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An answer is given in the Dasavaikalika Sutra as follows:
. Jei stej pred.... “Carry out all your activities but with great care." It demands constant vigilance. Where an action is performed with due care not to hurt anyone, no violence is committed. The emphasis has been laid on the word “Care.”
As long as man lives as a member of society, besides what he owes to himself for his spiritual betterment, he also owes a great deal to the society in which he has to live.
Man, in his desire to continue his life, so that he may do the highest good while living here, is obliged to destroy life; but the fewer and the lower forms of life he destroys, the less harmful karmas or deeds he generates. This leads to strict vegetarianism.
The doctrine of Ahimsa is not merely a matter of profession, but of constant, scrupulous practice to every Jain. ::::
The practice of Ahimsa is both an individual and a collective virtue. The principle of Ahimsa has great potential significance, because it is basic in concept and universal-in its moral principles. Ahimsa, though a negative term, is full of positive
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