Customer Reviews

An Introduction to Jainism

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is very unique in the world of books on Jainism. My experience has been that most books presume you already have a great deal of understanding of Jainism before you start reading them or that you are very religious. While this book is most likely informative for those readers , I do not fall under those categories. This book taught me what Jainism is about without telling me what rituals I must follow and without preaching to me about my shortcomings as a Jain. it is very simply written and really teaches the reader about all aspects of the religion, including interesting stories about its development. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn about Jainism.

Having been reluctant to learn about Jainism my entire life, this book showed me that a book does not have to be boring just because it's about religion. I really like the author's writing style and his simple approach to explaining what I always thought were complicated tenets. I highly recommend this book.

This is an excellent and practical introduction to Jainism especially for young Jains born in the countries other than India. Dr. Shah has emphasized the practice part of Jainism rather than theories. He has covered all the major practices practiced by lay Jains today in India in their daily life. He has kept the discussion at the level that is logically acceptable by a lay person or the one who has no roots in Jainism.

This is a pretty good intro to Jainism. It is neither too complex nor too simple. It gives enough to start you on the way to understanding the belief system. There are deeper books out there but this assumes you know nothing but the name. It is a good starting point.

This is a good introduction to Jainism - I would rate it 3 and ½ stars. The author writes for a young audience, hoping that the children of Jains that are living in the west and estranged from the roots of their tradition will be reconnected with it. The book is very clear and easy to understand, and perhaps the author assumes too much that his young audience will grow impatient. This book could be read by high school or young college students as an introduction to the Jain faith. In addition to a summary of Jain beliefs, it has a valuable (albeit too brief) summary of important and prominent Jains, as well as a bit about the lives of a few of the Tirthankaras. If the author erred it was in the direction of simplicity, and the attempt to make the material as accessible as possible. He succeeds in the latter, and I would recommend this book for young readers, or novices, who are unaware of, but curious about the Jain religion.