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192
Tattvarthasutra
Ignorance cannot be proven to not exist within human behavior, as long as the involuntary or mistaken destruction of life by those who are biased towards non-violence is possible. Hence, do such deaths of living beings fall under the category of violence or not? 3. Often, someone with a non-violent attitude tries to save someone or provide them with happiness, but the result turns out to be the opposite, meaning that living beings are harmed; in such a situation, does that destruction of life count as violence or not?
When faced with such questions, a deep consideration of the nature of violence and non-violence emerges, and in doing so, it also expands. Taking someone's life or causing suffering to them is categorically violence, while not taking anyone's life and not causing anyone discomfort signifies non-violence. Instead, now, the thinker of non-violence has delved into intricacies, determining that merely taking someone's life or causing them distress cannot solely be labeled as a fault of violence; rather, it can only be decided by investigating the intent behind the action that leads to such violence or faults. That intent encompasses various forms of attachment, which, in classical definitions, are referred to as 'pramada' (carelessness). The destruction of life or the infliction of distress caused by such unwholesome and trivial intentions is indeed violence and represents the fault of violence; and any destruction of life or infliction of distress that occurs without such intention is clearly violence.