Tolerance from Truth
Understanding truth's multifaceted nature leads to tolerance of different views.
Anekantavada naturally produces religious and philosophical tolerance. If truth is many-sided, other traditions may possess valid perspectives. This has made Jainism historically tolerant.
Those who differ from us may see what we cannot.
Jain metaphysics provides philosophical basis for tolerance.
Philosophical Tradition
Written about in
- What Jainism says about compassion and forgiveness
Tolerance is traced to that idea rather than to politeness. If truth has many sides, another tradition may be holding one of them.
- What Jainism says about doubt
From many-sidedness Jainism draws a social conclusion: the people who differ from you may be seeing what you cannot. Jain thinkers used this to engage rival schools by absorbing their positions as partial views instead of refuting them outright.