The Jain principle of anekantavada (“many-sided reality” or “multiplicity of viewpoints”) states that there are many facets of truth and reality. Each person experiences reality in a subjective, individual manner, and neither reality nor truth can be properly expressed through language. Any attempt to express reality and truth verbally is true to some extent, but is incomplete because it expresses only one perspective.
Jains apply the principle of anekantavada to reality in general, but also to spiritual truth. This concept is explained by Piyush Shah from the Jain Center of Greater Phoenix
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in the video below, where it is applied to answer the question of how Jains view other religions.
Anekantavada Transcript
Ethics
Jain ethics center around five ethical precepts, or the Five Great Vows. While monks and nuns are expected to keep these vows quite strictly, lay people are allowed considerable leeway to fit their particular situations. As a result, lay people typically keep the first three of the five vows to a greater extent than the last two.
The five vows are:
1. Ahimsa – nonviolence toward all living things
2. Satya – not lying, which includes exaggeration
3. Achaurya – not stealing, which includes taking anything not explicitly given
4. Brahmacharya – chastity for monks and nuns, and monogamous relationships for lay people
5. Aparigraha – detachment from people, places, and material things
The first of the vows, ahimsa, is considered the most important on the path to liberation. It is considered the foundation of the entire ethical outlook of Jainism, and the path to liberation is one of unconditional nonviolence. According to Jainism, harming others causes the accumulation of karmic matter, which in turn harms the self. The second through fifth vows are subsumed under the first vow. For example, in its most extreme sense, the third vow means not to take (“steal”) a life.
The doctrine of ahimsa has significant implications for the lifestyle of Jains. Lay Jains follow a strictly vegetarian diet and avoid professions that involve violence of any kind. They tend to gravitate toward jobs that do not involve the actual production of goods, for example, due to the harm that manufacturing can bring to living beings.
Jain monks and nuns live an even stricter lifestyle in order to avoid causing harm to other creatures. They may not travel at night, must walk barefoot, and typically wear a mouth covering to avoid accidentally ingesting insects while speaking and breathing. In most sects, Jain monks and nuns are forbidden from traveling in moving vehicles. Modern means of travel such as cars, planes, and trains are prohibited due to the harm caused to small life forms by the internal combustion process.
Mahavira, which means “great hero,” was born Nataputta Varchamana, probably near Vaishali in Northeastern India. He was born in 599 BCE, though the year of his death is disputed. The earliest existent biography of Mahavira is from the ninth century, making it impossible for historians to be certain about the details of his life. Jain tradition, however, provides a clear biography.
Nataputta was born a member of the Kshatriya caste. He was the second son of a ruler who was also a pious Jain. He was raised in luxury but became disillusioned with his lifestyle and left his home, wife, and daughter at the age of 30 to lead the life of an ascetic. (The Digambara sect, however, denies that Mahavira ever married and maintains that he lived his entire life in a state of chastity.)
He joined a group of ascetics who were likely followers of Parshva, the 23rd tirthankara or enlightened teacher of the Jain community. He eventually left them, however, to avoid attachments to any person. He is also said not to have stayed more than one night in any location to avoid attachments to any place.
For 12 years, Nataputta wandered naked throughout Central and Northern India. His lifestyle took the principle of ahimsa to the extreme. To avoid hurting even the smallest life forms, he carried a broom to sweep the ground in front of him and strained his drinking water through a cloth. He also took ascetic practices to the extreme, meditating uncovered in the heat and rain.
After 13 years of wandering, Nataputta attained the state of kevala, or omniscience, and was guaranteed release from the cycle of rebirth after his death. He spent the rest of his life teaching his message of extreme asceticism and ahimsa, gaining followers who practiced the same lifestyle. Among his followers were 11 disciples who came from the Hindu Brahmin class. All of his 11 disciples attained the state of kevala, and the last of these is said to have been the last person in this world cycle who did and will attain this state.
Mahavira preached for 30 years and died by voluntarily starving himself. His soul then traveled to the top of the universe where it resides in a state of eternal bliss with all others who have attained the state of kevala.
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Core Beliefs
Jainism shares a number of concepts with Hinduism and Buddhism, which you will read about in the next lesson. However, it also has a number of distinct concepts that set it apart from those religions. Concepts such as samsara, karma, and moksha will be familiar to you now that you have learned about Hinduism; concepts such as jiva, ajiva, and kevala are likely to be new to you. In this section, you will learn about these ideas along with others, including Jain ethics.
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A statue of a Tirthankara
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Tirthankaras
Jainism teaches that the world was not created, but goes through long cycles without beginning or end. In the current world cycle, 24 tirthankaras or “makers of the ford (river crossing)” have existed. Each tirthankara is a jina (“conqueror”), meaning they have all conquered samsara and attained liberation from the cycle of rebirth. In Indian religions, a river is often used as a symbol of samsara; thus, the tirthankaras are those who have found a way to cross the river and escape rebirth.
Of special significance, however, is Mahavira, the 24th and most recent Tirthankara. He is one of an infinite line, and he is not expected to be the last (though he is the last of this world cycle). Other than Mahavira, the best known tirthankaras are Rishabha (the first), Nemi (the 22nd), and Parshva (the 23rd). Historians consider Parshva the founder of the Jain religion; Parshva likely lived during the eighth century BCE, while Mahavira lived during the sixth century BCE. However, Jains themselves trace their religious lineage back much further than that in the belief that their religion has always existed in some form.
Also of note is the 19th Tirthankara, Malli, who was a woman according to one sect (though, according to another, this tirthankara is a man named Mallinatha).
Jiva and Ajiva
The Jain worldview is dualistic in nature: reality consists of two intermixed components. These are jiva, the spirit that senses and feels, and ajiva, matter much like atoms that is not alive and has no consciousness. Jiva and ajiva are the building blocks of all things in the universe, which Jainism teaches has an infinite number of each.
According to Jains, all living things have a jiva (soul), which is formless, perfect, all-knowing, and eternal by nature. Jains consider all jivas equal regardless of the bodies they inhabit, resulting in a strict doctrine of nonviolence toward other living beings.
Karma and Samsara
The jiva is trapped in samsara and some parts of its perfect, omniscient nature are clouded. The cause of this is karma, which Jains conceptualize as a subtle form of matter or ajiva (contrast this with the Hindu conception of karma as a force of cause and effect). Any action, good or bad, causes karmic matter to attach to the jiva, weighing it down. The more karma the jiva accumulates in a given lifetime, the lower down on the ladder of existence the soul ends up in the next life. If the goal is to rise to the top of that ladder, then a person must take as little action as possible, or at least take actions that are largely positive.
Birth as a human, rather than as an animal, plant, or hell-being, is evidence the jiva has shed karmic matter to work its way up the ladder of existence. Because humans have higher mental faculties and better circumstances than lower beings do, being born as a human presents a unique opportunity to rid the jiva of all karma and stop the accumulation of more.
There are several causes of the accumulation of karma. One is craving and the resulting attachment to the material world and its pleasures. The other source is action. All actions, no matter how good the intention behind them, produce karma that weighs down the jiva. Only inactivity or a commitment to activity that focuses on liberation can prevent further accumulation of karmic matter.
Kevala and Moksha
In the previous lesson, you read about the concept of moksha, or liberation from the cycle of rebirth. In Jainism, moksha is the second step of a two-part sequence. The first is to attain kevala, or omniscience. This means having knowledge not only of one’s own inner self and past lives, but also of the external world and all things in it. Attaining kevala frees the jiva completely from all remaining karma and liberates it so when the individual dies, he or she will experience moksha, the final release from samsara. A person who attains the state of kevala is called a jina or “conqueror.” Jainism takes its name from this word.
The last of Mahavira’s disciples is considered the last person in the current world cycle to have ever achieved liberation, and no one is expected to do so before the cycle ends. If this is the case, what is the motivation to work toward the same goal? The motivation is that karma dictates the nature of each rebirth, and it is preferable to avoid being born a hell-being, a plant, or an animal. The goal is to be reborn as a human or in one of the heavens. Either scenario requires living a life free of wrong-doing.
Anekantavada
The Jain principle of anekantavada (“many-sided reality” or “multiplicity of viewpoints”) states that there are many facets of truth and reality. Each person experiences reality in a subjective, individual manner, and neither reality nor truth can be properly expressed through language. Any attempt to express reality and truth verbally is true to some extent, but is incomplete because it expresses only one perspective.
Jains apply the principle of anekantavada to reality in general, but also to spiritual truth. This concept is explained by Piyush Shah from the Jain Center of Greater Phoenix
(opens in a new tab)
in the video below, where it is applied to answer the question of how Jains view other religions.
Anekantavada Transcript
Ethics
Jain ethics center around five ethical precepts, or the Five Great Vows. While monks and nuns are expected to keep these vows quite strictly, lay people are allowed considerable leeway to fit their particular situations. As a result, lay people typically keep the first three of the five vows to a greater extent than the last two.
The five vows are:
1. Ahimsa – nonviolence toward all living things
2. Satya – not lying, which includes exaggeration
3. Achaurya – not stealing, which includes taking anything not explicitly given
4. Brahmacharya – chastity for monks and nuns, and monogamous relationships for lay people
5. Aparigraha – detachment from people, places, and material things
The first of the vows, ahimsa, is considered the most important on the path to liberation. It is considered the foundation of the entire ethical outlook of Jainism, and the path to liberation is one of unconditional nonviolence. According to Jainism, harming others causes the accumulation of karmic matter, which in turn harms the self. The second through fifth vows are subsumed under the first vow. For example, in its most extreme sense, the third vow means not to take (“steal”) a life.
The doctrine of ahimsa has significant implications for the lifestyle of Jains. Lay Jains follow a strictly vegetarian diet and avoid professions that involve violence of any kind. They tend to gravitate toward jobs that do not involve the actual production of goods, for example, due to the harm that manufacturing can bring to living beings.
Jain monks and nuns live an even stricter lifestyle in order to avoid causing harm to other creatures. They may not travel at night, must walk barefoot, and typically wear a mouth covering to avoid accidentally ingesting insects while speaking and breathing. In most sects, Jain monks and nuns are forbidden from traveling in moving vehicles. Modern means of travel such as cars, planes, and trains are prohibited due to the harm caused to small life forms by the internal combustion process.
Rituals and Practices
Jains participate in a variety of religious rituals and practices. In particular, asceticism at varying levels is central to Jainism, with the ideal lifestyle being that of a monk or nun. There are ways for lay people to practice asceticism as well. Another central practice is worship in temples or at small home shrines. Finally, an important but rarer practice is pilgrimage to important Jain sites in India.
Asceticism
To keep the five vows strictly and to avoid any actions that cause karmic matter to accumulate, the ideal Jain lifestyle is that of a monk or a nun following the example of Mahavira and other tirthankaras. It is understood, however, that not all people are ready to undertake such a lifestyle. Thus, the Jain community is made up of four groups: monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen. The overwhelming majority of Jains are laypeople, but the two communities of laypeople and ascetics are interdependent. Laypeople depend on monks and nuns as examples of Jain ideals and as sources of wisdom and teaching, while monks and nuns depend on laypeople for their livelihood and support.
The minimum age for initiation as a Jain monk or nun varies depending on the sect, starting as young as the age of 6 in some cases. The initiation ritual, diksha, marks the transition from lay life to ascetic life. A teacher who will usually continue to guide the new ascetic in his or her new life oversees the ceremony. The new ascetic receives a whisk (broom) and other necessary items, such as an alms bowl for the sects that use them. One notable part of the ritual is the symbolic removal of the new ascetic’s hair tuft by tuft. After initiation, the new ascetic usually cuts all ties with his or her family.
Watch the following video about the initiation process conducted for young women who wish to become Jain nuns.
Initiation of a Jain Nun Transcript
Monks and nuns typically travel on foot in groups for 8 months of the year. During the other 4 months, which coincide with the rainy season, they remain with lay communities. Avoidance of travel during the rainy season is a part of their observance of ahimsa; various life forms, most notably worms and insects, tend to be on roads in greater numbers during the rains, and traveling would endanger their lives.
In addition to the Five Great Vows, monks and nuns practice the six obligatory duties, which are equanimity (achieved through meditation), praise of the tirthankaras, veneration of teachers, repentance, laying down of the body (remaining motionless for varying periods of time), and abandonment (renunciation of specific foods or activities for varying periods of time). Laypeople may also follow these practices to varying extents.
A final ascetic practice of note is sallekhana, the practice of intentionally fasting until one dies. This practice, which is uncommon now, is believed to have been how Mahavira’s life ended. Jains insist that sallekhana is not a form of suicide. Instead, they see it as another method of warding off the accumulation of karmic matter because eating involves harming other life forms, including plants. Sallekhana is said to foster a tranquil, meditative state and is thought to be an ideal means of dying.
Statues of Tirthankaras in a Jain temple
Temple Worship
Jain temples are home not only to statues of tirthankaras (especially Rishabha, Nemi, Parshva, and Mahavira), but also to statues of other deities. In Digambara temples, statues are simple and naked, while in Shvetambara temples, they are typically more ornate. It is common for members of the lay community to perform pujas for both the Tirthankaras and other deities (typically Hindu deities such as Lakshmi). Puja ordinarily involves presenting the tirthankara or deity with food, incense, and flowers; sometimes, statues are bathed, and individuals circumambulate the statues. Many Jains also perform puja at small altars maintained in their homes.
Although Jains believe the individual is responsible for his or her own liberation, these practices have been adopted for several reasons. On a practical, mundane level, deities are believed to respond to material needs. For example, a person might petition a deity when he or she is having money troubles or is experiencing health problems. On a more spiritual level, Jains believe devotional acts have a good effect on one’s karmic state and nurture a focus on saintly behavior and a devout attitude. These in turn contribute to the ultimate goal of liberation.
Jain worship can be either simple or elaborate. In the video below, Piyush Shah explains in detail how Jains might perform puja in the temple.
Temple Worship Transcript
Pilgrimage
Pilgrimage to important sacred sites is a central Jain practice and an important act of Jain spirituality. Jains attempt to make at least one pilgrimage in their lifetimes. The great expense, interruption to normal life, and physical rigors of making the journey allow laypeople to temporarily experience aspects of the ascetic lifestyle. This experience allows the individual to concentrate his or her efforts on gaining karmic merit. Individuals can gain further karmic merit by paying for one or more other people to make the pilgrimage.
Some pilgrimage sites include the village near Patna where Mahavira died as well as great temple complexes, some of which are located on high mountain tops in Western India. Also popular is a 68-foot-tall statue of the jina Bahubali, the son of the first tirthankara of the current age, Rishabha. Once every 12 years, Digambara monks bathe the statue, and flowers are scattered around it from helicopters. Although these statues, like the smaller versions in Jain temples, are not vessels inhabited by the jinas they represent, they serve to remind Jains that liberation is possible.
Jain Sects
The major sects of Jainism are the Digambara and Shvetambara sects. They trace their split back to around 300 BCE. Though many differences (as well as many similarities) now exist between the two sects, two particular issues led to the schism. The first concerned how monks should dress, and the second concerned the recording of the Jain scriptures (which will be discussed in the next module).
According to Jain tradition, both of these issues arose when a literal split of the community occurred. During a famine in northern India, many Jains went south, while some remained in the north. When the famine ended and the two groups reunited, they found their divergent thoughts on the two aforementioned issues had caused a schism in belief and practice between the two groups that was never reconciled.
A Digambara monk
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Digambaras
The Digambara (“sky-clad”) sect is the more conservative of the two major sects of Jainism. Most Digambaras live in Southern India and consider members of other sects to lack the seriousness of Jainism in its original form. They believe that all Jain scripture was lost after the death of Mahavira and that their own canon best communicates the essence of his teachings.
This sect is characterized by its monks who go naked at all times, even in public. The Digambaras argue that all things must be renounced, even clothing and the shame of nakedness. It is also believed that washing dirty laundry can cause harm to living beings such as microorganisms in the water.
It is not considered appropriate for women to go naked, so women are not allowed to become nuns in the Digambara sect.
Monks of the Digambara sect eschew the use of alms bowls, instead using their cupped hands to receive food. The principle of ahimsa is said to support this practice. As with washing dirty laundry, it is presumed washing an alms bowl could cause harm to microorganisms in the water.
Another point of disagreement with other sects relates to the life of Mahavira. The Digambara sect rejects the tradition that Mahavira was married and had a child, perhaps due to the high regard with which this sect views celibacy. They also disagree with others on the year of Mahavira’s death, asserting that he died in 510 BCE. The Digambaras argue the 19th Tirthankara, whom they call Mallinatha, was male, while others believe this Tirthankara was a female named Malli.
Shvetambaras
A majority of Jains, most of them living throughout northern India, belong to the Shvetambara sect. This sect’s name means “white clad,” referring to the practice of Shvetambara monks and nuns wearing white robes. Although their texts make clear that Mahavira and his disciples went about naked, they believe wearing clothes is permissible. They give three reasons for this practice. The first is deference to modesty, the second is to avoiding causing others to feel disgust, and the third is for protection from the colder climate of northern India.
This sect differs from the Digambara sect in a number of other ways. It allows women to enter monastic life and teaches that Mahavira was married at one time before he left home to find liberation. They use alms bowls when begging for food and accept 45 texts as sacred and authoritative. They also believe the 19th Tirthankara to have been a woman named Malli.
Sthanakvasis
The Sthanakvasi sect is one of several small reform movements that arose out of the Shvetambara sect. They reject the worship of images, arguing that it seems to turn the tirthankaras into deities to be worshipped and petitioned for help, rather than to maintain their roles as human teachers whose examples should be followed. As a result, Sthanakvasis typically do not make use of temples. Rather than worship activities, their focus is on meditation and individual ascetic practices. Unlike other sects, they allow monks and nuns to travel abroad and allow nuns to travel unaccompanied by monks. This sect claims over 3,000 ascetics, about 2,500 of whom are nuns (Brodd et al., 2016). The Sthanakvasis do not recognize any literature as scripture.
Sacred Texts
Originally there were 58 books of Jain scripture which were based on the sermons of Mahavira. These were divided into three categories: purva, anga, and angabahya. Much of their content is believed to have been lost, with the purvas existing only as limited quotations in later scripture. These scriptures are considered helpful in guiding individuals toward liberation, but are not considered to contain the complete “truth,” in alignment with the doctrine of anekantavada. In this view, even those who wrote the scriptures are limited in their views.
Both the Digambara and Shvetambara sects maintain their own canon of texts, disagreeing over what should be accepted as canonical or authoritative. The Digambara sect maintains that the original teachings of Mahavira have been lost and were remembered and transmitted imperfectly after the split between the northern and southern Jain communities. The excerpts of the purvas that survive make up the bulk of Digambara scripture and are accompanied by commentaries on them. Despite the limited amount of material they believe to have been preserved, they maintain that their texts contain the essence of Mahavira’s teachings most accurately.
The Shvetambara sect officially rejects the Digambara sect’s canon and instead follows a set of scriptures made up of 45 texts divided into canonical scriptures and later works that are not considered canonical. Eleven angas make up the heart of the canonical material; these are considered the teachings of Mahavira, though they were not recorded until two centuries after his death. Twelve other canonical texts on law, ritual, and other miscellaneous topics also exist. Finally, non-canonical works include biographies, commentaries, and books on philosophy and science.
The History of Jainism
Jains have not kept detailed records of the history of their own tradition. The concrete historical record does not become clear until around 1000 CE, some 1,500 years after Mahavira’s lifetime, when South Asia’s religious landscape was undergoing sudden shifts. Muslim rule was established in 1206 as the Delhi Sultanate, overturning centuries of both Hindu and Buddhist supremacy in the region.
Jain relations with Muslims during the early centuries of Muslim rule were characterized by the destruction of important sacred Jain sites. Things began to change, however, when the Mughal Empire succeeded the sultanate in 1526. Close relationships between Jains and Muslims began to develop during this period, especially during the reign of Akbar (1555-1605). He is said to have been influenced by the Jain principle of ahimsa to the point of issuing decrees promoting the protection of animals.
A greater diversity of Jain belief developed during the 18th and 19th centuries, when new sects such as the Sthanakvasi were established. Jainism remained a geographically and ethnically bound religion, however, until the 20th century, when substantial communities of Jains settled outside of India.
Approximately 200,000 Jains live outside of India, with 75,000 in the United States and other sizable populations in Kenya, the U.K., Canada, and Tanzania (Jain Portal, 2009). Smaller populations have also settled in Nepal, Uganda, Malaysia, and Myanmar. Jains in the U.S. and Canada have established JAINA
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, the Jain Association in North America, an umbrella organization for the congregations found throughout those two nations. In the U.S., more than 100 individual Jain congregations and more than two dozen temples have been built across the country (Young, 2013). One temple, the Jain Center of Greater Phoenix
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, is located in Phoenix, AZ.Jainism and Hinduism
While Jains see their religion as one that stretches back many millennia, historians identify the religion’s roots in the Hindu traditions of the first millennium BCE. Some individuals and groups were rebelling against the caste system while others opposed the animal sacrifices of some Vedic rituals. New traditions such as Jainism sprang up, influenced by early Hindu ideas as well as by older ascetic practices. The tendencies toward ahimsa and asceticism in Hinduism found their logical end in Jainism, which took them to an extreme Hinduism had not.
Due to their shared sociocultural history, Jainism and Hinduism have experienced intermixing of ideas and beliefs. As you’ve read, Jains commonly worship Hindu deities but sometimes have their own twist on them. For example, both Rama and Krishna, two avatars of Vishnu and prominent characters in the Ramayana and Mahabharata respectively, were pious Jains according to Jain tradition. On the other hand, Hindu Vaishnavas have adopted the first tirthankara, Rishabha, as one of Vishnu’s avatars.
A final significant interplay between Jainism and Hinduism is the influence of the Jain doctrine of nonviolence and the extreme to which Mohandas Gandhi took it during the struggle for Indian independence. Influenced by the Jain community in Bombay and by a man named Shrimad Rajachandra in particular, Gandhi adopted nonviolent methods of resistance against the British-controlled government. His methods, originating in the Jain community, subsequently had an impact on American civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King, Jr., who implemented the same strategies in their own struggle.
Women in Jainism
Like Hinduism, the stance of Jainism on women is one of ambivalence. On the one hand, women may be revered. Dundas (2005, pp. 55-56) explains:
…the Kalpasutra is quite clear that on Mahavira’s death the tirtha [community of monks, nuns, and lay people] which he had founded contained a body of female ascetics two and a half times as large as the number of male ascetics”….it is also noted that “spiritually heroic Jain women were a frequent theme in the Universal history”, and in the Svetambara sect “it is a woman, Marudevi, the mother of Rsabha, who has the distinction of being the first person of this world to achieve liberation..
Despite this evidence, however, the answer to the question of whether or not a woman can attain liberation is largely dependent on who is being asked. Members of the Shvetambara sect would answer “yes;” a woman is as capable of attaining liberation as a man. Members of the Digambara sect, however, would answer “no;” a woman must instead be reborn as a man before she will have the spiritual capacity to attain liberation.
What is the reason for these divergent viewpoints? There are several, but the most obvious has to do with nakedness. The female body is considered an impediment to male spiritual practice, and so women are not allowed to become full monastics of the Digambara sect. Because it is thought that a woman should not go naked, she cannot become a nun, and if she cannot become a nun, then she will be unable to follow the practices required of a person to reach liberation. Therefore, a person can’t attain liberation in a female body according to the Digambara sect. At most, women of the Digambara sect may be viewed as “spiritually advanced laywomen” (Babb, 2015, p. 56).
Jain nuns of the Svetambara sect meditating
Creative Commons by Claude Renault via Wikimedia Commons is licensed under CC BY 4.0
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On the other hand, because ascetics of the Shvetambara and Sthanakvasi sects wear white robes, women are able to partake in the same spiritual activities as men. In fact, nuns outnumber monks in the Sthanakvasi sect (Brodd et al., 2016). According to these sects, as long as a woman is able to fulfill the conditions for attaining liberation (right faith, right knowledge, and right behavior), gender and sex do not matter.
Although the Shvetambara sect does accept women as nuns, the situation for nuns is one of inequality. More restrictions are put on the activities of nuns than on those of monks, it takes longer for a nun to reach a high position in the religious hierarchy than it does a monk, and nuns are under the authority of monks regardless of their seniority in terms of time and religious progress. The latter point means that the most senior nun is subject to the authority of the most junior monks.