Download LESSON PLAN 5 Jain Beliefs: Karma and Reincarnation

LESSON PLAN 5
Jain Beliefs: Karma and Reincarnation What do you believe happens when you die? Give your class the opportunity to
discuss their opinions before describing the Jain beliefs of karma and reincarnation,
and how this affects their views on life and death.
[ C o m p a n y A d d r e s s ] Reading and understanding the following resources will help in planning
your lessons on Jainism:
1) www.jainpedia.org/resources/jainism-faqs.html
2) www.learnjainism.org
3) www.youtube.com/user/JAINpedia
4) Discover Jainism & Jain Tales books
(http://schools.jainpedia.org/books/where-to-buy.html)
Start with an activity Q: What do you think will happen to you when you die? Discuss this with the class before describing Jain beliefs about karma and
reincarnation and how this affects Jain views on life and death.
Pupils can discuss different religious beliefs, such as Christianity, Judaism and
Islam.
Introduction Life after death is central to the Jain belief of a soul that is permanent. Jainism
believes in reincarnation but teaches that the main purpose of life is for the soul to
achieve liberation from the cycles of rebirth.
Jains consider all life to be sacred because they believe that all living things have
souls. Human life is considered to be the highest form of life and should be seen as
special as it is only in human form that enlightenment can be achieved.
Karma means 'deed' or 'act' and more broadly names the universal principle of
cause and effect, action and reaction, that governs all life. According to the Jain
perspective, neither a god nor a guru has any role in a person’s karma — the
individual is considered to be the sole doer and enjoyer of his/her karmas and their
‘fruits’.
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What is a Soul? Jainism teaches that every living being, from a plant to a human, has an individual
soul. This soul exists separately from the physical body and moves from body to
body in the cycle of birth and rebirth.
What is Reincarnation? Like many Eastern religions, Jainism believes in reincarnation.
When a being dies, the soul (jiva) goes to its next body instantly. This body may not
be human or even animal.
The quality of its next life is determined by its karma at that time.
The mental state of the being at the moment of death is also important: a calm and
contented death, with the mind focussed on spiritual matters, is the best.
A being can become enlightened – which is being free from all harmful karma, but
still subject to non-harmful karma.
An arihant (tirthankara) was a being who was free from ALL karma.
Presently, you will not find a fully enlightened being even among the most holy of
Jain monks, as Jain teaching states that no one has or will achieve enlightenment in
the present time.
When the soul becomes free of all karma it travels instantly to the supreme abode –
the highest level of the universe – where it lives for ever in a disembodied state of
bliss with the other liberated souls.
Jains believe that suffering occurs because of past karma and that committing bad
deeds, words and thoughts will bind karma that will cause suffering in this life or the
next. See the Three Jewels in Lesson Plan 2.
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Classroom Activities 1) Read the summaries of Jain belief on the BBC website:
• www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/jainism/beliefs/soul.shtml
• www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/jainism/beliefs/karma.shtml
• www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/jainism/beliefs/universe_1.shtml
2) In the Jain Tales book, read the stories:
•
'Kamalsen' on page 22
•
'King Megharath' on page 42
3) The popular game of snakes and ladders is probably based on the ancient Jain
game of gyanbazi, which teaches about karma and the cycle of births.
Distribute the snakes and ladders paper board on the next page among your
pupils and ask them to answer the following questions:
•
Can you explain what the snakes and ladders might represent?
•
Choose one animal and one action. Why do you think they have been placed
on the board the way they have?
www.learnjainism.org Page 4
www.learnjainism.org