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Life
Non-violence taken to its furthest point. He walked naked, swept the ground before each step, and strained his water to avoid harming insects.
A prince who left his palace, sat under a tree, and woke up. Then he spent forty-five years teaching others how to do the same.
Connection
Mahavira contemporary rival paths The Buddha — Mahavira and the Buddha taught in the same region at the same time, both rejecting Vedic sacrifice and priestly authority; Buddhist texts name the Jain leader as a rival, and the two movements defined themselves partly against each other.
Ideas
Words
“Do not injure, abuse, oppress, enslave, insult, torment, torture, or kill any creature or living being.”
“Have compassion for all beings, rich and poor alike; each has their suffering.”
“All that we are is the result of what we have thought.”
“Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.”
Key Moments
c. 599 BCE
Born in Vaishali
c. 557 BCE
Achieves Omniscience
c. 557 BCE
Teaching Non-violence and Many-sidedness
c. 527 BCE
Death at Pava
c. 563 BCE
Born as Siddhartha Gautama
c. 528 BCE
Enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree
c. 528 BCE
First Sermon at Sarnath
c. 483 BCE
Parinirvana
Works
Selected Jain Teachings
The Dhammapada