Eight things often misunderstood — answered honestly. No apologetics. No claims that ancient texts predicted modern science. Just what the tradition holds, what it doesn't, and where the genuinely hard questions still are.
What the Jain texts actually say. Yes, Jainism has devas (Tattvartha Ch. 4) — but Tirthankaras are something different. With citations from Tattvartha, Samayasara, Ratnakaranda, and Bhaktamara itself.
Read · citedWhy Jainism's karma is a substance, not a metaphor — closer to physics than to "what goes around comes around." With citations from Tattvartha and Samayasara.
Read · citedJainism has no creator. The world is eternal, governed by natural laws. With citations from Tattvartha 5.1-5.4 and 4.1-4.42.
Read · citedThe most important daily Jain practice — and arguably the most misunderstood. The structural ritual of saṁvara (stopping new karma) and nirjarā (shedding old karma).
Read · citedNot by grace. Not by ritual. Not by belief. The most-empowering and most-demanding position any tradition has taken on the soul's own work.
Read · citedThe most rigorous account of non-violence ever produced by a human tradition. Vegetarianism is one consistent application; the framework is complete.
Read · citedNon-attachment looks like Marie Kondo on the surface. Underneath: a complete philosophical analysis of how possessions distort the mind. Definition: mūrcchā parigrahaḥ.
Read · citedThe doctrine of multiple viewpoints. Built-in epistemic humility, and arguably Jainism's most important contribution to world philosophy. Two thousand years before Western philosophy got there.
Read · citedFemale ordination. Digambara nudity. Sallekhana. The role of women. The historical Tirthankaras. Real, contested, debated within the tradition itself. We don't paper over them.
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