Among Its Doctrines There Is Much That Is Virtuous And
True.
It preaches benevolence and goodwill towards men, but enjoins no
active efforts to prove the sincerity of such goodwill.
It requires
its members to "confess their sins with a contrite heart, to ask
forgiveness of them, and to repent truly, with a resolution not to
commit such again. To rejoice in the moral merit and perfection of
human beings, and to wish that they may attain beatitude; further,
to pray and exhort others to turn the wheel of religion, that the
world may be benefited thereby." Its general aim seems to be to
overcome all emotions and preferences of the mind, and all that would
disturb its repose and quiet. It seeks to destroy the human passions
and not to regulate them; and with faith in Buddha only as its aid,
it succeeds about as well as might have been anticipated.
Between these two religions of Brahma and Buddha, that of the "Jains"
sprang up, apparently a heresy from both. It has nearly died out
in India, though many ruins of its temples remain. The Jains agree
with the Buddhists as to the transmigration of souls, and carry
their respect for life to the still greater extent, that besides a
strainer to remove all animalculae from the water they imbibe, they
carry a broom to sweep away the insects from their path. They differ
from the Brahmins in repudiating their minor incarnations and gods,
as the following translation will serve to show:
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