8 results for “Jain Sangha”
Mahavira was the twenty-fourth Tirthankara of the Jain tradition, not its first founder. Jain tradition places him within an older lineage that included Parshvanatha. He emphasised rigorous asceticism, non-violence, self-control and liberation from karmic bondage.
Around the sixth century BCE, the growth of states, towns, trade, crafts and new social groups coincided with major religious and philosophical questioning. Shramana traditions, including Jainism, Buddhism and the Ajivikas, developed within this wider social and intellectual transformation.
Siddhartha Gautama was a historical religious teacher associated with the Shakya community. Buddhist tradition connects his birth with Lumbini, enlightenment with Bodh Gaya, first sermon with Sarnath and Mahaparinirvana with Kushinagar. His path rejected both sensual indulgence and extreme self-mortification in favour of the Middle Way.
Not all Mahajanapadas were ruled by hereditary monarchs. While states such as Magadha and Kosala were monarchies, polities such as Vajji and Malla were associated with gana-sangha systems in which political authority was shared among elite clan members. These were not modern democracies.
The Jain path aims at freeing the soul from karmic bondage. Its core includes the Three Jewels of Right Faith, Right Knowledge and Right Conduct, rigorous non-violence, the five vows, non-attachment and the philosophical doctrine of Anekantavada.
Bimbisara and Ajatashatru played crucial roles in the early expansion of Magadha. Bimbisara conquered Anga and used diplomatic marriage alliances, while Ajatashatru continued expansion through major conflicts with Kosala and the Vajji confederacy.
By around the sixth century BCE, a number of large territorial states known as Mahajanapadas had emerged across northern India and adjoining regions. The Anguttara Nikaya preserves a famous list of sixteen. Magadha, Kosala, Vatsa and Avanti became major powers, while polities such as Vajji followed forms of gana-sangha political organisation.
Major Buddhist teachings include the Middle Way, impermanence, dukkha, not-self, dependent origination, karma, rebirth, Nirvana, ethical discipline, meditation, wisdom, loving-kindness and compassion. Buddhism analyses experience as a changing process conditioned by causes rather than as the expression of an eternal unchanging self.
