Arihanta Institute is offering this course in collaboration with Museum Rietberg, coinciding with their Exhibition “Being Jain: Art and Culture of an Indian Religion” in Zurich, Switzerland.

Climate change is arguably the biggest collective challenge human society has ever encountered. But there is hope. Among many of the innovative solutions that have and continue to be proposed, the Jain tradition encourages an environmentally sustainable lifestyle, which, if incorporated into our daily lives worldwide, could have a significant impact in reducing the worst of the climate disaster that is yet to come. Learn the Jain way of life in conversation with some of climate change’s most pressing issues. Leave transformed and empowered to reduce your climate footprint.

Class 1
Jainism and Ecology: Recognizing the Interconnected Web of Life
Learn how the Jain tradition views the world as an interconnected web of life in which nothing wants to experience pain. Understand how the Jain principle of ahiṃsā, or non-violence, arises from this worldview and some of the fundamental ways you can reduce your carbon footprint by following the Jain way of life and in accordance with climate science.

Class 2
Jain Approaches to Food: Climate Change & Animal Agriculture
The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) recently advised that in light of the effects of animal agriculture on the climate, the entire planet must be “veganised.” Learn, in light of climate science, why animal agriculture is one of the most significant contributors to climate change and environmental degradation. Also study Jain approaches to an ethical and environmentally friendly diet that call into question our unnecessary reliance on animals for food.

Class 3
Jain Views on Consumption and Waste: A Changing Climate requires Changing Habits
Humans consume food, electronics, fuel and other commodities at rates far beyond what our planet can sustain in the long run and which amount to significant amounts of environmental degradation. Discover what the acceptable limits of consumption are, and also consider Jain ethical approaches to the human behavior of consumption. Be inspired to reconsider your own consumptive habits.

Class 4
Jain Professional Ethics: Making a Climate-Friendly Living
We all need to make a living, but what would it mean to make a “climate-friendly” living? Learn Jain ethical approaches to career and professional life, and understand the important connections between the work that you do and its potential effects on the climate. Be inspired to make a righteous living that is good for both you and our climate future.

Learning Area

Climate Change and Environment

Instructor

Christopher Miller, PhD

Christopher Jain Miller is the co-founder, Vice President of Academic Affairs, and Professor of Jain and Yoga Studies at Arihanta Institute. He completed his PhD in the study of Religion at the University of California, Davis and is also a Visiting Researcher at the University of Zürich's Asien-Orient-Institut and Visiting Professor at Claremont School of Theology where he co-developed and co-runs a remotely available Masters Degree Program focusing on Engaged Jain Studies. His current research focuses on Engaged Jainism and Modern Yoga, and he is the author of a number of articles and book chapters concerned with Jainism and the practice of modern yoga. Christopher is the author of Embodying Transnational Yoga: Eating, Singing, and Breathing in Transformation (Routledge 2024), as well as co-editor of the volumes Engaged Jainism: Critical and Constructive Approaches to the Study of Jain Social Engagement (SUNY 2025) and Beacons of Dharma: Spiritual Exemplars for the Modern Age (Lexington 2020).