Religious Teachings: Jainism vs. Buddhism and Hinduism

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Jainism is the only option I would consider because Hinduism and Buddhism have complicated traditions that one has to follow strictly. While Jainism and Buddhism are both non-theistic religions advocating for liberation for their followers, Buddhism does not permit the freedom of thought that Jainism offers to its followers. Buddhism is strict in its values, and it bases its teaching on scriptures with extremist views, whereas Jainism has a fundamental doctrine based on different perspectives of situations. Jainism allows its followers to judge different situations through their intuitive power, and it allows them to make decisions based on ethics generated from their reasoning. The core value in Jainism is the truth, and the dynamics of pluralism in society guide it. The Jains believe in the existence of a divine being, and they attribute the forces that govern their fate in life to the Supreme Being. The challenge for the Jains is to attain the perfection possessed by the perfect Supreme Being; thus, their religious teachings are mainly intended to challenge the members to do the common good throughout their lives.

The Jains believe in equality in society, and they always strive to humble themselves because their beliefs compel them to live harmoniously with the rest of the people in the society. In both Buddhism and Hinduism, some beings are considered as superiors to the people, and the issue of hierarchy in the religions’ leadership is present. Jains value and conserve all living things, including plants and animals (“Religions: Jainism at a glance” par. 2). Unlike Buddhists and Hindus, Jains do not depend on prayer to have their needs met by their gods; rather, they believe in self-help, and they always depend on their effort.

Jainism advocates for teaching based on a different perspective of the people in the society. Pluralism is upheld by its members because they believe that sharing their respective perspectives on life and its issues help in the development of the complete picture of the truth. The members claim that while everybody has a perspective of the truth, nobody can see the entire truth unless he or she shares other people’s points of view about the same ideas. This belief indicates that Jainism is the best-suited religion for political prosperity. The religion has a complicated structure that has no room for leadership: everyone is equal. The religion unites the people and influences the development of cohesion in their quest to liberate themselves from the negative forces of nature. These forces include poverty, inequality, and unethical behavior.

Jains have a simple culture that revolves around fasting and pilgrimage. Most Jains fast during their annual religious festivals to attain spiritual liberation. They believe that fasting purifies their bodies (“Religion: Fasting” par. 1). Pilgrimage involves gathering in temples for prayer and religious teachings. The Jains are economically liberated, but they do not value earthly riches because they believe that everything that fosters inequality in society should be avoided. I would convert to Jainism because its cultural beliefs are enshrined in the values of the utilitarian ethics, which dictate that all the decisions made by an individual should yield the most desirable results for the entire society (“Calculating Consequences: The Utilitarian Approach to Ethics” par. 9). The religion also upholds the truth in all aspects of life, and the truth is one of my virtues.