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Everything in non-leather is available these days, easily, cheaply and just as durable. One can choose from thousands of selections on hundreds of web sites offering non-leather products. For non-leather automobile seats, for nearly all makes and models, one can order in advance from the factory. I can assure you that the experience will be worth the wait. Just try it. About a dozen years ago I had gone to Australia and there I went to meet with a Jain scholar (he was a New Zealander) at the National University of Australia in Canberra. After he showed me his department and the university library (with a large collection of Jain books), I invited this scholar to accompany me to a dinner at another Jain's (from India) house in that town to which my wife and I had been invited to earlier. My scholar friend agreed. When we arrived at my host's house, we noticed that his house was recently furnished with a brand new leather sofa set. This was the only sofa to sit on as there were no other chairs or seats. As a courtesy to my host, I sat on that leather sofa but my New Zealander friend refused to sit on the sofa and instead he sat on the floor. After an hour so, when the turn came to have dinner, my scholar friend refused to eat there, left the house (without eating) and returned to his university campus. I really felt ashamed and small. Here was a lesson for me in ahimsa in practice. I have met several of our Jain youth in America who will not buy cars with leather seats. I know of quite a few cases where some of my own young relatives wanted to buy expensive cars (luxury cars such as Lexus, BMW and Mercedes) where the standard seats are of genuine leather. In some cases, some models are not at all offered in non-leather seats. These mindfull Jain youths opted either for a cheaper model or, when feasible, placed a special order at a premium with the dealer for a non-leather seat directly from the factory. Under no circumstances would they choose a leather car seat, no matter what.
An Ahimsa Crisis: You Decide
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