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SILK
lives inside the cocoon. It matures until it Silkworm pupas have to die so humans can becomes a moth which can emerge out of wear silk. the cocoon.
This is not the end of story of the silk moth. If the pupas were allowed to have their To harvest healthy moths and to preserve natural life they would grow inside the high quality of silk threads, the moths have cocoon to a silk moth in about 3 weeks. to go through different types of treatments However, they are not allowed to reach in the labs. this stage because when the worms break
If we touch a hot pot or stick our finger in the cocoon the silk threads are broken into
hot water we are burnt, and that hurts. We small fragments. These fragmented threads
get blisters and need a lot of love and care cannot be used to make silk yarns.
to make the hurt feel better. Imagine your entire body put into an oven or in boiling water! We as Jains, believers of Ahimsä, have many more choices of what to wear. Clothes only cover our bodies; our inner beauty is of importance and what counts. Are we willing to take responsibility for all the four sensed beings killed just to wear one outfit?
Pupas growing inside the cocoon
To produce 100 grams of elegant silk yarn about 1,500 pupas have to be killed. Therefore, we can calculate how many pupas would have to be killed to obtain different silk products for human pleasure. Maybe 1,000; 2,000; 5,000; 10,000; or more. I am sure you have figured out the fate of the pupa inside the cocoon by now. Some people gather large numbers of cocoons in wooden baskets and put them in boiling water for a certain period. Can you guess what it feels like to be put in hot boiling water? Other people put the large baskets of cocoons in heat chambers for sometime.
Silkworm pupas being boiled alive The choice is ours - whether we care or not for the pupas that have to be killed to make the silk. The more aware we are of the killing the more the karma becomes a part of our soul. We have a choice; the pupas do not!
Then there are some people who just boil the pupas in simple pots.
THE FIRST STEP OF JAINISM
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