in the soul, karma, the cycle of births and liberation. Roughly a billion Hindus comprise the third largest religion in the world.
- Idol
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An image of a deity or concept that is worshipped either as a god or as a representation of the deity.
- Jain
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Follower of the 24 Jinas or an adjective describing Jain teachings or practices. The term 'Jaina' is also used although 'Jain' is more common.
- Jaina Śaurasenī
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A variety of Prakrit. A spoken language, it became used primarily for drama in northern India during the medieval period and is the language used for the main Digambara scriptures.
- Jina
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A 'victor' in Sanskrit, a Jina is an enlightened human being who has triumphed over karma and teaches the way to achieve liberation. A synonym for Tīrthaṃkara, which means 'ford-maker' or one who has founded a community after reaching omniscience through asceticism. The most famous 24 – Ṛṣabha to Mahāvīra – were born in the Bharata-kṣetra of the middle world, but more are found in other continents. There have been Jinas in the past and there will be some in the future.
- Jīva
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Sanskrit for 'self', 'soul' or 'that which is sentient'. It makes up the universe along with ajīva, or non-sentient material substance. It is a material substance that changes in size according to the body it inhabits in each life. It is born in different bodies in various places in the Jain universe based on karma from earlier lives. The soul is liberated from the cycle of birth when it has achieved spiritual purity and omniscience. Also called ātma or ātman.
- Jñāna
-
'Knowledge', of which there are five main types:
- mind-based and sensory knowledge – mati-jñāna
- scriptural knowledge – śruta-jñāna
- extra-sensory knowledge or clairvoyance – avadhi-jñāna
- knowledge of others’ minds or telepathy – manaḥparyaya-jñāna
- omniscience or absolute knowledge – kevala-jñāna.
With spiritual progress, one can gain the different types of knowledge.
Also one of the 14 'gateways' or categories of investigation of mārgaṇā or 'soul-quest'.
- Karma
-
Action or act, thought of as physical in Jainism. Created by mental or physical action, karma enters the soul, which then needs religious restraints and practices to make it flow out. Karma can be both:
- negative – deriving from harmful acts
- positive – arising from beneficial actions.
Both types of karma trap a soul in continual rebirth. A pan-Indian concept, karma has extremely complex, detailed and technical divisions and subdivisions in Jainism.
- Kaṣāya
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'Passion' that causes activity, which results in new karma binding to the soul. It must be eliminated by restraints or austerities so the soul can be liberated. Passion may be attraction – rāga – or aversion – dveṣa – and has degrees of intensity. There are traditionally four passions:
- anger – krodha
- pride – māna
- deceit – māyā
- greed – lobha.
Also one of the 14 'gateways' or categories of investigation of mārgaṇā – 'soul-quest'.
- Kevala-jñāna
-
Omniscience, enlightenment or perfect knowledge – the highest of the five types of knowledge, where one knows everything wherever and whenever it is. It is extremely difficult to attain, equivalent to the 13th stage of spiritual purity in the guṇa-sthāna. Digambaras believe only men can achieve it whereas Śvetāmbaras believe that both men and women can become enlightened.
- Laity
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Believers in a religion who are ordinary worshippers, not clergy or members of religious orders. In Jainism, lay people are often called 'householders', indicating that they live in houses and have domestic responsibilities, unlike ascetics.
- Loka
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The universe in Jain cosmology, composed of the upper, middle and lower worlds. Human beings can live only in part of the Middle World.
- Mahā-vrata
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The five vows taken by ascetics. Monks and nuns must follow these ‘absolute’ vows of:
- non-violence – ahiṃsā
- truth – satya
- taking only what is given – asteya
- celibacy – brahmacarya
- non-attachment or non-possession – aparigraha.
The 24th Jina Mahāvīra added a fifth vow to his predecessor Pārśva's four, making the vow of celibacy not just implicit but a separate vow.
- Miracle
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An extraordinary event that cannot be explained by natural causes or human effort and therefore is believed to be caused by divine or supernatural powers.
- Mokṣa
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The 'liberation' of the soul from its body and thus from the cycle of rebirth because it has no karma and becomes omniscient. The ultimate aim of Jainism is to achieve mokṣa and become a liberated soul in siddha-śilā.
- Monastic order
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A single-sex group of ascetics that vows to follow rules set out by a founding religious teacher. They formally renounce the world to become monks and nuns. They usually have a hierarchy of leaders at different levels to govern them.
- Monk
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A man who has taken a public vow to withdraw from ordinary life to formally enter religious life and advance spiritually. Frequently, monks perform physical austerities or undergo physical hardships in order to progress spiritually.
- Muni
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Sage. A common term for a Jain monk.
- Mysticism
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A system of contemplative prayer, meditation and complete detachment from worldly affairs in the hope of gaining direct spiritual experience of the divine. In Jainism those who practise mystical techniques hope to gain true self-realisation and thus destroy karma and be liberated.
- Nirjarā
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Progressive elimination through religious practice of karmic matter that has entered the soul.
- Pādukā
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The petrified footprint of a dead mendicant or holy figure, which is treated as a commemorative sacred object.
- Pāpa
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Wrong or bad action. Similar to a bad merit in Buddhism.
- Paramātman
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The highest soul, the liberated soul, the Absolute, often used instead of siddhi. Jains believe that a soul or ātman can achieve liberation from the cycle of birth through its own spiritual development. This concept has been called God in Western thought since the start of the Christian era.
- Prākrit
-
A term for any of the dead vernacular languages of ancient and medieval India. It may be contrasted with classical Sanskrit, the language used by priests and the aristocracy. The Jains used a large variety of Prakrits, with the Jain canon written chiefly in Ardhamāgadhī Prākrit.
- Pre-modern
-
Term for the period before the 'modern' age, which began around the 1500s in Western Europe. The pre-modern era was characterised by general belief in the divine and a strong sense of tradition and social order. In contrast, the modern period witnessed the spread of:
- scientific knowledge and method
- mechanisation and technologies such as the printing press
- capitalism
- individualism
- increasing lack of belief in organised religions.
- Preach
-
To deliver a speech on a religious topic, usually given by a prophet or member of the clergy. It may be a formal task of a religious office or open to all believers in a religious faith. Often covering social and moral subjects, preaching may be intended to:
- remind hearers of religious principles and rules
- encourage piety
- persuade non-believers of the correctness of the preacher's religious beliefs.
- Puṇya
-
Sanskrit for a 'right or good action'. Similar to a merit in Buddhism, it helps to reduce karma.
- Ratna-traya
-
The ‘three jewels’ that form the fundamentals of Jainism, without which spiritual progress is impossible. They are:
- right faith – samyak-darśana
- right knowledge – samyak-jñāna
- right conduct – samyak-cāritra.
- Sāgāra
-
Sanskrit term meaning 'with a home’ – that is, a ‘householder’ or lay Jain. A synonym for a lay person, emphasising that he or she is a member of a household, with responsibilities to the family, community and society that a Jain mendicant does not have.
- Samavasaraṇa
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Literally, Sanskrit for 'universal gathering'. A holy assembly led by a Jina where he preaches to all – human beings, animals and deities alike – after he has become omniscient. In this universal gathering, natural enemies are at peace.
- Samiti
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Carefulness, which has five aspects. Ascetics can reduce accidental violence by being careful and observing rules in these five areas:
- motion – īryā
- speech – bhāṣā
- cooking, eating and begging for food – eṣaṇā
- lifting and placing items, moving things – ādānanikśepaṇa
- disposing of bodily waste – pariṣṭhāpana.
- Saṃsāra
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Cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth caused by karma binding to the soul as a result of activities. Only by destroying all karma can this perpetual cycle finish in mokṣa – liberation. The karma gained in life affects the next life, and even future lives, for example:
- in which of the three worlds the life is lived out
- which of four conditions – gati – the body takes, namely human, divine, hellish or as a plant or animal.
- Saṃvara
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Stoppage of karmic influx.
- Samyak-cāritra
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'Right conduct'. A person who has faith in the principles of Jainism and knows them should put them into practice. This is the third of the Three Jewels vital for spiritual progress.
- Samyak-darśana
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'Right insight' or the proper view of reality, which means faith in the principles of Jainism taught by the Jinas. The first of the Three Jewels of Jainism and a necessary first step in spiritual progress.
- Samyak-jñāna
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'Right knowledge'. Once one believes the principles of Jainism, one has to learn them and know them properly. The second of the Three Jewels.
- Sanctuary
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The most sacred area of a temple, church or religious building, often where the image of a deity is housed and worshipped. An outdoor space that is associated with a deity may also be considered a sanctuary.
- Sanskrit
-
A classical language of India, originally used by priests and nobility. Sanskrit has a rich literary and religious tradition. With only a few thousand native speakers nowadays, it is predominantly used in Hindu religious ceremonies and by scholars.
- Satya
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Reality or truth. This is very important to Jains and the satya-vrata is the second of the mendicant's Five Great Vows and the lay person's Five Lesser Vows.
- Scripture
-
Set of sacred texts that believers accept as authoritative within a religion. Synonymous with canon.
- Sect
-
An organised group of believers in a religion, often distinguished from other groups within the same religious faith who have differences of doctrine or practice.
- Siddha
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An omniscient soul that has achieved mokṣa. All liberated souls live in the siddha-śilā, at the top of the universe, in perpetual bliss.
- Sūtra
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In common use it refers to any sacred text. However, strictly speaking, it means an extremely concise style of writing, as illustrated in the Tattvārtha-sūtra, or a verse.
- Tapas
-
Austerity or asceticism in general. A tapas is an act of austerity or self-discipline that produces bodily heat – tapas – that burns up karma. Austerities may be internal – mental – or external – physical. Both lay and mendicant Jains practise austerities. Fasting is the most common external austerity for lay people these days.
- Tattva
-
'Reality’, defined in the seven principles that form the basis of the Jain system of thought:
- jīva – sentient entities
- ajīva – non-sentient entities
- āsrava – influx of karma into the soul
- bandha – bonding of karma with the soul
- saṃvara – stopping the inflow of karma
- nirjarā – progressive elimination of karma
- mokṣa – liberation.
This list comes to nine items when good action – puṇya – and bad action – pāpa – are counted separately. One who has reached right insight – samyag-darśana – believes the tattvas as an item of faith.
- Tīrtha
-
A place that has become sacred owing to its connection with a Jina or another holy figure. It becomes a place of pilgrimage because one of the auspicious events of his life took place there. In another meaning the word refers to the Jain community of monks, nuns, lay men and lay women, or can be used for a mendicant, viewed as a ‘walking tīrtha'.
- Vrata
-
Vows are extremely important in Jain religious life. Mendicants take the compulsory Five Great Vows – mahā-vratas – as part of their initiation – dīkṣā.
Lay people can choose to take 12 vows, which are divided into:
- aṇu-vratas – 'Five Lesser Vows'
- guṇa-vratas – three supplementary vows
- śikṣā-vratas – four vows of spiritual discipline
All of these vows are lifelong and cannot be taken back. The sallekhana-vrata is a supplementary vow to fast to death, open to both ascetics and householders.