Ahimsa Is Connected To All Of The Five Virtues Of Jainism

In Jainism there are many vows that a respectable Jain takes, but there are five great vows above the rest. The five great vows are Ahimsa/non-violence, truth, not stealing, chastity, and nonattachment/aparigraha. These are the vows taken by the lay people in Jainism because “most householders cannot carry renunciation as far as the monks and nuns” (Fischer, 129). When the Jains take these vows they are limiting themselves from doing harm to themselves and their environment. The five great vows are interrelated and central to Jainism because the vows are the way of spiritual practice to reach Enlightenment. Ahimsa is connected to all of the vows since non-violence relates to everything around us. The five great vows are interrelated in a few ways. First way these vows are related is all of vows limit the amount of harm they do to themselves or to their environment. Also, all of the vows are a way of practicing Jainism instead of always having to go to a temple. Another way these vows all have to be interconnected is because practicing one vow will not allow you to break Samsara. You have to practice all of the vows to reach Enlightenment, and then after you reach that you can achieve Kevala. Finally these five great vows
Jainism is an ascetic path and takes a great deal of discipline to accomplish. The five great vows help with this path because all exhibit the three essential beliefs of Jainism. You begin in Samsara, the cycle of life, and then you need to reach Enlightenment. To reach Enlightenment you have to practice your vows and reach Jina, meaning winning over your passions. According to Jainism these vows are needed to reach Kevala, so that is the major reason the vows are central to Jainism. Even though all of the vows are needed, there is one vow that encompasses all of the other vows, which is