I don't remember how I came about finding this, but I found it extremely interesting. http://www.jainspirit.com/

As someone who has never really found a religion or anything of the sort up my alley, this seems to be as close as it gets. Granted, I've only looked at this site some and read the "what is jainism?" page a bit, but I found it fascinating.

Anyone else on the board familiar with it?

Yes, I've read about Jainism. Not something I could ever do, or believe in, though.

The core principles of Jainism:

AHIMSA - PEACE

As all actions result from thought, peaceful living requires a stable, relaxed mind.


SATYA – INTEGRITY

To be true to others, it helps to be true to ourselves.


APARIGRAHA – SIMPLICITY

A life free from clutter or attachments enables us to focus on our own enlightenment and liberation.


ASTEYA – CHARITY

When we share what we have with others and avoid taking that which does not belong to us, we realise that nothing belongs to us.


SAIYAM - RESTRAINT

It helps to be masters of our senses and not slaves to them.
Restraint in our eating, actions and sleeping will cultivate a deeper peace of mind, helping us to lead a balanced and disciplined life.


ANEKANT – RESPECT

Truth has many facets and there are no absolute truths – no one right answer. Tolerance for different viewpoints and beliefs will help us to live peacefully amidst the diversity of life that surrounds us.


KSHAMA – FORGIVENESS

Blame and hatred result in violence to oneself. When we forgive, we heal ourselves (and possibly others). When we ask for forgiveness, we develop our own humility. We move forward, instead of being held back.

----

The more I read, the more I like this.

oh wow, that's kind of funny -- back in high school for some reason some of my friends called me jane (my name is jen), and there was this big joke that i had a fanclub and someone said they were all jane-ists -- and wow, there's actually something called that! spelled differently, but still... cool :D

oh wow, that's kind of funny -- back in high school for some reason some of my friends called me jane (my name is jen), and there was this big joke that i had a fanclub and someone said they were all jane-ists -- and wow, there's actually something called that! spelled differently, but still... cool :D

That's funny, you don't look like a Jen, you look a Mayuko.

:confused:

The Rev

That's funny, you don't look like a Jen, you look a Mayuko.

:confused:

The Rev

i should have been a mayuko! :sunny:

but yeah, a lot of people have said that i look asian in that av pic of me, and i see what they mean, but it's kind of funny because i am like... so white i glow in the dark :lol:

(not that i just took that thread COMPLETELY off-topic or anything *whistles*)

The core principles of Jainism:

AHIMSA - PEACE

As all actions result from thought, peaceful living requires a stable, relaxed mind.


SATYA – INTEGRITY

To be true to others, it helps to be true to ourselves.


APARIGRAHA – SIMPLICITY

A life free from clutter or attachments enables us to focus on our own enlightenment and liberation.


ASTEYA – CHARITY

When we share what we have with others and avoid taking that which does not belong to us, we realise that nothing belongs to us.


SAIYAM - RESTRAINT

It helps to be masters of our senses and not slaves to them.
Restraint in our eating, actions and sleeping will cultivate a deeper peace of mind, helping us to lead a balanced and disciplined life.


ANEKANT – RESPECT

Truth has many facets and there are no absolute truths – no one right answer. Tolerance for different viewpoints and beliefs will help us to live peacefully amidst the diversity of life that surrounds us.


KSHAMA – FORGIVENESS

Blame and hatred result in violence to oneself. When we forgive, we heal ourselves (and possibly others). When we ask for forgiveness, we develop our own humility. We move forward, instead of being held back.

----

The more I read, the more I like this.


FYI they share some of these with yoga also, if you want to start sampling them. There are others too....saucha [purity], and hey guess what: brahmacharya [celibacy]

I loved the principles of Jainism. It was good to read them.

It's very similar to Buddhism from what I remember from art history.

FYI they share some of these with yoga also, if you want to start sampling them. There are others too....saucha [purity], and hey guess what: brahmacharya [celibacy]


And I had been into yoga for a while, too. I think I'm going to take it up again.

And Buddhism was something I've always been interested in. I'm getting ready to read, for a second time, "The Dhamaphada" - very, very interesting book. I've learned a lot from it. So it seems like the Jainism is right up my alley because it does share some similar concepts with Buddhism, but is not Buddhism exactly. I really like both.

And as far as the celibacy thing, I don't have to worry about that. I've been single for almost 3 years. :lol:

And I had been into yoga for a while, too. I think I'm going to take it up again.

And Buddhism was something I've always been interested in. I'm getting ready to read, for a second time, "The Dhamaphada" - very, very interesting book. I've learned a lot from it. So it seems like the Jainism is right up my alley because it does share some similar concepts with Buddhism, but is not Buddhism exactly. I really like both.

And as far as the celibacy thing, I don't have to worry about that. I've been single for almost 3 years. :lol:

Buddhism and yoga are EXTREMELY heavily intertwined so I think you'll find your interest and research in one will feed the other, and Jainism into the bargain.

I like these concepts as they are expressed above and in the "8 limbs" of yoga, because they help me view each one as part of a constantly changing system, and over the course of your life/day/relationship/spiritual practice you will find yourself gravitating towards one or the other, working on individual concepts as you go, and seeing how they establish balance between each other. For example, many people on VeggieBoards have got ahimsa down, at least as far as animals go, but are a little short on anekant [as described above]. Now, they haven't necessarily committed to this particular path so it's sort of irrelevant but you can see how one would temper the other.

As far as brahmacharya goes, it was originally translated as celibacy, but this was at a time when the ultimate goal of yogic practice was asceticism and withdrawal from society, almost always undertaken by men. Modern Sanskrit scholars have suggested that a more appropriate translation might be the skillful handling of sexual energy, and I'll sign up for that. :shifty:

I'm somewhat familiar with Jainism. It has much to commend it, but as I understand it, there are no provisions for worshipping a Creator. Not that I believe Atheists or Agnostics are going to hell or anything- but for me, part of reverence for life is giving praise and thanks to the Creator of life, so I don't think I could get into Jainism completely.

I'm somewhat familiar with Jainism. It has much to commend it, but as I understand it, there are no provisions for worshipping a Creator. Not that I believe Atheists or Agnostics are going to hell or anything- but for me, part of reverence for life is giving praise and thanks to the Creator of life, so I don't think I could get into Jainism completely.

I didn't know that, Tom. So much for ishvara pranidhana: devotion to God. That's one of my favourites, actually...so I'm with you.

Jainism is obviously a very difficult spirituality to live.