Jainism Essay

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Jainism is an ancient religion from India that believes that the way to liberation is to live a life of harmlessness. It is a religion of self-help; there are no gods or spiritual beings that will help people. Most Jains live in India and England. The aim of Jain life is to achieve liberation of the soul. Jains believe that animals, plants, and humans all have living souls, and that each of these souls is considered of equal value and should be treated with respect and compassion. People who practice Jainism are very strict vegetarians. There are three guiding principles of Jainism which are right belief, right knowledge, and right conduct. Fasting is very common in Jain spirituality. They fast during special times during the year such as festival and holy days and is done by Jain women more than Jain men. They sometimes even fast for months at a time; some even fast till death. This is known to be different from suicide; the intention is to purify the body, and remove all thought of physical things from the mind. Pilgrimage plays an important role in Jain life. One of the most famou...

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