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how much they are dominated by fear, we drop any notions of using or exploiting them. We feel for their helplessness in the face of man's gluttony, greed, and callousness; we want to see them live unmolested.
Most vegetables are harvested at the end of their natural life cycle. Many of them, such as berries, melons, beans, peas, squash, okra, pumpkins, nuts, and fruit from trees can be picked without uprooting the whole plant. Nevertheless, we realize with humility that every fruit, leaf, grain that we find on our plate had to lose its life in order to give us life. Without the plants to whom we are helplessly bound, we would not be able to survive, and therefore, to evolve. That is why Jain Monks recite this blessing before the daily meals:
Aho Jinehim asavvajja vittisahuna desiya Mukkha sahana heoosa sahu dehassa dharana.
O Jinas! What a wonderful teaching
you have given us! You have taught us to take only that food which is innocent, benign, and healthy, because it has not been procured through causing bloodshed.
You have taught us to know why we eat—to sustain the body, and to do so for one main reason to unfold our life and reach ultimate liberation.
With this sense of appreciation, we eat with respect and restraint, without taking more than we need. And we say, as the native Americans did, "Dear plants, some day our bodies will return to you, to become food for the nourishment of your roots.”
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