Jain

Been reading this lunchtime about Jainism and its closeness to Buddhism.  It's interesting to note the differences in the Middle Way (rejecting ascetism) and lack of any great differentiation between male and female within Buddhism.  What is even more striking to me is less about comparisons between Jainism and Buddhism (and other religions and philosophies) but more about how advanced society was that existed then (i.e. 2500-3000 years ago) in the East.