Five principles: non-violence, truthfulness, not stealing, and non-attachment to worldly possessions, and many-sidedness (reality is complex and cannot be fully expressed in words.)
Jain teachings were codified in the fifth century BCE by Mahavira, the twenty-fourth important teacher. Mahavira’s disciples compiled his words into texts but primarily handed them down through memorization. In the process some were mis-remembered and others forgotten, with the greatest loss caused by the death of many Jain monks during a famine around 350 BCE.
There are two sects: the Digambara (sky clad) believe that all the teachings of Mahavira were lost during the famine; the Svetamabara (white clad) believe that the majority of these texts survived.
Although not mandatory, pilgrimage plays an important part in Jain life for both sects.
Shown are various Jain pilgrimage sites in India.
View Jain Places in a larger map