Kenji Watanabe, "Jainism: Non-Possession, Non-Violence, Non-Killing: Its Doctrines and Real Life" Summary and Comments - A recommended commentary with interesting comparisons to Buddhism!
I would like to introduce "Jainism: Non-Possession, Non-Violence, Non-Killing: Its Doctrines and Real Life" by Kenji Watanabe, published by Ronsosha in 2005.
Let's take a quick look at the book.
Do not kill living things. Do not speak falsehood. Do not take what cannot be given. Do not commit lewd acts. (5) Do not possess anything (do not be attached to anything)-these are the starting point of the Five Precepts to be observed by ordained practitioners. It is through religious suffering that one can attain liberation. This strict precepts have not been practiced outside of India, unlike Buddhism, but they have had a strong influence on Indian culture and economy for about 250 years, and even today there are 23 million faithful believers in Jainism, the ultimate peaceful religious group, which is named after the word "victor. This is the first book to provide a complete picture of Jainism, the ultimate peaceful religious group with over 230,000 faithful followers.
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Jainism has so much in common with Buddhism that it is considered a sister religion. In the Introduction, it is stated that
Jainism is a religion with an ancient history that originated in India around the 5th-6th century B.C. and still retains life today. It was organized as an anti-Brahmanist movement in the 5th-6th century B.C. under a man called Mahavira, who is said to be the last of the 24 Jinnas (meaning "the vanquished" in samsara), and has been an ongoing religious movement in India ever since. The period and region of India in the 5th-6th century B.C. refers to the same period and the same region where Gautama Buddha (Sakyamuni), the founder of Buddhism, was active.
The so-called founder of Jainism was a man named Mahavira. The term "so-called" is actually more appropriate for a reformer, since a pioneer named Parsa is recognized. His teachings are especially known for his vow not to harm or kill any living creature. He preached the annihilation of karma and the salvation of the individual. Knowledge of the scriptures, belief in the doctrines, and the ethical practice of ahimsa and ahimsā are the most important aspects of Jainism.
There are two paths open to believers. One is as an ascetic who practices, begs, and teaches, and the other is as a devout layman. This teaching of non-killing is a major factor that characterizes Jainism and continues to attract our attention to this indigenous Indian religion.
It is often brought up when discussing Jainism, but it is reported that when Indology began in the West, that is, when countries other than India began to become aware of India, scholars at first considered Jainism to be a branch of Buddhism. Buddhism and Jainism were so similar that it was difficult for foreigners to distinguish between them. It is not without reason that they are called sister religions or twin religions.
Although research has shown that there are significant differences between the two, and that Jainism and Buddhism are different and distinct religions, they still provide very good comparisons to each other, since they both occurred at the same time and in the same region of India. For example, the conception of life as suffering, reincarnation, karma, and past Buddhism, as well as liberation, nirvana, and the precepts, especially the Five Precepts, are almost identical. There is a sense of common ground between the two that is somehow shared in origin. H. Oldenberg, a Western scholar who has studied Buddhism in great detail, said, "If we read the Jain scriptures, each time we read them, we feel as if we were listening to a Buddhist.
I believe that Buddhism and Jainism can be likened to two people who spent their childhoods in the same land, and when they grew up and became adults, they found that they retained a common memory, although their current positions and status are different. This common memory is preserved in the primitive Buddhist scriptures in the case of Buddhism, and in the argamas in the case of Jainism, and has been handed down as parallel passages in the scriptures of both religions.
Ronsosha, Kenji Watanabe, Jainism: Non-Possession, Non-Violence, Non-Killing: Its Doctrine and Real Life, p. 15-17.
This book provides an easy-to-understand introduction to the basic tenets of Jainism and the background of its formation.
I especially appreciated the book's detailed knowledge of the Six Master Exoteric Traditions as the background from which Jainism emerged.
The Six Teachers of the Exoteric Tradition are Indian thinkers who were contemporaries of the Buddha from the Buddhist side. One of these would be Mahavira, the founder of Jainism (called Niganta Namaputta in Buddhism).
The thinkers of the Six Masters and the Way of the Buddha are also very important in learning about the period in which the Buddha lived. After all, Buddhism and Jainism were born in the same cultural background at the same time and share many similarities in their formation process.
I highly recommend this book to learn what Jainism is all about along with this historical background.
It was a very readable introduction to Jainism and a welcome reference work on Buddhism.
This is "Jainism: Non-Possession, Non-Violence, Non-Killing: Its Doctrines and Real Life" by Kenji Watanabe - A recommended commentary with interesting comparisons to Buddhism! This was "Jainism: Non-Possession, Non-Violence, Non-Killing.
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