The Encyclopedia of World Religions

James S 229

visit temples. There they WORSHIP before images of the tirthankaras. Jain temples include some of the most famous religious monuments in India: the lush marble temples at Mount Abu and some of the richly decorated temples at Khajuraho. At the end of the 20th century there were only about four million Jains in the world. But in cham pioning ahimsa and vegetarianism, Jainism has had a profound impact on Indian society. For example, it strongly influenced the leader of the Indian inde pendence movement, Mohandas G ANDHI . Further reading: John E. Cort, Jains in the World (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001); Paul Dundas, The Jains (New York: Routledge, 1992); P. S. Jaini, The Jaina Path of Purification (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1979); Michael Tobias, Life Force: The World of Jainism (Fremont, Calif.: Jain Publishing, 1991). James The name of three APOSTLES in C HRISTIAN ITY , as well as the name of a book in the N EW T ES TAMENT . In Greek the name is Iakobos, a variant of the Hebrew name Yakob, Jacob. Scholars debate whether the James who wrote the New Testament book is one of the apostles or yet a different person with the same name. THE APOSTLES NAMED JAMES Three Christian Apostles had the name James. Two of them were also disciples of J ESUS ; that is, they followed him during his lifetime. The third is gen erally referred to as Jesus’ brother. Of the two disciples, James the son of Zebe dee is much better known. In the synoptic GOS PELS (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), he, together with his brother, John, and Simon, later renamed P ETER , belonged to the innermost circle of Jesus’ disciples. Among other things, these three wit nessed the transfiguration of Jesus. James and his brother once angered the other disciples by ask ing to sit at Jesus’ right and left hand when he returned in glory. The A CTS OF THE A POSTLES records that Herod (not the Herod in the stories of Jesus’ birth) had James killed by the sword. It gives no

ries after Mahavira, it spread along trade routes to southern and western India. These are its two strongholds today. In the first century C . E . the com munity split. The cause was a dispute over what those who wander must give up. One group insisted that they must give up clothes entirely. Their com munity is called Digambara, “sky-clad.” Another group insisted that it is enough if the wanderers wear only a simple white cloth. Their community is called Svetambara, “white-clad.” Digambara Jains are particularly strong in the south Indian state of Karnataka. Svetambara Jains tend to live in the west Indian state of Gujarat. Digambaras and Svetambaras have differ ent sacred books, but they share the same basic beliefs. Like Hindus and Buddhists, Jains believe that people are continually reborn. This rebirth results from action (Sanskrit, KARMA ). Unlike Hin dus and Buddhists, however, Jains say that a par ticularly fine kind of matter is involved in this pro cess. Whenever the human life-force, the jiva, acts, this fine matter sticks to it and weighs it down. The goal of Jain practice is to cleanse the jiva of karmic matter. When the jiva is clean, it rises to the highest point in the universe. There it remains undisturbed forever. The Jain community has two unequal levels. MONKS AND NUNS adopt a lifestyle based on wander ing and begging. Laymen and laywomen maintain households and work. On both levels women are generally in an inferior position. M ONKS AND NUNS are said to be closer to ulti mate liberation. A cardinal rule that governs their behavior is noninjury (Sanskrit, AHIMSA ). Svet ambara monks and nuns wear cloths over their mouths, sweep the paths where they walk, and strain their water to avoid harming little living beings. The most advanced Jains go even further: In old age they enter liberation by refraining from eating and drinking until they die. Laymen and laywomen follow ahimsa, but to a lesser extent. As a result, all Jains are strict vege tarians. Jains have also established several animal sanctuaries. In addition, laymen and laywomen give food and drink to monks and nuns—gifts that help them make spiritual progress. They also