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Introduction
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Introduction
The ancient Jain tradition traces its spiritual heritage to a series of teachers called tirthankaras or "ford-makers," those who spiritually crossed the river of this ever-changing life to become fully realized and liberated beings. One of the most important of the tirthankaras, Mahavira, lived in India at about the time of the Buddha in the 6th century BCE. Because each soul may become liberated, the Jains have always had a strong ethic of non-violence which extends to a positive respect for all forms of life, including animal life.
Not surprisingly, the Jains who have immigrated to the United States have become an important voice in discussions of vegetarianism and animal rights. The Jain community in America began only in the late 1960s as a response to the Immigration Act of 1965, which opened the door to wider immigration from Asia and especially encouraged the immigration of "members of professions of exceptional ability and their spouses and children." Many young Jains studying at American universities have decided to take up residence in the United States. Later, political turmoil in East African states forced a second migration of a number of Indians. In the early 1990s, the World Jain Congress estimated that there are approximately 25,000 Jains in the United States.
It was in the 1970s that the Jain community, consisting largely of Gujarati-speaking immigrants from Western India, began to form in the Boston area. For nearly ten years, the community met in each other's homes. In 1981, the community established a temple in a former Swedish Lutheran church on a quiet street in Norwood. Today, the Jain Community of Greater Boston meets monthly and observes annual festivals.