Buddhism is a path of practice and spiritual development leading to Insight into the true

nature of reality. Buddhist practices like meditation are means of changing yourself in
order to develop the qualities of awareness, kindness, and wisdom. The experience
developed within the Buddhist tradition over thousands of years has created an
incomparable resource for all those who wish to follow a path a path which ultimately
culminates in Enlightenment or Buddhahood. An enlightened being sees the nature of
reality absolutely clearly, just as it is, and lives fully and naturally in accordance with that
vision. This is the goal of the Buddhist spiritual life, representing the end of suffering for
anyone who attains it.
Because Buddhism does not include the idea of worshipping a creator god, some people
do not see it as a religion in the normal, Western sense. The basic tenets of Buddhist
teaching are straightforward and practical: nothing is fixed or permanent; actions have
consequences; change is possible. So Buddhism addresses itself to all people
irrespective of race, nationality, caste, sexuality, or gender. It teaches practical methods
which enable people to realise and use its teachings in order to transform their
experience, to be fully responsible for their lives.
Jainism /denz()m/, traditionally known as '" Jaina Shasana'" or Jaina dharma (Sanskrit:
),
[1]
is a nontheistic Indian religion that prescribes a path of ahimsa - nonviolence - towards all
living beings, and emphasizes spiritual independence and equality between all forms of life.
Practitioners believe that nonviolence and self-control are the means by which they can obtain
liberation. Currently Jainism is divided into two major sects, vtmbara and Digambara.
The word Jainism is derived from the Sanskrit verb root jin ("to conquer"). It refers to a battle with
the passions and bodily pleasures that the Jain ascetics undertake. Those who win this battle are
termed as Jina (conqueror). The term Jaina is therefore used to refer to laymen and ascetics of
this tradition alike.
Jainism is one of the oldest religions in the world.
[2]
Jains traditionally trace their history through a
succession of twenty-four propagators of their faith known as tirthankaras with Rishabha as the
first and Mahvra as the last of the current era.
For long periods of time, Jainism was the state religion of Indian kingdoms and widely adopted in
the Indian subcontinent. The religion has been in decline since the 8th century CE due to the
growth of, and oppression by the followers of Hinduism
[3]
and Islam.
[4]

Jainism is a religious minority in India, with 4.2 million adherents, and there are small but notable
immigrant communities in Belgium,Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, and the United
States.
[5]
Jains have the highest degree of literacy of any religious community in India (94.1
percent),
[6]
and their manuscript libraries are the oldest in the country.
[7]

The origins of Jainism are obscure.
[2][8]
During the 5th century BC, Vardhamana Mahvra
became one of the most influential teachers of Jainism. Mahvra, however, was most probably
not the founder of Jainism, which reveres him as the last of the great trthakaras of this age
and not the founder of the religion. He appears in the tradition as one who, from the beginning,
had followed a religion established long ago.
[9]

Prva, the traditional predecessor of Mahvra, is the first Jain figure for whom there is
reasonable historical evidence.
[10]
He might have lived somewhere in the 9th7th century
BC.
[11][12][13]
Followers of Prva are mentioned in the canonical books; and a legend in
theUttardhyayana stra relates a meeting between a disciple of Prva and a disciple of
Mahvra which brought about the union of the old branch of the Jain ideology and the new one