Jains

Jain identity, like all identities, is crisscrossed with a variety of affiliations, such as class and profession just mentioned above caste, gender, and sectarian affiliation. Though Jainism, like Buddhism, arose partly in reaction to the caste system of Hinduism, Jains, like many other minority communities in India, are organized into castes that is, endogamous, hereditary communities that practice a particular occupation. Jains form a distinctive and important sub-community in the larger setting of Indic religious life. According to Jains, the universe is undergoing a beginning less and endless series of cosmic cycles. Jain asceticism consists primarily of curbing activities that might lead to the accidental destruction of life and of cultivating mindfulness of the life forms with which one shares the physical universe. It is almost certainly due in part to the tendency of Jains to gravitate toward business professions. Finally, Jains have formed a highly articulate community, producing numerous volumes of religious and philosophical writings over the centuries.