Year of Faith

About two weeks ago Sara and I went to see a member of the Jain Center of British Columbia. His name is A.K. Jain, and he runs a shop called Jain Jewellers, which is where we met to discuss Jainism.

First off there are, in fact, restrictions against garlic and onions, mainly because of their offensive smell. In fact anything that has fermented is not allowed to be consumed in Jainism- mostly because of the offensive odor. This makes sense for a religion coming out of India- large quantaties of people and hot weather would only enhance the more unpleasant aspects of these foods. Despite this heavily contextualized rule of behaviour, it appears that we will continue to do without.

Mr. Jain was very accomodating, leaving us occasionally and apologetically to handle customers that came into the store, those searching for last minute gifts for their Valentines. He had an easy and comfortable smile, and as he insisted on giving his cutomers generous discounts, and wrapping their purchases, I got the impression that this was a man who took to heart the principles of ahimsa and aparigraha.

The Jain Center of BC has a somewhat misleading name, as there exists no physical center. It is actually a community of around sixty Jain families, living in the Lower Mainland, with members who practice and take part in the religion to varying degrees. They meet during important holy days, such as Diwali or Mahavira’s birthday, at a Hindu temple in Burnaby.

He began with a basic introduction to Jainism, making sure we were all on the same page, and filling in gaps in what we understood of the Jain philosophy.

“We do not believe in God,” he said, “but we do believe in being able to achieve Godly things.” Through knowing yourself, through devotion to your soul, and by suppressing your material desires, you can reach a state (through moksha) of omniscience that the western religions would describe as belonging to God alone. Jains do not believe in any creator god, for why would you worhsip something external, when you have all the potential for being a god within yourself?

This is why Mr. Jain said that the karmic philosophy is surperior to that of a ‘creator’ philosophy. Karmic philosophy helps us by showing how to be greater than what we are. Within Jainism there are no priests, no spiritual bureaucracy between them and enlightenment. All that is required are scripture and the individual Jain that wishes to attain something more than this life. Jainism is focused on the individual, in personal reflection of the sacred texts and of the central vows.

In contrast, Mr. Jain said, the creator philosophy focuses on an outside, impersonal diety that is philosophically problematic and unhelpful in our daily lives. Jains pray not to an external God, but through their tirthankars toward themselves. They acknowledge that the spiritual teachers that lead up the the foundation of Jainism, the tirthankars, reached a state of perfect personhood, and that they were no different from us. The potential resides within each of us to be the same as them, and so by acknowledging their achievement, they hope to get the strength and inspiration to lead the same example. Jainism urges you to pray to yourself, to opther like you in order to help yourself, rather than praying to a God that you cannot see or rely on.

Aside from these philosophical points, he gave us some much needed insight into the pracitcal aspects of Jainism. For example, there are some days of the year which are set aside for very strict diet. As Jains see ajiva in all living things, and thus have respect for all forms of life, they abstain from eating anything but grain, in order to give a breif respite to the vegetables they usually subsist on.

Around 52% of the Indian economy is made up of Jains. They are very businesslike as they must avoid any profession that involves killing or cruelty to animals. Many Jains become treasury ministers because of their vow of satya, assuring that they will always, ideally, be truthful.

There is also an apparently shady and bloody history between Jainism and Hinduism. As they both grew within India, Jainism was seen by the priest class of Hinduism as a potential threat. Jainism posits no hierarchy, priest class, or any need for a religious external authority other than the self. In contrast with the powerful brahmins of Hinduism, this philosophy could easily have usurped their position at the head of the community. Thus the Jains were persecuted and were forced to go underground. Many of their traditions and holy days were absorbed into the Hindu faith, according to Mr. Jain, even Diwali.

Our curiousity was mainly about how to treat the five vows. We understood them in and of themselves, but there seem to be some gray areas that we were unsure of. For example, if Jains believe in both non-violence and being truthful, how does this relate to joking and humor. Jokes tend to be either untruthful or unintentionally hurtful, so would Jains be adverse to this kind of humor? Mr. Jain answered our concerns in one word- degrees.

As I noted, there are no priests/priestesses, monks/nuns, etc. within Jainism. The only difference seems to be between the laity and what Mr. Jain called saints. Saints are those Jains that adhere strictly and fully to the religion of Jainism. These are the ones who will be dressed constantly in white (or in nothing at all), who will strain their water, sweep their paths, and wear masks outdoors. They choose to be so zealous because they wish to attain moksha, and be free of their karma, and strict adherence to the five vows of Jainism is their way to accomplish this. The laity however, though respecting and practicing Jainism, either do not wish to attain moksha, or are unable to.

The laity have a homelife, they have responsibilities and cannot easily seperate themselves from their society in order to hunt moksha. Instead, they realize the importance of the five vows, but do not adhere to them strictly. They do not try to be saints, they simply try to spread good karma so that when they die, their souls will be lifted into one of the levels of heaven. The level depends on your karma, and your time there will be limited, though presumably blissful. After this time, again depending on your karma, yor soul will be relocated into another body. The only freedom from this is to become a saint and attain moksha. As long as you are being a good person, you are being a good Jain, and no one is expecting you to be perfect if you do not wish to be a saint.

I think both Sara and I were breathing a bit easier after this meeting. We were all being hard on ourselves for not adhereing to all our religious duties. But it became apparent after our conversation with Mr. Jain that unless we were shooting to be perfect saints, we weren’t doing too badly. We had more questions to ask of him, but we simply ran out of time and couldn’t cover them all.

I hope to meet with him again in the future, probably after this month has concluded. He recommended a very promising book on Jainism that I was too poor at the time to afford. If you are curious I encourage you to check it out.

For approximately thirty minutes last night I was able to meditate successfully. No, I did not achieve moksha, but I did gain some insight and I actually felt quite…different.

My previous attempts at meditation this month have all been rather frustrated. I have usually been unable to focus my mind, or have been too distracted by physical pains or other worries.

Tonight was different, I felt calm and confident as I sat on the floor, lower back propped up against the couch for support. Legs folded, hands crossed, eyes closed, mind blanking. As various itches, pains and worries cropped up I focused on them until they disappeared.

Eventually I became aware that the lower half of my body was slowly falling asleep, but I ignored the pesky sensory perceptions and focused on my thoughts. This had happened before, so I wasn’t worried. But then as I returned my focus to my breathing, I realized it had become so shallow that it was almost imperceptible. It felt as if no air was passing through my nose, and I was aware only of the rising and falling of my chest. This hadn’t happened before, I was excited.

Next, I began getting strange sensations, like there were no divisions between my mind and my body. Now I have been told about the psychology of meditation, and so I was actually prepared for this next new development. Meditation can apparently alter your state of consciousness to make it appear like your mind is the only thing that is, and that everything else has just melted away.

Now I wasn’t reaching “oneness with allthatness”, but I suspect I had very brief glimpses of a state that was similar to that. In other words, a very large stretch from the Form of Meditation, but at least I am on the right track.

Anyway, during this period of reflection I think I gained insight as to why Jains and other spiritual practitioners, as well as some philosophers, have been so adamant about withdrawing from the senses and from the material world. In that state of mind, all that exists are your thoughts, and you are free to wander between them so long as you can maintain your focus. It is a state of peace and calm that removes all your previous worries and afflictions. Though I was still conscious of my body’s discomfort, if I focused on it, my pain and my body ceased to be an issue. I can now appreciate the difference that is being stressed on jiva and ajiva, mind and body.

As I began meditating I wondered about the nature of separating oneself from material pleasures. I could see the significance in relation to my own life, as entertainment and material wants took up valuable time, time that could be spent in contemplation and reflection. But a life without material pleasures, especially relationships, seemed to me to be devoid of happiness. Sure I could be a hermit and develop insights into philosophy and the self, but at the cost of my own personal well being.

But later on, as I began to understand what all this meditating business was about; I saw the real reason for this abstinence was that the external world not only takes up time, but it intrudes. It makes you lose focus of what is really important- the fulfillment of the self. You, substituted from all things material, that essential jiva inside the case of meat. This calm, peaceful bit of potential within all of us that is desperate to be free. That is what the Jain saints strive for by following their five vows unerringly- realization of the self through denial of all else.

I stopped, quite frankly, because I had begun to drool on myself. One must make note to keep ones mouth closed whilst deep in thought. Afterwards my legs hurt and my head ached. I have not completely ruled out the possibility that because of my shallow breathing my brain was not getting enough oxygen, and hence I was actually on the verge of losing consciousness rather than on the verge of enlightenment. I have never actually lost consciousness this way before, so I don’t know. It is the morning after now and my head still hurts, though this may be unrelated.

It was really nice to finally get some results. It will certainly motivate me to meditate more often. My prayers today will have an added kick of genuine belief.

The Blind Men and the Elephant

By John Godfrey Saxe

It was six men of Indostan
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant
(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind

The First approached the Elephant,
And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
At once began to bawl:
“God bless me! but the Elephant
Is very like a wall!”

The Second, feeling of the tusk,
Cried, “Ho! what have we here
So very round and smooth and sharp?
To me ’tis mighty clear
This wonder of an Elephant
Is very like a spear!”

The Third approached the animal,
And happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
Thus boldly up and spake:
“I see,” quoth he, “the Elephant
Is very like a snake!”

The Fourth reached out an eager hand,
And felt about the knee.
“What most this wondrous beast is like
Is mighty plain,” quoth he;
“ ‘Tis clear enough the Elephant
Is very like a tree!”

The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,
Said: “E’en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most;
Deny the fact who can
This marvel of an Elephant
Is very like a fan!”

The Sixth no sooner had begun
About the beast to grope,
Than, seizing on the swinging tail
That fell within his scope,
“I see,” quoth he, “the Elephant
Is very like a rope!”

And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right,
And all were in the wrong!

Moral:

So oft in theologic wars,
The disputants, I ween,
Rail on in utter ignorance
Of what each other mean,
And prate about an Elephant
Not one of them has seen!

This poem describes one of the more important aspects of the Jain religion- Anekantavada, or non-absolutism. Actually it has some shortcomings, as a Jain would not say that all the blind men were partly right but all wrong. Rather they were all partly right and partly wrong. Also it is not so much that we “prate about an Elephant not one of them has seen,” but that we only see certain parts of the elephant, and therefore attain certain aspects of the truth, but none of us have know the whole thing.

Part of the Jain philosophy is acknowledging that any substance or any idea can be viewed from different yet equally valid standpoints. As the founder of Jainism, Mahavira observed, something can be said to exist, to not exist, or to be indescribable. Everything can be described with a combination of these three predicates. For example a bucket can be blue, existing as blue, and therefore not existing as white. Therefore all things are infinitely describable of existing in some ways, while not existing in others, and being in some ways indescribable. The only misleading thing one can say about an idea or substance is that it does exist or that it must exist, to the exclusion of all other possibilities. Jainism sees dogmatism as something to be avoided, and shies away from absolute statements. Since there are many ways to see the elephant, it makes no sense to claim that one way, and only one way, is the truth.

Critics have been quick to point out one seemingly inescapable consequence of this relativist view- that a philosophy that posits the truth of every point of view cannot be absolutely true itself. Jain relativism seems self defeating, it has a dogmatic view against dogmaticism.

But to this I would reply that Jains don’t take anekantavada dogmatically. They are open to refutation and every Jain is urged to consider and meditate on the main principles of their religion; not only for their personal, spiritual growth, but to ensure that they understand and agree with them. The Jains seem to remember those simple words that many religions often forget- “We could be wrong.”

Many religions fake this kind of relativistic approach. I once talked with some Catholics about their view on Christianity. Although they said that there are many ways to be virtuous and spiritual, whether you are Buddhist, Shinto, Hinu, or Jain, you will wind up in Heaven, judged by God and His Son. Jainism not only sees every view as appropriate and correct, but in the Navkar Mantra, the basic prayer of Jainism, they are called to bow to every congregation and every spiritual practitioner.

The Year of Faith could also be well illustrated by Saxe’s poem. It is as if we are switching between the perspectives of each blind man as they try to discover the nature of the elephant. Through each set of hands we get a different taste of how thousands, even millions, of people see the world. At the end of this Year I am certain we will all be more tolerant of other people’s perspectives, and it is reassuring to see it stated so explicitly in a system of belief often seen as ignorant and blind. I will be sure to remember the importance of anekantavada as I leave Jainism behind.

I pretty much failed at being a Discordian.

I appreciated the philosophy behind it all, and found many of the points to be rather charming and close to the Truth. The problem is that I have strong impulse control, so no matter how many discordian ideas I had, I never had the guts to carry them out. No matter how many times I wanted to dance down the sidewalk, to strike up a random conversation, or to shout randomly from soapboxes, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. I was too shy, too concerned with looking silly.

I try not to take life too seriously, and I am certainly not a bearaucratic cubicle dweller, so a lot of Discordianisms finer points had already been incorporated into my life. But I could not see life simply enough that it was all fun and games; my childlike imagination was bounded up by my useless trepidations.

But now, Eris and the Philosophers, as you were promised. (more…)

Jainism, as I have been introduced to it, appears to have a lot of rules. The ones I plan to abide by this month are based on the Twelve Vows of Layperson. Here’s how I intend to interpret them:

1. Veganism (with additional restrictions)
2. Ahimsa - Nonviolence in thought, word and deed
3. Truthfulness
4. Limiting possession and use of worldly goods
5. Daily prayer, meditation, and/or study of religious texts

You’ll notice I left chastity out, despite it being one of the five major vows of Jainism. The suggestion was vetoed by my significant other, leaving me again with a dilemma between my temporary faith and my not-so-temporary real life. Real life has won this round, unless I can argue that a month really isn’t all that long, nevermind the number of religions that will have similar requirements this year.

And now, to elaborate on my choices (more…)

Jainism is certainly more complex and in-depth than Discordianism, so in this intro. I want to be able to just outline the basics, going into greater detail in later articles. Jain Dharma has been with us since the 6th century BCE, founded in India through the teachings of Mahavira. There is plenty of history to discuss, as well as a significant influence on the religious and cultural ideas that have since developed in India (most notably- Buddhism). So put that drumstick down and pay attention.

Let us start with something simple…

(more…)

I am no longer Discordian, so this summary will not be in the form of interpretive dance. I’m sure you are all very disappointed.

In brief: January was a frustrating month for my budding spirituality—I don’t think I’m cut out to be a Discordian.

A religion based on disorder ought to be easy; any random thing you do can be correct. There are few rules, and even those are broken with encouragement. Eat hot dogs once a week, do silly things in public? Piece of cake.

Except when I’ve just spent several hours entering transactions into new accounting software, so I’ll have all my finances in—oops—order. Or when I plan out bus routes so I can get all my errands done in the most efficient manner. A month supposedly spent worshiping a Goddess of Chao is probably a bad time to start learning effective time management, financial planning, and home storage solutions.

Or perhaps not. As Michael said in his Discordian overview, the philosophy is about the freedom to do what you want, and not being constrained by other people’s opinions. As I was a pretty free spirit to start with, it makes sense that my habits wouldn’t need to change much. It still feels like I was missing out on the spirit of Discordia by not being more random, but really, how chaotic can you be when you have to plan it?

Another limiting factor was the fact that my life goes on after I’m done fomenting discord. I considered it a bad idea to rock the boat in terms of my job, my bills, my apartment. The financial organizing may not have been particularly discordant, but it is going to affect my life for much longer than a month. That seems to be the major pitfall to our religion-a-month club: some changes are easier to make because you know you won’t have to stick with them (veganism and celibacy come to mind), but others are hard to justify without a sincere leap of faith.

For now, I will be leaping to the next faith, and seeing if a surfeit of rules suits me better than none.