Jainism: Key Themes

Abstract

Abstract The Jains have constituted a small but highly culturally significant minority community in the Indian subcontinent for thousands of years. Probably best known for the profound commitment to an ethos of ahimsa , or nonviolence in thought, word, and deed, it is in the areas of nonviolence and ascetic practice that the Jains have had their greatest impact on the Hindu majority. Key themes and topics of ongoing scholarly debate and discussion in relation to Jainism are the question of its origins, the relationship of Jainism to Hinduism, the roles of women—especially ascetics—in the tradition, Jainism and ecology, and finally, the distinctive Jain approach to religious pluralism contained in a set of teachings called the Jain doctrines of relativity— anekantavada , nayavada , and syadvada .

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