WHAT IS THE BUDDHIST RELIGION OF JAINISM? [1 of 2] “Jain” simply means “conqueror,” and “ism” is a “doctrine, cause, or theory,” so a Jainist is a “conqueror from the bondage of this world.” That foundational belief of Jainism sounds like the Hindu idea that we all must escape the bonds of reincarnation, life’s supposed cycle of continuous birth and death which is caused by our bad karma built up in previous lives. The similar views make sense because Jainism is another spin-off from Buddhism, which came out of Hinduism. The works-based aspect of Jainism—the same, tired, old claim that we all must work our own way to heaven—is similar to the beliefs and practices of Jewish leaders during the time Jesus walked the earth. Christ had to deal with the Pharisees and all their onerous, manmade rules and traditions that they relentlessly put on the Jewish people. The Pharisees came up with crazy decrees, like not spitting at the ground on the Sabbath. Why in the world would that matter? Well, having the right trajectory, your spit might hit the dirt with a strong enough force to roll through the dust; thus, you would be plowing a tiny trough—how dare you work on the Sabbath. This is just one of a million examples where man’s rules have been put on people to religiously control them with constant threats on their eternal lives.