Wikipedia Trail: From "Kalpavriksha" To "Tirthankara"

(A PowerPoint posted on Wikipedia by Anishshah19)

Kalpavriksha

I chose to start with this article because I had just done the backup and review and focus on a video about the myths of trees. I decided to look more into the Hindu tree of life, called Kalpavriksha. This Wikipedia page was so interesting because I found out that not only was this tree considered the tree of life in Hinduism but it also is in Jainism and Buddism. On top of that, this tree was also wish-fulfilling. I think that is very cool.

Jain Cosmology

Jain is a type of belief system, and I feel like it actually lines up with a lot of my own personal beliefs. One thing that I need not realize is that in Jainism, and also Buddism and Hinduism, they used the swastica imagery and that it is actually considered a symbol of good luck and infinite creation. 

Avasarpiṇī

This Wikipedia article is about the descending part of the cosmic time in Jainism beliefs. This time period is supposedly when there is a decline of goodness and religion. There are six stages as well, and at the beginning of the Jainism cycle, people are like six-mile tale gentle beings who live for ages. By the end of the sixth cycle, people are short and miserable and they live about sixteen to twenty years. I thought this was an interesting concept, though I am not sure how it was conceived. 

Tirthankara

This is considered a holy person or spiritual teacher in Jainism. On the last Wikipedia page, it was said that this person appeared at the end of the third period after the wish-giving trees stopped granting wishes and people began living in societies.