Jainism and Mahavira

ජෛන ආගම, මහාවීර හා සමකල ගෞතම බුදු රජාණන් වහන්සේ

Jainism
Jainism, traditionally known as Jaina dharma, is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. It is one of the oldest religions of the world finding its roots in ancient India. Tradition says that this belief has been preached by a succession of twenty-four propagators of faith known as tirthankara. Jainism emphasises spiritual independence and equality between all forms of life. Practitioners of this religion believe that non-violence and self-control is the means by which they can obtain liberation from the cycle of reincarnations. Jainism is a religious minority in India, with 4.2 million followers, and has adherents in immigrant communities in Belgium, the United States, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore. Jains have the highest degree of literacy for a religious community in India, and their manuscript libraries are the oldest in the country.
Mahavira
 Mahāvīra (pronounced [məɦaːʋiːr]) is the name most commonly used to refer to the Indian sage Vardhamāna (Sanskrit: वर्धमान; traditionally 599–527 BCE[1]) who established what are today the central tenets of Jainism. According to Jain tradition, he was the 24th and the last Tirthankara. In Tamil, he is referred to as Arukaṉ or Arukadevan. He is also known in texts as Vira or Viraprabhu, Sanmati, Ativira,and Gnatputra. In the Buddhist Pali, he is referred to as Nigantha Nātaputta and Gyatra Putta. Mahavira thought that men and women who wished to know the truth must leave their homes and follow the rules of ahimsa which means not hurting or killing living beings.



(Source-Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia).

{The English translation of 'දඹදිව උරුමය හෙළයාටයි' 
(The people in Sri Lanka only can claim the heritage of Dambadiva)} Part XI

0 comments:

Post a Comment