Jainism

Question 1

ajiva

Answer 1

Nonsoul, nonconsciousness;
also referred to as “matter” or “karma.”

Question 2

anuvratas

Answer 2

Five vows modeled on the
great vows of the renouncers (nonviolence, truthfulness, nonstealing, nonattachment, chastity) but modified to
make them practicable in lay life.

Question 3

Arhat

Answer 3

A perfected, omniscient being
(male or female) who teaches the Jaina
dharma while embodied in the world
and who upon death will attain moksha.
All the Jinas were called Arhats during
their final incarnation on earth.

Question 4

caturvidhyasangha

Answer 4

(“Fourfold community”) The community consisting of
monks, nuns, lay men, and lay women

Question 5

chakravartin

Answer 5

Universal monarch; one
who governs the world ethically.

Question 6

Digambaras

Answer 6

Early Jaina sect with its
own sacred scriptures; identified by
male mendicants’ practice of nudity

Question 7

gunasthanas

Answer 7

Stages or steps of spiritual progress, numbering 14 in all.

Question 8

Jina

Answer 8

(“Conqueror”) An epithet for the
24 ascetic prophets who conquered
the world of desire and suffering and
taught the path to eternal happiness;
alternatively called Tirthankara.

Question 9

jiva

Answer 9

Eternal soul/consciousness; all
living beings are endowed with jiva.

Question 10

Mahavira

Answer 10

a (“Great Hero”) Epithet of the twenty-fourth and final Jina of the present time cycle, born Vardhamana Jnatrpura in the sixth century BCE.

Question 11

Mahavira Jayanti

Answer 11

A joyous spring festival celebrating the birth of Mahavira

Question 12

mahavratas

Answer 12

The five “great vows”
adopted by renouncers: absolute nonviolence, truthfulness, nonstealing,
nonattachment, and celibacy

Question 13

mendicants

Answer 13

Jaina men and women
who renounce all worldly attachments
to seek self-realization (and eventually
moksha) by pursuing the difficult path
of detachment and nonviolence. Male
mendicants (monks) are called sadhus
or munis, and female mendicants
(nuns) are called sadhvis

Question 14

moksha

Answer 14

The ultimate goal of the Jaina
path: release from the cycle of birth
and death; nirvana.

Question 15

Namokar Mantra

Answer 15

The central prayer
in Jainism.

Question 16

paap

Answer 16

Karmic particles of an inauspicious nature (“bad karma”)

Question 17

pratikramana

Answer 17

Ritual practice of repentance.

Question 18

punya

Answer 18

Karmic particles of an auspicious nature (“good karma”).

Question 19

renunciation

Answer 19

The Jaina ideal: the giving
up of all worldly attachments (family,
friends, wealth, pride, etc.) in order to
pursue the path of detachment and nonviolence. Though a powerful ideal for all
Jainas, it is practiced fully only by mendicants; also referred to as shramanism.

Question 20

Rsabha

Answer 20

The first Tirthankara of the
current time cycle; also called Adinath.

Question 21

sallekhana

Answer 21

A ritual fast to death undertaken voluntarily, usually in old
age or illness

Question 21

samsara

Answer 21

The endless cycle of rebirth
from which Jains seek release

Question 22

samayika

Answer 22

A desired state of equanimity; ritual practice of meditation.

Question 23

samyak darshan

Answer 23

Right vision, faith,
or intuition into the basic truth of the cosmos; spiritual growth depends on
the attainment of samyak darshan.

Question 24

siddha loka

Answer 24

Final abode of the liberated jiva

Question 25

shramana

Answer 25

A renouncer; one who
has given up worldly attachments to
pursue spiritual release.

Question 26

Svetambara

Answer 26

One of the two early sectarian nodes within Jainism; mendicants wear simple white robes. Women can also find enlightenment. They also have 6 groups of canonical texts and don’t belief in the transhuman state of Mahavira. Rahter after his enlightenment he was still under the people. Enlightenment dpes not mean that the mendicant doesn’t need food or drinks

Question 27

Tatthvartha Sutra

Answer 27

An important philosophical text accepted by all Jaina
sects, composed by Umasvati in the
second century CE.

Question 28

Tirthankara

Answer 28

(“Ford maker”) Epithet
for the 24 Jinas who, through their
teachings, created a ford across the
ocean of samsara

Question 29

upvas

Answer 29

(“To be near the soul”) A term
used to denote ritual fasting.

Question 30

Three Jewels

Answer 30

• samyak darshan (right vision)
• samyak jnana (right knowledge)
• samyak caritra (right behaviour)

These three are meant to be pursued in order to be enlightened