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172
Tattvaārtha Sūtra
[7.8]
Utility is established. For this reason, the instruction on the attitude of neutrality (mādhyasthya-bhāvanā) is given here. Mādhyasthya means neglect or neutrality. When one encounters a person who is entirely devoid of good qualities or is ineligible to receive any kind of good, and if all efforts to correct them ultimately yield no results, then it is appropriate to maintain a neutral attitude toward such individuals. Therefore, the subject of mādhyasthya-bhāvanā is indeed restricted to the unworthy or ineligible individuals. Without enthusiasm and detachment, the observance of non-violence and other vows is simply not possible. Hence, it is first necessary for the practitioner of this vow to possess enthusiasm and detachment. The cultivation of enthusiasm or detachment arises from contemplation of the essential nature of the world and the body; therefore, contemplation of the nature of both is instructed here in a manner of reflection.
Every living being experiences some degree of suffering continuously. Life is entirely perishable, and other things also do not endure. Contemplating this worldly nature dispels the attachment to the world and elicits fear or enthusiasm from it. Similarly, through contemplating the unstable, impure, and hollow nature of the body, non-attachment or detachment toward external and internal objects is generated.
4-7. The essence of violence (hiṁsā) is the harm to life resulting from heedlessness.
8. The killing of life that occurs from heedlessness is violence.
To fully understand and incorporate the five vows, such as non-violence (ahiṃsā), that have been previously described, it is essential to know the true nature of opposing faults. Therefore, the section on the exposition of these five faults begins here. In this sūtra, the first fault, hiṁsā, is defined.
The explanation of hiṁsā is completed through two elements. The first element is heedlessness (pramattayoga), which implies an inclination toward attachment and aversion or heedless activity, and the second is the killing of life (prāṇavadh). The first element acts as the cause, while the second is the effect. Its implication is that the killing of life arising from heedlessness is hiṁsā.
Question: Taking someone's life or causing someone pain is violence. This meaning of hiṁsā is well known and very famous. Still, what is the reason for adding the term 'heedlessness' to this definition?