Deck 6: Jainism

Question 1

What is the definition of the following term:
-ahimsa:

Answer 1

(ah-him'suh; Sanskrit, "nonviolence," "not desiring to harm") Both the avoidance of violence toward other life forms and an active sense of compassion toward them; a basic principle of Jainism, Hinduism, and Buddhism.

Question 2

What is the definition of the following term:
-ajiva:

Answer 2

(uh-jee'vuh; Sanskrit, "nonsoul") Nonliving components of the Jain universe: space, time, motion, rest, and all forms of matter.

Question 3

What is the definition of the following term:
-dana:

Answer 3

(dah'nuh; Sanskrit, Pali, "giving") Ritual of giving.

Question 4

What is the definition of the following term:
-Digambara:

Question 5

What is the definition of the following term:
-jina:

Question 6

What is the definition of the following term:
-jiva:

Question 7

What is the definition of the following term:
-karma:

Question 8

What is the definition of the following term:
-kevala:

Question 9

What is the definition of the following term:
-loka:

Question 10

What is the definition of the following term:
-Shvetambara:

Question 11

What is the definition of the following term:
-tirthankaras:

Question 12

Jainism has earned a special reputation for having

A) most fully embraced Hinduism and Islam in its doctrines and practices.
B) produced the most politically astute leaders of any Indian religion.
C) gained millions of converts in recent years, thanks to its liberal doctrinal stance.
D) exemplified the ideal of nonviolence.

Question 13

Each of the Jain founding figures is considered to be a jina, or

A) "holy one."
B) "avenger."
C) "redeemer."
D) "conqueror."

Question 14

The full name of the tirthankara popularly known as Mahavira is

A) Bhai Mardana.
B) Nataputta Vardhamana.
C) Shrimad Rajacandra.
D) Siddhartha Gautama.

Question 15

Although there is no record of Mahavira and the Buddha having met,

A) their legendary biographies are strikingly similar.
B) many scholars consider them actually to have been close friends and colleagues.
C) the textual evidence shows that they rigorously opposed each other's viewpoints.
D) Mahavira was quite possibly a follower of the Buddha.

Question 16

The last tirthankara to have lived prior to Mahavira was

A) Krishna.
B) Nemi.
C) Parshva.
D) Rishabha.

Question 17

Mahavira is said to have attained enlightenment after spending two-and-a-half days

A) on pilgrimage to Mount Shatrunjaya.
B) fasting in the heat of the sun.
C) discussing doctrine with a group of five Buddhist monks.
D) meditating on the nature of God.

Question 18

Jains believe that the last human being ever to attain kevala in this world cycle

A) will usher in a new age of peace and harmony.
B) passed into moksha during the twelfth century.
C) is Mahavira.
D) is Jambu.

Question 19

Mahavira preached for some thirty years until, at the age of seventy-two, he

A) died in the town of Pava, located in the northern Indian state of Bihar.
B) left the Jain community and disappeared into the Himalayas.
C) returned to his hometown to retire from the religious life.
D) finally was acknowledged by followers to be a tirthankara.

Question 20

Jainism, like Hinduism and Buddhism, is categorized by scholars as being

A) one among the seven "Indo-European" religious-cultural traditions.
B) monistic.
C) migratory, in light of its tendency through the centuries to expand beyond traditional boundaries.
D) an "eternal" religion.

Question 21

Which of the following is not among the twenty-four tirthankaras of the current world cycle?

A) Kabir
B) Malli
C) Nemi
D) Rishabha

Question 22

Jains consider the tirthankaras to be

A) human beings.
B) gods.
C) angelic beings.
D) avatars.

Question 23

According to Jain belief, because human nature has become continually more depraved, Mahavira is

A) expected to return as a new incarnation.
B) the last jina of the present world cycle.
C) one of hundreds of jinas whom Jains believe have existed.
D) the last jina ever expected to exist.

Question 24

The Shvetambara sect officially rejects the Digambara texts and follows instead

A) ten texts of Purva.
B) all of the Dhammapada.
C) the middle four books of the Mahabharata.
D) eleven books of Anga and thirty-four books of Angabahya.

Question 25

The most distinctive Jain doctrine is

A) karma.
B) ahimsa.
C) sallekhana.
D) dharma.

Question 26

For Jainism, karma is

A) the spiritual energy vital for the rigors of the religious life.
B) the "book of life" that is believed to be reviewed by God at the time of death.
C) the consequence of action per the law of cause and effect.
D) "ethical duty."

Question 27

Ahimsa involves

A) restricting one's diet to vegetables.
B) straining one's water before drinking it.
C) drinking only as much water as is absolutely necessary.
D) All of the above

Question 28

In keeping with the general Indian notion of samsara, Jainism

A) embraces the concept of ahimsa.
B) insists on living a life free from sin.
C) conceives of time as cyclical.
D) anticipates a cataclysmic end of time.

Question 29

Rishabha and the other early tirthankas are believed to have been

A) of greater physical stature than their successors.
B) great kings in addition to having been spiritual masters.
C) endowed with magical powers that enabled them to gain large groups of followers.
D) poets who contributed to the composition of the Vedas.

Question 30

According to Jain cosmology, the loka is correctly described as each of the following except

A) "Will end when all human beings attain kevala."
B) "A vast and yet finite space within which all beings dwell."
C) "Has always existed."
D) "Will continue to exist eternally."

Question 31

At the top of the loka is

A) a sculpture of Mahavira.
B) a roof that is described as having the shape of an umbrella.
C) the sun, which Jains understand to be divine.
D) infinite empty space.

Question 32

Jainism holds that the universe has

A) an almost limitless number of atoms, forever distinct from one another.
B) eight basic categories of nonliving entities.
C) twelve realms inhabited by human beings, gods, and goddesses.
D) an infinite number of jivas, or souls.

Question 33

Which of the following is not categorized with human beings as life forms having five senses?

A) Shellfish
B) Snakes
C) Denizens of hell
D) Deities

Question 34

The immorality that tarnishes the soul with heavy matter lies mainly in the

A) degree of harm done to sentient beings.
B) judgment of the gods.
C) evil intention, not in the consequence of the action.
D) spiritual state of the individual as affected by practices such as meditation.

Question 35

The destiny of an individual's soul is determined

A) as soon as the person dies.
B) forty-nine days after death.
C) at varying times, depending on the individual's caste status.
D) None of the above (Jains do not believe in rebirth.)

Question 36

The period of Parshva and the historical origins of the Jain tradition coincides with the

A) arrival to India of the Aryans.
B) ending of the Vedic period.
C) lifetime of Gautama the Buddha.
D) reign of the Buddhist king Ashoka.

Question 37

The founders of Jainism fit into a general category of religious movements that emphasized as a means of spiritual development

A) asceticism.
B) the indoctrination of ruling monarchs.
C) large groups of worshippers all devoutly committed to a single deity.
D) the creation of sacred art.

Question 38

Jains through the centuries have tended to engage in

A) various forms of agriculture.
B) international diplomacy, fostered by the sizable centers of Jain population around the world.
C) trade and other forms of business.
D) occupations such as hunting and fishing.

Question 39

Among recent remarkable Jain figures, Shrimad Rajacandra is especially known outside India because of

A) his extraordinary success in business.
B) having been appointed India's first Jain ambassador to the United States.
C) his connection to Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi.
D) having established the first Jain university in the United Kingdom.

Question 40

Today the number of Jains in the world is about

A) 5.6 million.
B) 12.5 million.
C) 18 million.
D) 35 million.

Question 41

Each of the following is true of Jains in today's world except that

A) Jains have been very successful in business.
B) the Jain community is highly respected for its charitable giving.
C) Jains tend to be outspoken advocates of universal vegetarianism.
D) about 3 million Jains live outside India.

Question 42

Monks of Jainism's Shvetambara sect

A) go about the land "sky-clad," without clothing.
B) wear white garments.
C) regularly give food to passersby as one of their religious duties.
D) are known for their ability to recite from memory the Mahabharata.

Question 43

According to Digambara doctrine,

A) nuns are not esteemed quite as highly as monks.
B) alms bowls as a means of collecting food are to be avoided.
C) women must await rebirth in a male body to reach the potential of final deliverance.
D) All of the above

Question 44

The Sthanakvasi and the Terapanthi sects

A) are forms of Digambara Jainism.
B) reject the worship of images.
C) unlike other Jains are strictly vegetarian.
D) are especially common in North America.

Question 45

The Jain initiation ritual, diksha, marks the point at which

A) Mahivira left his fellow mendicants to attain kevala.
B) all Jain boys symbolically enter into manhood.
C) the monk or nun ventures out alone for a period of thirteen years.
D) the individual becomes completely committed to the ascetic life.

Question 46

The Six Obligatory Duties of the Jain ascetic include each of the following except

A) equanimity, achieved through meditation.
B) praise of the gods and goddesses.
C) veneration of teachers.
D) repentance.

Question 47

Sallekhana is

A) the intentional fasting of oneself to death.
B) a sacrifice of ten oxen to Brahma.
C) a ritual journey on foot across India.
D) a sacred marriage of a Digambara boy to a Shvetambara girl.

Question 48

Jains worship various gods, who are believed to

A) respond to material needs, such as providing weather favorable for agriculture.
B) ensure liberation to the faithful.
C) facilitate a good rebirth.
D) petition the tirthankaras on behalf of the worshippers.

Question 49

Jains worship the tirthankaras to

A) actively assist the worshipper in achieving salvation.
B) burn off the dirtying karma that weighs down the soul.
C) ensure a place in heaven presided over by the specific tirthankara worshiped.
D) secure divine favor for securing personal wealth.

Question 50

According to one ancient Jain text, the original group of Mahavira's followers

A) was composed mostly of women.
B) were primarily Buddhists.
C) believed that Mahavira was an avatar.
D) came from lands north of the Himalaya mountains.

Question 51

Among the impressive examples of Jain art and architecture are each of the following except

A) the Darbar Sahib at Amritsar.
B) the Dharna Vihara at Ranakpur.
C) hundreds of shrines on Mount Satrunjaya.
D) sculptures of various tirthankaras.

Question 52

Mahavira was a contemporary or near-contemporary of Gautama the Buddha.

Question 53

Mahavira is said to have been the son of a local ruler who was a pious Jain.

Question 54

Mahavira's followers included eleven ganadharas, or disciples, who had been Hindu brahmins before hearing Mahavira's message.

Question 55

Buddhist accounts of Gautama's path to enlightenment point out that, unlike Mahavira, the Buddha continued on the path of strict asceticism to the very end of his life.

Question 56

Mahavira is the latest in the line of previous tirthankaras, and most Jains believe that he will be the last.

Question 57

According to the Shvetembara sect the nineteenth tirthankara, Malli, was a woman.

Question 58

Jains commonly worship deities of the Hindu pantheon.

Question 59

Jains believe that human nature is depraved to the point of needing assistance from the tirthankaras, and therefore they continue to appear in the world.

Question 60

Jains regard the loka as containing within it many lands of which only earth is inhabited by human beings.

Question 61

All Jains agree that, originally, there were fifty books of scripture, all of them miraculously produced by Mahavira.

Question 62

According to the Jain classification, "sentient creatures" is an extensive category that is made up of all living things that have a central nervous system.

Question 63

Unlike many religions, Jainism does not emphasize teachings concerning salvation or liberation.

Question 64

The monks of the Digambara sect do not even possess clothing.

Question 65

Jain nuns, whether of the Digambara or the Shvetambara sect, wear clothing when in public.

Question 66

The three upper spokes of the wheel that represents the cycle of time are considered to be a golden age of goodness and prosperity.

Question 67

Jains depict the loka as a diagram in the shape of a child, the homunculus.

Question 68

The most fortunate rebirth is considered by Jains to be a deity in one of the brightest heavens.

Question 69

Jains consider the jiva of an insect to be of identical quality to that of a large animal or human being.

Question 70

Immoral actions, those that violate the principle of ahimsa and other Jain ethical teachings, bring about small quantities of light matter that neither cling to the soul nor weigh it down.

Question 71

Jains are known for having kept a detailed historical record of their own tradition.

Question 72

Scholars situate Parshva's lifetime in the twelfth century bce.

Question 73

Their centuries-old focus on business has made life in the modern world a relatively natural thing for the Jain laity.

Question 74

For Jains, rituals performed on behalf of the dead are extremely important and have received elaborate attention through the centuries.

Question 75

One Sthanakvasi group has recently taken the unprecedented step of promoting to the rank of aharya a nun, Candanaji.

Question 76

For most of Jain history, among the Shvetambaras, women have tended to be regarded as equally spiritually capable as men.

Question 77

Digambara Jains accept the possibility of women attaining kevala.

Question 78

The Six Obligatory Duties are to be performed only by Jain laypeople.

Question 79

An individual's mindset at the moment of death is considered to be a significant factor for the prospects of rebirth.

Question 80

Fasting is a quite common practice among Jain laity, especially women.