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Jain firsts

Jain

Member
First (known) religion to advocate ahimsa, non-violence
First (major) religion to have women clergy (nuns)
First religion to have a woman messiah (former tirthankara)
First religion to advocate male-female egalitarianism
First religion to recognize all life forms have consciousness
First religion proven by science.
 
Last edited:

Straw Dog

Well-Known Member
First (known) religion to advocate ahimsa, non-violence
First (major) religion to have women clergy (nuns)
First religion to have a woman messiah (former tirthankara)
First religion to advocate male-female egalitarianism
First religion to recognize all life forms have consciousness
First religion proven by science.

Greetings!

I find Jainism to be a very interesting and beautiful dharma in many respects. I've recently been studying it and perhaps you may assist in the learning process. This is quite an impressive list, but can you expand on some of the "firsts" listed?

What do you mean that all life forms have consciousness? Would this include bacteria and other microscopic life forms? If so, what do you mean by "consciousness"?

What do you mean that it has been proven by science? In what way? In what studies? It doesn't seem to be particularly incompatible with science, but you understand the gravity of the claim. It would certainly give much credence to its teachings if it were directly supported by science.

Thanks.
 

Jain

Member
Google plants consciousness and you will find all kinds of scientific studies showing that plants and other non-animal life forms have some sort of consciousness, reactions to others and even some forms of emotion.

Perhaps "proven by science" is a little strong :D but it is close to providing "evidence" for Jain philosophy which was the first to say all life forms, even the non-animal ones have consciousness, a soul.
 

The Sum of Awe

Brought to you by the moment that spacetime began.
Would you say it is more closer to a philosophy or a religion?

Is there such thing as a non-spiritual Jain?
 

Jain

Member
Yes, there is no creator-god in Jainism so one could focus on the Great Vows, especially ahimsa.
 

Straw Dog

Well-Known Member
Google plants consciousness and you will find all kinds of scientific studies showing that plants and other non-animal life forms have some sort of consciousness, reactions to others and even some forms of emotion.

Neat. I'll check it out.

Perhaps "proven by science" is a little strong :D but it is close to providing "evidence" for Jain philosophy which was the first to say all life forms, even the non-animal ones have consciousness, a soul.

I see. It certainly seems compatible with science at least. Thanks for clarifying what is meant by 'consciousness' as the same thing as 'soul'. I thought they were different things.

Admittedly, there's much to like about Jain dharma. The non-absolutist position as a means of approaching violence in the mind is a particularly interesting notion. Jainism is one of the few religions able to admit that it might be wrong and that no single point of view is the absolute truth. Reality is perceived differently from different points of view and existence cannot be fully grasped by finite human perception. We all need each other to see the different angles and interpretations of reality. I can dig it.
 
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