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Jainism: Monks
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At the core of Jainism is a doctrine which prohibits killing, violence or injury to any living thing. Certain Jain monks and nuns demonstrate this reverence for all life by wearing cloth masks over their faces to prevent them from accidentally inhaling tiny flying insects and sweeping the ground in front of them to avoid crushing any living organism under their feet.
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Jainism has a long and rich artistic history. Nuns and monks are not permitted to make art but lay artists have long been able to demonstrate their artistic talents in paintings, illumination of sacred texts, murals and votive objects. Many works are specially commissioned and paid for by lay persons who wish to earn merit through sponsorship of works depicting personalities and events from the Jain traditions.
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Jainism places a lot of emphasis on ahimsa and karma. Jains follow a strict lacto-vegetarian diet, but do not eat root vegetables like potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, etc. because eating the root is equated to killing the plant. Also some orthodox Jains do not eat after sunset. Certain Jain monks cover their nose and mouth with a mask so as not to breathe in insects by mistake, and sweep the road ahead of their footsteps so as not to crush any living organism.
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During the regime of Kharavela (2nd century B. C.), Jainism spread into many regions of Northern Andhra and Orissa. The rock caves at Khandagiri and Udayagiri bear testimony to the same6 . The Satavahana rulers of Pre-Christian era who ruled a vast territory which now comprises of Andhra, Maharashtra and Karnataka states were ... influenced by Jainism. ‘Kalakasuri prabandha’ writes that one of the Satavahana rulers of Pratistanapura used to attend a Jaina monk’s discourse.
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In Jainism and Buddhism, arising within Brahmanism as nontheistic sectarian movements, the Brahman priesthood was sublimated and the Vedic caste and sacrifice eliminated. In their place a monastic system was evolved, with monks and nuns devoted primarily to rigorous asceticism in the quest of perfection and in the pursuit of chastity and truthfulness.
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There are several differences between the two traditions of Jainism, the Shvetambaras ("white-clad monastics") and the Digambaras ("sky-clad monastics"). Shvetambaras believe that monks and nuns should be permitted to wear a simple white robe. Digambaras require monks to be nude.
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