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54
NONVIOLENCE
according to Jainism are indulgence in acts of violence through ignorance, committing Himsā in the name of religion, killing animals for a religious sacrifice, killing a distressed animal under the misconception that the distressed shall be relieved from suffering if killed, and killing ignorant votaries by inducing a false belief in them that the body being destroyed the soul would be free.
The second vow is called 'Satya', i. e., speaking the truth or not lying. Since the whole moral code of Jainism is based on the doctrine of Ahimsā, every subordinate moral principle must be consistent with the observance of the vows of Ahiṁsā. For example speaking the truth should not result in pain to other living beings. Thus if a person hides himself in a sacred spot and an assailant who is pursuing him asks you of his whereabouts, you are expected to keep silent. Or when a hunter is pursuing an animal, you are expected not to reveal the hiding place of the animal. A person is not expected to speak if it may result in the endangering of religion or national freedom or the curtailing of human rights. Thus if a statesman with a non-violent motive abstains from revealing his mind to his nation's enemies, it need not be supposed that he breaks the vow of truth.
The third vow is to abstain from stealing. Taking an object which is not your own and which is not expressly given to you by the owner thereof is called stealing. For example, a trader using false weights and measures is violating the vow of non-stealing. Or a person who indulges in black-marketing and thereby
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