Jainism Notes

Name Date 12-17-12
Homework AP World

Homework: Read from 218, starting with “Jainism” through 222 to answer the following questions.

1. According to legend, how did Mahavira start Jainism? A. According to legend, Mahavira started Jainism by leaving his home at the age of thirty to seek salvation by escaping from the cycle of incarnation, he lived an ascetic life in the Ganges Valley in which he achieved enlightenment, and he then taught an ascetic doctrine of detachment from the world, to followers who were called Jains, thus starting Jainism.

2. What was an ascetic? A. An ascetic was a person who abandons all materialistic items of the world and almost detaches them from the rest of the world, while living a simple life and denies him or herself of material satisfaction generally abandoning material even items such as clothes which most people would consider a necessity.

3. What do Jains believe? A. Jains believed that everything in the universe whether humans, plants, the air, bodies of water or inanimate objects such as rocks possessed a soul. As long as they remained trapped in an earthly body, the souls experienced both physical and psychological suffering. They also believed that only by purification from selfish behavior could souls gain release from their imprisonment and she the burdens of karma that they had accumulated during their various incarnation and attain a state of bliss.

4. Who did this philosophy appeal to? Why? A. This philosophy appealed to people of the lower castes including merchants, scholars, and literary figures. The reason for this is because Jains felt if all creatures possessed souls and participated in the ultimate reality of the world, there was little reason for social distinctions among human beings and people who did not command much respect in the traditional social order drew attracted to this philosophy.

5. How did Siddhartha transform his life? A. Siddhartha transformed his life by leaving his wife, family, and the comforts of home to lead the existence of a holy man. He decided to take up an ascetic lifestyle in the Ganges Valley.

6. What was Siddhartha searching for? A. Siddhartha was searching for spiritual enlightenment and an explanation for suffering. He sought this by at first by means of intense meditation and later through the rigors of extreme asceticism. Neither satisfied him and one day he sat by a tree meditating for forty nine days ignoring any demons that tempted him and eventually received enlightenment and he understood both the problem of suffering and the means by which humans could eliminate it from the world Thus making him the Buddha.

7. When did Buddhism officially begin? A. Buddhism officially began about 526 B.C.E. at the Deer Park of Sarnath which was near the Buddhist holy city of Banaras. In a sermon delivered to friends who had formerly been his companions in asceticism. This is referred to as the “Turning of the Wheel of the Law”, because it represented the beginning of the Buddha’s quest to promulgate the law of righteousness.

8. What were the Buddha’s teachings? A. The core of Buddha’s teachings included the Four Noble Truths. These were that all life involves suffering; desire is the cause of suffering; that elimination of desire brings an end to suffering; and that a disciplined life conducted in accordance with the Noble Eightfold Path brings the elimination of desire. The Noble Eightfold Path calls for individuals to lead balanced and moderate lives, rejecting both the devotion to luxury often found in human society and the regimes of extreme asceticism favored by hermits and Jains. This also demands right beliefs, right resolve, right speech, right behavior, right occupation, right effort, right contemplation, and right meditation.

9. How were Buddhists similar to the Jains? A. Buddhists were similar to the Jains because they both sought to escape the cycle of incarnation without depending on the services of the Brahmins. They both did not recognize social distinctions based on caste or jati. Both their messages appealed strongly to members of lower castes.

10. Who did Buddhism appeal to? A. Buddhism appealed to members of the lower castes. Also they spoke in a favor of vernacular tongues that reached a much larger popular audience. Also Buddhism appealed to people who wish to live by means of virtue, benevolence, and humanity rather than arms which were also the reasons Ashoka converted in his own account.

11. Why did Buddhism become very popular? A. Buddhism became very popular because they spoke to a large group of audience due to the fact they spoke in native tongue also monks who traveled on foot preached the Buddha’s doctrine. Also the organization of the Buddhist movement helped Buddhism become very popular. Also they benefitted from the official patronage and support of the Mauryan dynasty.

12. How did Ashoka work to spread Buddhism in India? A. Ashoka worked to spread Buddhism in India by awarding Buddhists with grants of land and encouraged them to spread Buddhism throughout India. He built monasteries and stupas and made pilgrimages to the holy sites of Buddhism. Ashoka also sent missionaries to Bactria and Ceylon thus inaugurating a process by which Buddhism attracted large followings throughout Asia.