Compare and contrast the different conception Essay

Compare and contrast the different conception - Essay Example However, there are more profound explanations and awareness that karma includes and this also varies in the three religions of Jainism, Hinduism and Buddhism that all adopt it. The similarities among these important religions as well as their differences give a more insightful explanation of the different dogmas that they carry. Yuvraj Krishan writes that there are three essential features of karma. First, it is an ethical law where good would yield happiness and evil will generate suffering. Second, the soul through the person who does an act has moral responsibility over its consequences and in this sense it has the effect of retributive justice. Third, justice in the second feature is carried through punarjanma or rebirth. This is the most appropriate religious explanation on why there is inequality in the world and why some men had to suffer more from others (3). It is an effect of karma that a person may be born of a lower stature in life or even be reborn as an animal or some other life form as a consequence of karma he had amassed in his past life. Thus, one who has not merited what equates to eternal life will be reborn time and again until he reaches being worthy of such state. In Jainism, the concept of karman is refined where the mind is a product thereof. The tapas or austerity is an important aspect that is considered to be material such that it can be exhausted. â€Å"It is a consequence of the material character of the karmas that intent is not the only ingredient in committing a lapse or offence; the Jainas recognize unintentional lapses† ( Krishan 50). The Jainas are stricter in their observance of the right conduct. They practice penance as the ordinary course of life and this is the most distinguishing feature of Jainism from Hinduism and Buddhism. There are five practices in Jainism that are different for monks and for laymen. For monks they are called mahavratas consisting of what