Federation of Jain Associations in North America
JAINA Education Committee
Jain eLibrary
The original workshop announcement is copied at the end of the list of presentations in case if you need more details of the workshop and how to register for the workshop.
Workshop Topics and Descriptions
Fundamental Religious Concepts in Jainism and Six Universal Substances:
- Aim of Jainism, Basic assumptions used to derive Jain principles, Differences between Morality and Spirituality.
- Concepts of God (Arihant, Siddha, Tirthankar, Jina, Nirgranth) Soul, Karma, Universe, and Liberation
- Concept of Dravya (Substance) and its characteristics of Utpad (Origination), Vyaya (Destruction), and Dhruva (Permanence)
- Six Universal Substances - Living being, Matter, Space, Dharma, Adharma, and Time
Philosophy of Karma and 7 or 9 Tattvas:
- Basic explanation of seven/nine Tattvas or principles
- What is Karma? How do we acquire them? How the Karma get separated from soul
- Understanding of the Relationship between Soul and Karma - Beginning, Continuation, and the Ending.
- How can we put an effort to remove karma before they produce result (Sakam Nirjara)?
Application of Jain Karma Philosophy in Daily Life
- Jain karma philosophy is an inherently spiritual in nature, however, this aspect of Jain thought is often misconstrued in a dogmatic fashion. When some-one suffers, some Jains think that;
o It is due to his bad karma and let him complete the suffering otherwise he will have to suffer in future again to complete his karma.
o We should not involve in compassion and charity related work because if a person commits any sin because of our help, we will acquire bad karma and we will have to suffer.
o We should help only those who are Jains and following only Jain principles of our sect otherwise we will acquire bad karma.
- This type of interpretations results discrediting Jain Religion.
- This presentation reviews the basic concept of Jain Karma philosophy and provides the proper role and purpose of Karma philosophy in day to day living. It explains - How Karma rewards or punishes an individual
Concept of Punya and Pap Karma
- Definition of Punya and Päp karma. Relationship between Ghati/Aghati karma and Punya/Pap karma
- How Punya karma helps to attain liberation and why they are not hindrance to attain Vitag state, Keval-Jnan state, and ultimately liberation.
- While performing the pious activities of Punya karma, how do we acquire Pap karma along with Punya karma,
- What are the ways we can stop acquiring Pap karma during our pious activities.
Who governs the Events of the life and of the Universe: -
Karma, Free-will or are they Predestined?
- There exists significant misconception in understanding the Jain philosophy of Karma, Free-will or Determination or effort, and Predestination.
- Also, some Jains believe that every event is predestined in our life and in the universe. There is no role of Free-will or Free-will is also predestined.
- The presentation will discuss the proper role of Karma, Free-will, and Predestination in explaining the happenings of any events in our life and in the universe.
Ø Does Jainism believe that we can make our future with our determination (free-will)?
Ø Does Jainism believe that all future events in the universe are Predestined?
Ø If this is true, how and where does the compassion fit into Jain Philosophy?
Path of Liberation:
- Definition of Jain trinity; Samyak Darshan (right faith), Samyak Jnan (right knowledge), and Samyak Charitra (right conduct)
- Some misconception of Samyak Darshan. How do we differentiate between ordinary Jnan (Knowledge) and Samyak Jnan?
- Jain Conduct includes, Five great vows of an ascetic, Twelve vows of a layperson, Five Samitis and Three Guptis, Ten Yati Dharma (Religious Observances), Twelve Bhavnas (Reflections), Twelve penances for the removal of past Karmas etc.
- What is the proper way to practice Samyak Charitra.
Fourteen Gunsthanak (Spiritual Stages):
- Concept of Spiritual Stages
- Explanation of fourteen spiritual stages; Bahiratma, Antaratma, and Paramatma stages
- Definition of Mithyatva and Samyaktva
- Understanding of Upasam, Kshyopsham and Kshayik Kshapak shreni (ladders)
- Rise and fall back from various stages
Jain Diet and Food - Holistic Approach to Spirituality, Non-violence, Health and Ecology
- What does Jain food mean? Is it a vegetarian food that contains no root vegetables? Why is food given so much importance in Jain household and in religion conduct? Is Jainism a Kitchen religion? Do our Jain scriptures define such narrow definition of Jain religious practice?
- The presentation investigates the Jain diet definition using the holistic approach of Spirituality, Ahimsa, Compassion, Self-restrain, health and the protection of Environment from Jain literature.
- It defines the criteria of Jain diet and concludes that Jain diet if practiced properly is an ideal as well as practical diet that helps to progress spiritually, makes us healthy and maintains an eco-friendly our environment.
Understanding Jain Way of Life
- We do everything that our spiritual leaders tell us to do and yet we find ourselves spiritually empty, frustrated and unfulfilled?
- Do we have a deep sense that there is so much more purpose to our life - rather than doing the same old thing, day in and day out?
- Have we separated our spiritual life from our daily life because we don’t know how to bring them together?
- Have we buried our true self within our external circumstances and rituals because we don’t know how they fit in our life?
- We will explore Jain way of life as a path to our spiritual journey. This will not be an “on-the-surface” discussion. We will be digging deep, challenging ourselves/our limiting beliefs and exploring new possibilities. Regardless of your current level of understanding, you are bound to walk away with a new expanded view.
Jain Universe (Jain Geography):
- Jain literature has described in detail the structure and functions of the universe. However, the present knowledge of universe significantly differs than that described in the literature.
- Our ancient scriptures and literature indicate that the Earth is flat, not moving, and it is the center of the universe. The Sun is closer to the Earth than the Moon.
- The presentation will summarize the Jain literature version of the universe and provide comparison with the present understanding of the universe.
- Finally, a discussion on why Jain Acharyas at large cannot accept the truth that the Earth is round like a ball, rotating it self, rotating around Sun, Moon is much closer to Earth than the Sun and many more.
Jain Scriptures, Literature and Development of various Jain Sects
- Definition of Jain Agams (Jain Canonical literature),
- Classification and contents of Agams; Ang, Upang, Chheda, Mool, Chulika, and Prakirna Sutras
- Content of the fourteen Purvas which were lost around 150 years after Lord Mahavir Nirvan
- History of Preservation of Canonical Literature
- Authors of Jain Agams from historical perspective
- Commentary literature of Jain Agams; Niryukti, Bhashya, Churni, and Tika Literature
- Various views of the authenticity of Jain Agams
- Developments of various Jain sects with historical backgrounds; Digambar, Swetambar, Sthanakvasi, Terapanthi, Shrimad, Kanjiswami
· Differences and similarities of various sects
World Religions: - Diversity of Religious Expressions
- During the thousands of years of search of mankind's history, man's search for God / Self has led down many pathways. The result has been the enormous diversity of religious expression found worldwide.
- It includes from endless variety of Hinduism, emptiness of Buddhism, self-control of Jainism, harmonious approach of Sikhism, to the monotheism of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam and to the oriental philosophies of Shinto, Taoism, and Confucianism. The presentation will highlight the similarities and philosophical differences of World’s major faiths.
Jain Q and A Session by Group and All together
- The Q and A presentation delves into the brain storming and discussion on powerful and thought-provoking questions that have no absolute answers. It includes the social and cultural perceptions as well as stereotypes and generalizations from both youth and adult’s perspective.
- The discussion will provide insights into questions that are important to our youth in order to develop them spiritually, ethically, and socially in the western world.
- While often difficult to reconcile divergent influences, it is critical to understand the distinctions and strike a balance amongst Indian heritage, Jain religion, spirituality and Western lifestyle.
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Jain Workshop at Raleigh, NC USA
Revised Sept 7, 2017
Announcement
Jaina Education Committee and Jain Study Center of North Carolina have jointly organized the following workshop from Friday October 6, 2017 to Sunday October 8, 2017. We request individual Jain Centers and of North America to circulate this e-mail to their members.
Workshop Theme
STRIKING A BALANCE: - EXAMINING Social, Cultural, and Spiritual environment that our youth face while growing up in North America
Purpose
To educate both adults and youth (over 14 years of age) with regards to the fundamental principles and philosophy of Jainism and how to apply these principles in all walks of life through practical examples. This includes social, business, family, ethical, religious and spiritual environment.
Workshop Duration and Location
| Workshop Location | Days Inn - Raleigh Airport (2.1 miles from Airport) |
| Date and Time | October 6, 2017 Friday 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM (includes Dinner time) |
| Food | Jain Vegan Food will be served |
| Moderator | Pravin K Shah - Jaina Education Committee and Jain eLibrary Project in-charge |
Workshop Registration and Fee:
The registration fee is $50.00 per person. It includes all meals (breakfast, lunch, and Dinner) and workshop material. The following link provides the registration form, which needs to fill-in and pay your registration fee via PayPal or credit card. We will close the registration once the participants number reaches to 40 or by September 20, 2017
Registration Form:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeh4ghIqVB1sldDw-PQSogMAleZUgmPR7KBrONPCtQR27o-sg/viewform
Hotel Accommodation:
Days Inn - Raleigh Airport, 1000 Airport Boulevard, Morrisville, NC 27560 -
The hotel has offered a group room rate of $49.00 + Tax = $55.00 per night. Each room will have two double beds and up to 4 people can stay in a room. Do not call hotel for the room reservation. Use the following link for the hotel accommodation and pay at the rate of $55.00 per night using your PayPal or credit card.
Hotel also offers the transportation service to and from Airport. Once you arrive at Raleigh Airport, please call the hotel - 919 469 8688 for transportation.
Accommodation Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeO7dgDwlW_qG5MJuIsbM8c9KPvbcAs4lbIY56GoVheHmKvrw/viewform
Overview of Jain Workshop
The workshop takes Jainism beyond being just a religious identification for people. It discusses the fundamentals, which are easily applied in our daily life. The workshop uses interactive method of Learning and Communication, which needs debates, discussions and open mindedness. The workshop is not a lecture format where the audience has very little input in terms of participation and discussion.
After the several sessions on Jain axiom (postulate) and fundamental principles, the workshop delves into the brain storming discussion on powerful and thought-provoking questions that have no absolute answers. It includes the social and cultural perceptions as well as stereotypes and generalizations from both youth and adult’s perspective.
We will be digging deep, challenging ourselves/our limiting beliefs and exploring new possibilities. The discussion will provide insights into questions that are important to our youth in order to develop them spiritually, ethically, and socially in the western world.
While often difficult to reconcile divergent influences, it is critical to understand the distinctions and strike a balance amongst Indian heritage, Jain religion, spirituality and Western lifestyle. Regardless of your current level of understanding, you are bound to walk away with a new expanded view.
If you have any difficulty to fill in the Workshop registration form or Hotel accommodation form, or any other question, please call or send us an e-mail.
Pravin K Shah and Rajesh Salecha
Jaina Education Committee
919 889 1900 Cell
919 859 4994 Home
Sept 8, 2017