Knowra Karma in Jainism Karma in Jainism Karma in Jainism is subtle matter that binds to a soul through actions and passions, shaping future experience and rebirth. Its material accumulation obscures the soul’s inherent knowledge, perception, energy, and bliss.
Āśrava : The influx of karmic matter into a soul, caused by activity of body, speech, or mind. It names the process by which actions open the soul to karmic matter.
Jīva : A living soul in Jainism, an eternal substance capable of consciousness and liberation. Karma binds to this conscious substance rather than defining it.
Jain ethics : The Jain system of conduct centered on nonviolence, self-restraint, truthfulness, and respect for living beings. Ethical conduct limits actions and passions that draw karma to the soul.
Karma in Hinduism : The principle in Hindu traditions that actions and intentions shape future consequences, often across rebirths. Unlike Jainism’s subtle karmic matter, Hindu accounts vary and do not uniformly treat karma as material substance.
Bandha : The binding of karmic matter to a soul, determining its type, duration, intensity, and quantity. It describes how incoming matter becomes attached and consequential.
Ajīva : The nonliving substances in Jain metaphysics, including matter, space, time, and principles of motion and rest. Karmic particles belong to the nonliving side of Jain reality.
Ahiṃsā in Jainism : The Jain principle of nonviolence toward living beings, practiced through care in thought, speech, and action. Avoiding harm reduces the activity associated with karmic influx.
Karma in Buddhism : The Buddhist principle that intentional actions shape future experience and rebirth within dependent causal processes. Buddhist karma emphasizes intention and does not posit an eternal soul bound by particles.
Kaṣāya : The four Jain passions—anger, pride, deceit, and greed—that intensify karmic bondage. Passions make karmic attachment stronger and longer-lasting.
Jain cosmology : The Jain account of an eternal universe populated by souls and non-soul substances, without a creator god. Its categories provide the setting for karmic matter and transmigration.
Show all 23