World Religions

What is this mysterious philosophy which originated in the 6th century BCE, whose absolute requirement is vegetarianism, and which now commands a following of four million adherents both in its native India and diaspora communities across the globe? In his welcome new treatment of the Jain religion, Long makes an ancient tradition fully intelligible to the modern reader.

Jainism is arguably the most non-violent and austere religion in the world. Jainism: A Guide for the Perplexed is a clear and thorough account of this fascinating tradition, explaining many basic Jain values, beliefs and practices in the same way they are taught to Jains themselves, through the medium of sacred narratives.

John Cort explores the narratives by which the Jains have explained the presence of icons of Jinas that are worshiped and venerated in the hundreds of thousands of Jain temples throughout India. He provides detailed studies of the most important pro- and anti-icon narratives. Some are in the form of histories of the origins and spread of icons; others take the form of cosmological descriptions, depicting a vast universe filled with eternal Jain icons.

This book looks at the role of philosophy in Jaina tradition and its significance within the general developments in Indian philosophy. Bringing together chapters by philologists, historians and philosophers, the book focuses on karman theory, the theory of conditional predication, epistemology and the debates of Jaina philosophers with representatives of competing traditions, such as Ājīvika, Buddhist and Hindu.

This book presents a substantive yet accessible introduction to the modern thought of Jainism. It examines the life and thought of some of the most influential 19th and 20th-century Jain ascetic leaders that remain little known in the Western world.