Scripture of Jainism
The Agamas.
Mahavira's words as the tradition could hold them — and the split over whether they survived intact became part of the tradition itself.
LanguageArdhamagadhi Prakrit
Composedcanonized c. 450 CE from older oral tradition
What it holdsThe Agamas — Mahavira's teaching as his disciples carried it
How it is usedSvetambara canon; Digambaras hold the originals were lost and rely on later texts
Understanding it — context, not catechism: how this passage is held
The Jain canon is itself a schism. Svetambaras hold that the Agamas were preserved and finally written down around 450 CE at Valabhi; Digambaras hold that the original teaching was lost during a famine centuries earlier and that the surviving texts are not authoritative, relying instead on later systematic works. Two communities with the same founder therefore study different scriptures, which is an unusually clean case of transmission failure becoming doctrine.
The same ground, other faiths
claims that share this one's ideas
The Rigveda.
Vedic Religion
Open the book →
Ahimsa — do no harm.
Hinduism · precept
Go deeper →
Compassion extends to all sentient beings.
Buddhism · core tenet
Go deeper →
Argument, for the sake of heaven, is sacred.
Judaism · core tenet
Go deeper →
The Bible.
Christianity
Open the book →
The Quran is the speech of God.
Islam · core tenet
Go deeper →
Sign in to open the first thread. Everything here is attributed.