Final answer:
Jainism views individuals as bound to life due to karma, where actions lead to future consequences and perpetuate the cycle of samsara. Adherents of Jainism seek liberation from this cycle by practicing nonviolence and compassion towards all living beings.
Step-by-step explanation:
Jainism views people as bound to life due to karma, the eternal and inherent causality law that links our actions to their effects. This belief is rooted in the concept of samsara, the endless cycle of birth, suffering, death, and rebirth. In Jainism, every action - physical or mental - carries consequences that affect an individual's future. The ultimate aim is to achieve liberation from this cycle of rebirth, which is thought to occur when the soul is freed from the bondage of matter, and thus from the accumulation of karma.
According to Jain teachings, every living being, from the smallest insect to humans, possesses a soul, and all life forms deserve respect and protection. This is why many Jains adopt practices such as wearing masks to avoid harming even the tiniest of beings. Jains believe in an interconnected universe where each self is the agent of its own acts (karma), and liberation is sought from the incessant cycle of death and rebirth by living a life of nonviolence and truthfulness.