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wool (just like the cow which can no longer produce milk), it goes to slaughtering right way. The shearing of sheep for their wool involves an unspeakable amount of violence Jains use and trade extensively in woolen clothing and wool items. Quite a few big mill owners of wool products (especially in Ludhiana, Punjab) are Jains. Even some Jain sadhus use woolen cloths. Use of woolen shawls (for men and women) during winter and as gift and for honoring someone is quite prevalent within the Jain community. Some Jains defend this because it has been traditional to use wool. Prof. Gary Francione, a Jain himself, questions and says that tradition can no more suffice here than it can in any other area of human conduct. If Jainism stands for anything, it represents the notion that ethics is a matter of rational thought and careful consideration. It is precisely when we have been lulled into complacency by tradition that we must be most conscientious. HH the Dalai Lama says “traditions are never cast in concrete and hence in light of the new knowledge, facts, time and environment, traditions must be changed.” There are some who say that we cannot live a perfect life so it is acceptable for us to eat dairy or to use other animal products as a “compromise.” Jainism certainly recognizes that we cannot avoid all violence in our lives, which is precisely why laypersons are not required to eschew violence to immobile, one-sense organisms. In the words of Prof. Francione, “but if our inability to avoid all Himsa means that we can eat dairy or use silk and wool, which involves inflicting injury and death on three to five-sensed beings, then it must mean that we can eat flesh as well.” Francione mentions here that another principle that applies here is of the need vs. want and of minimum and necessary/ unavoidable himsa. Jains are supposed to weigh each need whether it is a need or a want and even if it is a need, how and in what way, I can minimize himsa. Certainly, since many other alternatives are available which are just as good or may
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An Ahimsa Crisis: You Decide
