The Jain Center of Cincinnati and Dayton was established on April 22, 1979, as a non-profit tax-exempt organization under the laws of the United States and the State of Ohio. The foundation stone of the first Jain temple in Ohio was laid on August 21-22, 1994, and the temple was dedicated on September 2-4, 1995, when more than one thousand people from across Ohio and many other states took part in holy rituals to install three idols of Jinas. The center serves as a place for teaching non-violence, reverence for life, and compassion for all beings, and it hosted the twelfth biennial convention of the Federation of Jain Associations in North America on July 3-6, 2003. Jainism was introduced to North America by Shri Virchand Raghavji Gandhi, a disciple of Acharya Vijayanandsuriji (Atmaramji) Maharaj, during the Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago on September 11-27, 1893, and he introduced it to Ohio in Cleveland on September 18, 1894. The faith teaches universal love, recognizes twenty-four Tirthankaras during the present era, and holds Lord Mahavira, who lived from 599-527 BCE, as the twenty-fourth and last Tirthankara; its basic principles are Ahimsa, Satya, Asteya, Brahmacharya, and Aparigraha, and its motto is to live and let live and help others to live.