The Jain Tradition

"Thanks and praise for our Jain brothers and sisters, for their deep respect for life and practice of nonviolence."

The faith tradition of Jina, a religious system of India, is practiced by approximately two million followers. The religion arose in the sixth century BCE as a reaction against ritualism.

The authority of the Vedas was established by a succession of 24 saints, the last of whom was Vardhamana (also known as Mahavira or Jina). Jina preached asceticism and concern for all life as a means of escaping the transmigration of souls (a result of one's past actions) and achieving nirvana.

The central value of Jainism is ahisma ("non-injury") to all living beings. Contemporary Jains are known for charitable works and their eschewal of any occupation that even remotely endangers animal life.

The Jain tradition is often acknowledged as the source of the most profound and passionate articulations of the urgency and beauty of nonviolence.